Archbishop Dadeus Grings, from the Archdiocese of Porto Alegre which is one of the largest dioceses in Brazil, is living proof that ignorance and just plain stupidity are not affected by the grace of Holy Orders.
Grings has not only linked pedophilia with homosexuality, as did Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, but now asserts that pedophilia is understandable because all children are “spontaneously gay.” Great! Now we have a new scapegoat: little gay boys and girls.
The Archbishop, who is also chancellor of the Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, did in fact denounce sexual abuse within the church; but he stressed that internal ecclesiastical punishment for priests guilty of abuse was sufficient and that the police should not be involved. “For the church to go and accuse its own sons would be a little strange,” Archbishop Grings said a few days ago. Well I guess that makes sense if the real fault lies with all those perverted gay kids.
Showing his alert pastoral concern, Grings said therefore that it is important to help children avoid homosexuality.”We know that the adolescent is spontaneously homosexual. Boys play with boys, girls play with girls….If there is no proper guidance, this sticks. The question is – how are we going to educate our children to use a sexuality that is human and suitable?”
Grings also argued that society’s acceptance of homosexuality is paving the way for an acceptance of pedophilia. Demonstrating insight and a keen sense of social justice, Archbishop Grings noted as well: “Before, the homosexual wasn’t spoken of. He was discriminated against….When we begin to say they have rights, rights to demonstrate publicly, pretty soon, we’ll find the rights of pedophiles.”
Known for his socio-historical awareness, the Archbishop of Porto Alegre argued in 2003 that just one million – and not six million – Jews died in the Holocaust, although a few years later he recanted this opinion. Nevertheless, last year he outraged Jewish groups in Brazil by telling a magazine that “more Catholics than Jews died in the Holocaust, but this isn’t known because Jews control the world’s media.'”