Sister Vassa Exposed and Refuted
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isaiah 8:20).
I speculate that a lot of the modern attacks on traditional Christian beliefs are rooted in Masonry. Masons want to "strip from all religions their orthodox tenets, legends, allegories and dogmas." (Clausen, Clausen's Commentaries on Morals and Dogmas, p. 157).
Sister Vassa should never have been tonsured. She lacks the requisite discernment, humility and obedience. Because of her selfishness and incompetence as an Orthodox nun, people have been deceived and mislead. This woman should not be permitted to teach souls. A good monastic has no attachment to ego. Part of being an Orthodox Christian is humility, obedience and commitment (to the teachings). Through these virtues we preserve unity.
Update: In April of 2023 Sister Vassa kissed the popes hand. I reported this to a ROCOR bishop and received this response: “Yes, I was aware of that: she is a controversial figure, and has been for years. She did this on her own, without anyone's support or approval.”
This article will provide information covering the following:
Church Fathers and Orthodox Christian Emperors
Church Canons
Holy Scripture and Other Ancient Texts
Pro-Homosexual “Orthodox” Are Condemned
What We Know From Modern Science
Responding To Claims Made By Homosexuals
The Communist Promotion of Homosexuality
The Witness of Peter Damian
Auxiliary Notes
CHURCH FATHERS AND ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN EMPERORS
Orthodox emperors enforced laws against homosexuality. The edict of Constantius II (337-361) and Constans (342) extended proscription from active pederasts to passive sodomites and prostitution by exsoleti.
Valentinian II, Theodosius, and Arcadius issued an edict in 392. It prescribed burning as the death penalty for active sodomites, procurers of boys and male prostitutes, or perhaps for any form of homosexuality. The latter view is more probable in light of Codex Theodosius 9.7.6.
Another edict was issued by Justinian in 538. He described homosexuality as contrary to nature. (see Novella 77).
Justinian called homosexuality "abominable and impious conduct deservedly hated by God." (Novella 141).
From the earliest times Church Fathers repeated the New Testament witness for restriction of homosexuality by law. But many Church Fathers condemned homosexuality without referring to legal proscription (See Clement of Alexandria, Paidagogus 2. 10.86f.; 3.3-8, 15-23; St. John Chrysostom, Ad pop. Antioch, hom. 19.7; Didache 5:2; 16.3; Bar. 10.6; 20:2.; Pol. Phil. 5.3; Ign. Eph. 16.1; Apoc. Pet. 32).
The book, "Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition" says that it would be tedious to present all of the evidence from the Church Fathers. In this book, he cites: Ephraim the Syrian, John Chrysostom, Augustine, Gregory, Apos. Constit (6, 11, 27-28), Tertullian —De pudic. 4, where he banishes homosexuals from the church), Cyprian, Eusebius, Basil, and Clement of Alexandria.
St. John Chrysostom condemns homosexuality in his commentary on Romans 1:26-32 (This is one of the most extensive).
Apostolic Constitutions 7:2 says sodomy is unacceptable Christian behavior. (see also the Didache 2.2 and the Epistle of Barnabas 19:4).
CHURCH COUNCILS condemned homosexuality: Elvira (305-6); Ancyra ( 314); and Tours, (567). Also see canons 16 and 17 of the Council of Ancyra (314).
In 693, the Sixteenth Council of Toledo issued a canon condemning guilty clergy to degradation and exile and laymen to a hundred lashes.
The matter was also dealt with at the Council of Paris (AD 829) in canons 34 and 69. These went beyond Elvira and Ancyra in explicitly endorsing the death penalty for sodomy—claiming that it had led God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and send the Great Flood.
Canon 15 of the Council of Trolsy (AD 909) warned against "pollution with men or animals".
