Tidligere denne uka d\u00f8de Abb\u00e9 Pierre, en fransk prest, som var sv\u00e6rt kjent b\u00e5de i sitt hjemland og utover i alle fall store deler av Europa. Han var mest kjent for \u00e5 hjelpe de fattigste og utst\u00f8tte i samfunnet, og jeg h\u00f8rte om ham (i Bergen) i forbindelse med arbeidet som ble drevet der for \u00e5 f\u00e5 innpenger til Mor Teresas arbeid. Dette arbeidet hadde i aller f\u00f8rste fase p\u00e5 60-tallet tatt sin inspirasjon fra Abb\u00e9 Pierre.<\/p>\n
Med Abb\u00e9 Pierre viser det seg at han var uenig med Den katolske kirke p\u00e5 flere omr\u00e5der, dogmatiske og etiske. Noe som ikke er uproblematisk for en prest. John Allen skriver bl.a. om ham:<\/p>\n
In October 2005, Groues released a set of reflections entitled Mon Dieu…pourquoi?, in which he frankly acknowledged that his vow of priestly celibacy had not insulated him from sexual temptation. \u201cIt happened that every now and then, I fell,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cI never had regular relationships, because I never allowed sexual desire to put down roots. I\u2019ve known the experience of sexual desire and its occasional fulfillment, but this fulfillment was in truth a source of dissatisfaction, because I never felt sincere. \u2026 I\u2019ve understood that in order to be fully satisfied, sexual desire needs to express itself in a sentimental relationship, tender, trusting. That kind of relationship was denied to me by my choice of life. I would have only made both the woman and myself unhappy, tormented between two irreconcilable options for my life,\u201d Groues wrote.<\/p>\n Groues wrote that in his opinion, both married and celibate priests are able to consecrate themselves completely to their vocations, and that priests should therefore have the option to marry.<\/p>\n Groues also supported the ordination of women to the Catholic priesthood, writing that the ban \u201cpresupposes that this practice is not in conformity with the very substance of the Christian faith.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe principal argument given in support of this view,\u201d he wrote, \u201cis that Jesus did not choose women among his apostles. But for me this argument is not at all theological. Instead, [that choice] has sociological roots.\u201d<\/p>\n On the subject of homosexuality, Groues said he was not in favor of using the term \u201cmarriage,\u201d which, he said, \u201chas roots too deep in the collective consciousness as a union between a man and a woman.\u201d He supported recognition of same-sex \u201cpacts.\u201d Groues said the question of adoption rights for gay couples was \u201ccomplex,\u201d and could not be approached \u201clightly.\u201d<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n