Don't Ask, Don't Tell—A Jesuit Strategy
A Catholic friend who is also gay asked me how I felt about pedophile Jesuits having their despicable histories show up in the news, and the courts. After cleaning up the common confusion between pedophilia and homosexuality—it’s imperative to keep them separate even when they overlap as in the clergy scandal, I began reflecting on my own history, other gay men I knew in religious life, my experience living with my vows as a Jesuit and my decision to leave. I recall two conversations I had with Avery Dulles. Avery was my friend, a mentor and spiritual director. He knew my life; he’d met my parents and my friends; he tolerated my leftwing political views. His questions about my interests, my reading habits, even the issues I had working with certain professors were always insightful and never judgemental. He also knew about my struggle with my sexuality. His advice in each and every case if I asked for it, and sometimes when I didn’t, was clear and even-handed. He never let me down...