Th Holy Fathers believed that Scripture condemns homosexuality. Canon 19 of the Council of Trullo (692) instructs Christians not to interpret Scripture contrary to the interpretation of the Fathers. It states:
"It behooves those who preside over the churches, every day but especially on Lord's days, to teach all the clergy and people words of piety and of right religion, gathering out of holy Scripture meditations and determinations of the truth, and not going beyond the limits now fixed, nor varying from the tradition of the God-bearing fathers. And if any controversy in regard to Scripture shall have been raised, let them not interpret it otherwise than as the lights and doctors of the church in their writings have expounded it, and in those let them glory rather than in composing things out of their own heads, lest through their lack of skill they may have departed from what was fitting."...
The 1672 Confession of Patriarch Dositheus (of Jerusalem) called sodomy a sin in Decree 6.
Please also note, aerial toll-house 18 deals with homosexuality. The toll-houses were divinely revealed by God to various saints through theoria (spiritual vision).
Recommended Books:
Homosexuality: Contemporary Claims Examined in Light of the Bible and Other Ancient Literature and Law, by James B. De Young;
Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition, by Derrick Sherwin Bailey.
CHURCH CANONS
Those who have been sodomized cannot be clergy (St. John the Faster's CANON XIX)
Sodomites excommunicated and deposed (St. Basil's CANON VII; See also, St. Basil's Canon LXII; St. John the Faster's Canon XVIII)
Fornicators excommunicated and deposed (Apostolic Canon 25; Saint Basil's Canon 3; Saint John the Faster's Canon XII)
Those who do not report such sins of others, but conceal them receive the same penalties (St. John the Faster's CANON XXV)
HOLY SCRIPTURE
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (Lev. 18:22).
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. (Lev. 20:13).
For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. (Rom. 1:26).
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; (1 Timothy 1:9-10).
In the above, the phrase "defile themselves with mankind" in Greek is arsenokoitēs, the plural form of arsenokoitai (homosexual) and means "one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual". (see Strong's G733).
Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (Jude 1:7).
(Also see Genesis 19:4-7; Judges 19:22-23).
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." (NKJV, 1Cor. 6:9-10).
The Greek word for homosexuality used in the above text is arsenokoitai, and means "one who lies with a male as with a female." (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon, p. 75).
The following comment comes from a New Testament scholar who engaged in one of the most intense studies of the word arsenokoitai (found in 1Cor. 6:9 and 1Tim. 1:10).
..."The second term is the first occurrence in any Greek literature--thus a creation by the Apostle Paul--and derived from the OT in Lev 18:22 or 20:13 where the phrase occurs, "to make the bed of a male" and arsen (male) and koitai (bed) occur back to back. So it is clear that Paul (for whom the OT determined his world view) is drawing upon this text, where it clearly means "a homosexual." He is asserting that homosexuality is still wrong and perverse for NT believers. And he condemns homosexual orientation and practice, for men and women, most clearly in Rom 1:26ff.
The first term, which is the subject of your note, means something like "soft" and probably refers to the passive partner in a homosexual partnership; then the second term would refer to the active partner in such a relationship.
Thus many translations combine the two terms into one translation ("men who practice homosexuality") or render it, "male prostitutes and homosexual offenders" or "perverts" (in 1 Tim) which is also possible"...
Concluding Remarks on 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10
The evidence suggests that St. Paul coined this term based on the juxtaposition of the two words arsenos and koiten in the Septuagint translation of Leviticus 20:13. We cannot prove this, but style, practice, familiarity with the Septuagint, and literary context make this theory very plausible. Arsenokoitai must be defined broadly, but it's referring to homosexual activity. We know from the philological research of Henry Mendell, in his unpublished paper, "ARSENOKOITAI" that the meaning is general, "a male who has sex with a male." (pp. 4-11). There is another word for "homosexuals" that Paul could have used, but he chose rather to employ a term with a broad homosexual meaning. Latin, Syriac and Coptic translations of 1 Corinthians 6:9 render arsenokoitai with two or three words that reflect a meaning of "homosexual." Church fathers used arsenokoitai to refer to homosexuals. (see Wright, "Homosexuals or Prostitutes? The Meaning of ARSENOKOITAI (1Cor. 6:9, 1 Tim. 1:10" Vigiliae Christianae 38 38: (1984): 125-53.
