Quebec City, Canada, Apr 3, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Bishop Luc Cyr of Valleyfield in Quebec depicted the Church’s behavior towards homosexuals as fair, in reaction to the open letter published on February 26 by 19 priests of Quebec strongly criticizing the Church’s position on the issue.
The Bishop accused the priests of "lack of intellectual rigor." Bishop Cyr expressed his opinion in a letter sent to the priests, deacons and all the pastoral agents of his diocese, and to the media as well.
"It is important for me to give you my reaction, because it has to do with the spirit of truth and the necessary communion within the Church to perpetuate the Gospel, as Our Jesus transmitted it to his apostles and their successors, the bishops."
"There are many points in this open letter that reveal a partial, biased analysis, adding to the lack of spiritual discernment, in the act of publicly laying out what should be discussed between them and their bishops," added Bishop Cyr.
The letter referred to the instruction from the Congregation of Catholic Education barring men with "deep-seeded" homosexual tendencies to enter the priesthood. Bishop Cyr says the instruction doesn’t reject homosexuals and reminded that the vocation is not a right but rather a call from the Lord that the Church has the responsibility to confirm.