We are to be holy, for God is holy (Lev.19:2)
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: (Heb. 12:14).
St. Paul relates the negative impact of sexual sin on the body (1Cor. 6:18)
We are kept pure by living according to God's Word (Ps.119:9-11)
Homosexuals have changed (1Cor.6:11)
Hide God's Word in your heart and do not sin against him. (Ps. 19:11)
Speaking of Heaven: "But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life." (ESV, Revelation 21:27).
1Cor. 11:1: Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Deut. 18:9: When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations.
Rom. 12:9: Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
1Thess. 5:22: Abstain from every form of evil.
Eph. 5:1: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
Eph. 5:5: For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Eph. 5:11: Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
3 John 11: Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God."
Galatians 6:8: For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Ephesians 5:3: There should not be any sexual immorality among us.
2 Corinthians 7:1: Let us purify ourselves.
1 John 3:8: He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
The acceptance of homosexuality originates with degenerate human beings, not God. Christ rebuked the religious leaders of his day for exalting their teaching above the Word of God. (Matt. 15:3-6).
The clairvoyant Orthodox St. John of Kronstadt writes:
"When you doubt in the truth of any person or event described in Holy Scripture, then remember that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” as the Apostle says and is therefore true, and does not contain any imaginary persons, fables, and tales, although it includes parables, which everyone can see are not true narratives, but are written in figurative language. The whole of the word of God is single, entire, indivisible truth; and if you admit that any narrative, sentence, or word is untrue, then you sin against the truth of the whole of Holy Scripture and its primordial truth, which is God Himself. “I am the truth,” said the Lord; “Thy word is truth,” said Jesus Christ to God the Father. Thus, consider the whole of the Holy Scripture as truth; everything that is said in it has either taken place or takes place." (My Life in Christ, p. 70).
It is vitally important for the reader to understand that a true Christian who is a legitimate child of God accepts the totality of Scriptural teaching. We do not cherry pick. Only a person who is still in the category of "the natural man" does not conform his ego to Scripture. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1Cor. 2:14). The biblical teaching is that non-repentant homosexuals end in hell. So the pro-homosexual "Orthodox" are either deluded or unbelieving infiltrators with an agenda.
In addition to being condemned by the Old Testament and New Testament, homosexuality is also condemned in the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha (see Ecclesiasticus; Wisdom of Solomon; 2 Enoch; 3 Maccabees; Jubilees; 4 Ezra/2 Ezdras; Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs; Letter of Aristeas); Josephus; Philo; the Mishna/Talmud, and other rabbinic literature. The specific references are supplied in the above cited work by DeYoung.
PRO-HOMOSEXUAL “ORTHODOX” ARE CONDEMNED BY THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
The sixth session of the 7th ecumenical council: "Those who, moved by Divine zeal, always concur with the Fathers and the traditional ordinances of the Church flee from all who hold contrary opinions, as though from enemies."
From the Synodicon of the Holy Spirit
"To all things innovated and enacted contrary to the Church tradition, teaching, and institution of the holy and ever-memorable fathers, or to anything henceforth so enacted, ANATHEMA."
Eighth proceeding of the Seventh Ecumenical Synod
“If anyone breaks any ecclesiastical tradition, written or unwritten, let him be anathema.”
St. Vincent of Lérins: "for Christians to declare something which they did not previously accept has never been permitted, is never permitted, and never will be permitted,—but to anathematize those who proclaim something outside of that which was accepted once and for ever, has always been a duty, is always a duty, and always will be a duty."
WHAT WE KNOW FROM MODERN SCIENCE
'liberal American churches have become one of the staunchest defenders of the homosexual lifestyle." (Time, June 27, 1994, pp. 55,57). What does this say about the modernist "Orthodox"?
The decision to remove homosexuality from the psychiatric list of mental disorders was in large part the product of militant intimidation of homosexuals and "spurious and pseudo scientific" reasoning. (Charles Socarides, "Sexual Politics and Scientific Logic: The Issue of Homosexuality," The Journal of Psychohistory, Winter 1992, pp. 308-329).
There is no scientific evidence that people are born gay. Scientific studies seem to be proving that environment, inappropriate relationships, and childhood events are the biggest influences. (Ankerberg and Wheldon, Homosexuality, p. 13).
No research has ever proven a physical basis for homosexuality. (ibid, p. 14).
The claim that homosexuality is biological is not supported by the major study of Dr. Simon LeVay (a gay himself) of the Salk Institute. (Interview conducted Feb. 26, 1992).
The popular press had distorted Simon LeVay's findings ("Homosexual Brains," Family Research Report, June/September, 1991; See the original "Science" magazine, available at "Family Research Institute).
Dr. LeVay stated in 2001: "It's important to stress what I didn't find. I did not prove that homosexuality is genetic, or find a genetic cause for being gay. I didn't show that gay men are born that way, the most common mistake people make in interpreting my work. Nor did I locate a gay center in the brain--." (LeVay, quoted in A. Dean Byrd, Shirley E. Cox, Jeffrey W. Robinson, "Homosexuality: The Innate-Immutability Argument Finds No Basis in Science," Salt Lake Tribune, 2001).
Richard Cohen writes: "If a homosexual orientation is genetic, then 100 percent of all identical twin brothers should have been homosexual, but only half were. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that environmental factors, not genes, cause homosexuality." (Cohen, in "Perpetuating Homosexual Myths," --Seattle WA: Public Education Committee, 1992, rev.--pp. 18,19).
For more than 30 years careful scientists have refused to assert that homosexuality is biologically based for one simple reason: lack of supporting evidence.
Basing their conclusions on the best science, Drs. Charles Socarides, Benjamin Kaufman, and Joseph Nicolosi of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH; www.narth.com) point out that there is a growing body of evidence that homosexuality is not genetic and "there is no scientific research indicating a biological or genetic cause for homosexuality. Biological factors may play a role in the predisposition to homosexuality. However, this is true of many other psychological conditions."
They also state:
"psychotherapists around the world who treat homosexuals report that significant numbers of their clients have experienced substantial healing" and that "scientific research age-old cultural norms that homosexuality is not a healthy natural alternative to heterosexuality." (quoted from narth.com).
Dr. Joseph Nicolosi states that he has examined the entire range of modern scientific literature related to the alleged biological foundations of homosexuality. He writes:
"I myself have reviewed all the literature...and I certainly don't believe, and I don't think any scientist really believes, that there is a biological predetermination for sexual orientation. There's much more evidence for early environmental factors that would set the stage for a persons sexual orientation." (Dr. Joseph Nicolosi taped interview for the John Ankerberg Show).
Alfred Kinsey (research associate of W.B. Pomeroy) states: "I have myself come to the conclusion that homosexuality is largely a matter of conditioning." (Cited by W.B. Pomeroy in Dr. Kinsey and the Institute for Sex Research--New York: Harper 62. Row, 1972--p. 147).
The sex authorities Masters and Johnson note: "It is of vital importance that all professionals in the mental health field keep in mind that the homosexual man or woman is basically a man or woman by genetic determination and homosexually orientated by learned preference." (Cited in Van den Aardweg, Homosexuality and Hope, p. 32).
Masters and Johnson also observe: "The genetic theory of homosexuality has been generally discarded today...no serious scientist suggests that a simple cause-effect relationship applies." (Masters, Johnson, Kolodny, Human Sexuality, pp. 319-320).
Dr. John Money, professor emeritus of John's Hopkins University states: "No chromosomal differences have been found between homosexual subjects and heterosexual controls." AND "on the basis of present knowledge, there is no basis on which to justify an hypothesis that homosexuals or bisexuals of any degree or type are chromosomally discrepant from heterosexuals." (In Judd Marmon, ed., Homosexual Behavior, A Modern Reappraisal, pp. 9, 66).
Professor John DeCecco of San Francisco State University, and editor of the Journal of Homosexuality said, "The idea that people are born into one type of sexual behavior is foolish." (In USA Today, March 1, 1989, p. 4D; from The Gay Church by Ronald Enroth).
Two highly credentialed researchers at New York State Psychiatric Institute stated in "Archives of General Psychiatry," "There is no evidence at present to substantiate a biologic theory of sexual orientation." (William Byne and Bruce Parsons, Archives of General Psychiatry, March 1993, Cited in Family Research Report, March/April 1993, p. 1).
Leading scientific journals have consistently pointed out "the lack of supporting evidence" for a biological basis for homosexuality ("General Linkage" p. 337) and that "genetically determined homosexuality would have become extinct long ago because of reduced reproduction." (ibid; cf. note 4).
William Wilson, professor emeritus of Duke University Medical Center argued, "It cannot be demonstrated that homosexual behavior is directly produced by the transmission of genetically determined behavior or by the occurrence of an excessive or deficient number of sex chromosomes." (In William Wilson, Important Facts About Sex Differences, p. 75).
Dr. Clifford Allen: "No investigations in any sphere indicate an organic basis for homosexuality, whether physical, chemical, cellular, microscopic or macroscopic." (Clifford Allen, Textbook for Psychosexual Disorders, p. 170, cited in Ed Hurst and Dave and Neta Jackson, Overcoming Homosexuality, p. 91; cf. Van den Aardweg, Homosexuality and Hope, pp. 28-33).
Dr. Van den Aardweg, author of "The Battle for Normality: A Guide for (Self-) Therapy for Homosexuality" and "Homosexuality and Hope" notes that the biological view "has become less justified than ever," stating, "In my opinion, anyone who tries to approach the available physiological and psychological research literature open-mindedly will have to admit that the best fitting interpretation of homosexuality must be the idea of a neurotic variant [i.e., a psychological or emotional disturbance]." (Aardweg, Homosexuality and Hope, p. 45).
Homosexuals have been known to change. The 1970 Kinsey Institute report notes that 84 percent of gays shifted or changed their sexual orientation at least once. 32 percent reported a third shift, and 13 percent reported at least five changes. (see "Born That Way?" Family Research Report, 1991, and updates).
In 1981 Bell, Weinberg and Hammersmith reported similar figures (Bell, Weinberg, Hammersmith, Sexual Preferences, p. 261).
Shwartz and Masters (of the 1984 Masters and Johnson's Institute Report) revealed a 79.9 percent success rate of homosexuals changing their sexual orientation to heterosexuality. Their six year follow-up rate was an impressive 71.9 percent. (Houck, "Case Study Analysis of Homosexual to Heterosexual Transformation with Overview of the Moberly Model" in Cohen, Perpetuating Homosexual Myths, p. 9).
Dr. Van den Aardweg (1986) reports a 65 percent success rate (Cohen, Perpetuating Homosexual Myths, p. 9).
"Abandoning homosexual habits, like quitting drinking, can be done and is done by tens of thousands each year." (Family Research Institute, What Causes Homosexuality", p. 5; Cited in USA Today, April 15, 1993).
Dr. Socarides, author of "The Homosexualities: Fantasy, Reality and the Arts," and "The Homosexualities and The Therapeutic Process," states," These two books contain the work of over 30 psychoanalysts--eminent teachers and psychoanalysts and medical men throughout this country--and they all attest to the fact that homosexuality is a psychopathological condition that can be altered if someone knows how to alter it." (Dr. Charles Socarides taped interview for the John Ankerberg Show).
The claim that 10 percent of the American population is homosexual is false, and was based on faulty research. Research shows that only 1 to 2 percent of the population is exclusively homosexual. (Ankerberg and Weldon, Homosexuality, p. 32).
Kinsey of the Kinsey Institute states that only 4 percent of white men were exclusively homosexual throughout their lives. ("How Many Gay and Lesbian People Are There?" found at http://www.newdirection.ca
The Psychiatric Dictionary (Fourth edition) states that how a child is raised is far more important in determining sexuality than genetics.
Parental irresponsibility, molestation and lack of religious upbringing seem to be key factors in creating homosexuals. (Jones, p. 29 in Weldon, Homosexuality: A Scientific, Biblical and Social Critique).
Justifying the sin of homosexuality genetically also means that pedophiles, alcoholics and serial killers could all have an equal case for moral approval.
There are 25 sexually transmitted diseases. (Ankerberg, Weldon, The Myth of Safe Sex; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov
Through June 2001, more than 457,000 people have died from AIDS or AIDS related illness in America. (Based on information from Centers for Disease Control roughly extrapolated from figures in June, 2001).
RESPONDING TO CLAIMS MADE BY HOMOSEXUALS AND LIBERALS
1. Homosexuality is too common in society to condemn it.
My Response: Rape, adultery and other moral crimes are also common.
2. Homosexuals have the right to do with their bodies as they please.
My Response: Who gave them this right? God most certainly didn't. And what are you going to do with the problem of AIDS?
3. Homosexuality is a civil right.
My Response: Not all “rights” are right. God never gave anyone the right to sin. A moral wrong can never be a civil right.
4. Critics of homosexuality are bigots or latent homosexuals suppressing their own fears.
My Response: A convenient cop out and genetic fallacy (how a person comes to a belief says absolutely nothing about the truth or falsity of that belief), and a settling for labels. But when you settle for labels, it shows you are unwilling to think. To the contrary, this is about disagreeing. This is about intelligent adults who disagree with homosexuality. And I would argue that we have the right, indeed biblically and patristically the duty to disagree.
5. Homosexuality is normal for homosexuals, so its right for them.
My Response: That's the Naturalistic fallacy (mentioned above); and the same can be argued for habitual criminals.
6. Love is the real issue.
My Response: Who defines love and its limits?
7. Jesus never condemned homosexuality.
My Response: That’s an argument from silence. Arguments from silence don’t prove anything. Second, Christ upheld the divine authority of the Old Testament, which argues for heterosexuality between a man and a woman, and condemns homosexuality (see John 17:17; Matthew 19:4,5). Third, Christ chose St. Paul to be his representative and teacher. St. Paul condemned homosexuality in the passages referenced above in the Scripture section.
8. Homosexual behavior in animals proves that it is natural.
My Response: It doesn't prove it's natural, and remember the Naturalistic fallacy. Further, men and women are not animals.
“Love is love”.
My Response: That statement is a tautology and says nothing.
THE COMMUNIST PROMOTION OF HOMOSEXUALITY
The promotion of homosexuality in America is listed as item 26 of the 45 Goals of Communism, published in March of 1961 in the Naked Communist. They are the stated means by which Communist Russia could overthrow the United States. Number 26 reads:
"Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."
Did you catch that? You need to question who your allegiance is to. Communism is atheistic, anti-Christian, anti-American, and it has been anathematized by the Orthodox Church.
THE WITNESS OF PETER DAMIAN (Died 1072)
In the eleventh century, the Roman Catholic Saint Peter Damian stated:
"Clerical sodomites are members of a "Satanic tyranny." (Damian, The Fathers of the Church, p. 6).
Peter Damian's Letter 31 is devoted to "Bishops who practice impure acts with their spiritual sons." He writes: "Who can expect the flock to prosper when its shepherd has sunk so deep into the bowels of the devil? What man will continue to be under his authority...?"
Peter Damian notes: "Of clerics or Monks Who are Seducers of Men: any cleric or monk who seduces young men or boys, or who is apprehended in kissing or in any shameful situation, shall be publically flogged and shall lose his clerical tonsure...bound in iron chains...(for) six months of close confinement......and never again allowed to associate with young men for purposes of improper conversation or advice."
For Peter Damian, priests who engage in anal intercourse "for even a short period" have lost "all hope of recovering their priesthood" and are to be defrocked. It is "utterly preposterous for those who are habituated to the filth of this festering disease to present themselves for (holy) orders or to remain in them if they are already ordained."
Peter Damian's definition was derived from the consensus of the early medieval Church.
Recommended Book:
“The Book of Gomorrah and St. Peter Damian's Struggle Against Ecclesiastical Corruption”.
AUXILIARY NOTES (SOME ROMAN CATHOLIC CONDEMNATIONS)
Pope Leo IX (Died 1054) labeled homosexuality in the 11th century as "filthy," an "execrable vice," and "obscene". (Pierre J. Payer, Book of Gomorrah--Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1982- p. 29).
Joseph Klaits writes: "From the twelfth century on, outsiders came under increasing verbal and physical attack from churchmen, allied secular authorities, and, particularly in the case of Jews, from the lower strata of the population"; and Jews, heretics, homosexuals, and magicians were among the most significant "outsiders." (Klaits, Servants of Satan: The Age of Witch Hunts, Indiana University Press, 1985, p. 19).
Homosexuality was also condemned at the 1102 Council of London.
In 1179, Pope Alexander III presided over the Third Lateran Council in Rome which decreed (canon 11) that all those guilty of sodomy be removed from office or confined to penitential life in a monastery, if clergy; and be strictly excommunicated, if laity: "Let all who are found guilty of that unnatural vice for which the wrath of God came down upon the sons of disobedience and destroyed the five cities with fire, if they are clerics be expelled from the clergy or confined in monasteries to do penance; if they are laymen they are to incur excommunication and be completely separated from the society of the faithful."
The German Abbess Hildegard of Bingen in her Liber divinorum operum described homosexuality as the "supreme offence against God."
In her book Scivias, Hildegard describes a vision of God, and quotes him condemning homosexual acts, saying "a man who sins with another man as if with a woman sins bitterly against God" and therefore is "guilty of death." (Scivias. Translated by Columba Hart and Jane Bishop. Paulist Press. p. 279).
Canon 14 of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 stated that if a priest suspended for unchastity of any kind—especially the vice that "on account of which the anger of God came from heaven upon the children of unbelief" (sodomy)—dared to celebrate Mass then he was to be deposed permanently from the priesthood.
Around 1230, Pope Gregory IX argued that sodomites were "abominable persons despised by the world, ... more unclean than animals". (Fone, Byrne, Homophobia: A History. Macmillan).
Pope Pius V (Died 1572):
“Having determined to do away with everything that may in some way offend the Divine Majesty, we resolve to punish, above all and without indulgence, those things which, by the authority of the Sacred Scriptures or by most grievous examples, are more repugnant to God than any others and raise His wrath: that is, negligence in divine worship, ruinous simony, the crime of blasphemy, and the execrable libidinous vice against nature. For such faults peoples and nations are scourged by God Who, according to His just condemnation, sends catastrophes, wars, famine, and pestilence ...
“Let the judges know that if, even after this our Constitution, they are negligent in punishing these crimes, they will not only be guilty of them in the divine judgment but also will incur our indignation ...
If someone commits that nefarious crime against nature that caused divine wrath to be unleashed against the children of iniquity, he will be given over to the secular arm for punishment [of death]; and if he is a cleric, he will be subject to the same punishment after having been stripped of all his degrees [of ecclesiastical dignity].” -- Constitution Cum primum of April 1, 1566.
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SECOND EDITION (2357): "Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved."