Pope Benedict praises homosexual Archbishop Juliusz Paetz; L'Osservatore Romano praises Oscar Wilde

NEWS: July 29, 2009

Bird’s Eye View of the News

Atila Sinke Guimarães

POPE PRAISES HOMOSEXUAL ARCHBISHOP - On June 28, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI sent a warm message of praise to Juliusz Paetz, former Archbishop of Poznan, Poland, on the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination. Who is Paetz? What did he do to deserve this honor?

Since 2000 Paetz has been repeatedly accused of sexually abusing his seminarians at the Poznan seminary. The charges against him became public in February 2002 after a report in the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita. That account affirmed that the Paetz’ behavior was so notorious and censurable that the seminary’s rector had barred Paetz from visiting there.

Archbishop Paetz retired for allegedly molesting seminarians. Now he is honored by the Pope

Four seminarians made formal accusations describing instances in which Paetz allegedly pressured them into sexual contacts. In view of the scandal that was shaking Poland, 43 Polish intellectuals of Krakow and Warsaw signed a letter asking the Archbishop to step down until the situation were clarified.

The newspaper also affirmed that letters describing those charges against the Prelate had been sent in early 2000 to the Pope’s private secretary, Bishop Stanislaw Dziwisz - today Cardinal of Krakow - as well as to the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - today Pope. Those letters were simply ignored.

As pressure continued to mount, a special Vatican commission was sent to the Poznan at the end of 2001 to make an investigation. More than 40 witnesses were questioned in all. According to unofficial sources, most of them confirmed the accusations (sources in my book Vatican II, Homosexuality and Pedophilia, pp. 284-285).

Because of that investigation and the growing clamor against his scandalous behavior, Archbishop Paetz presented his resignation at age 67. It was accepted by John Paul II in March 2002. Notwithstanding, he remained in the Poznan Curia participating in many public events.

Under the pontificate of Benedict XVI, Archbishop Paetz has continued to enjoy good standing. In May 2006 he was shown on television greeting the Pope during his pilgrimage to Poland. In June 2007 he was a top figure at the youth rally in his country. He has also assisted at several audiences with Pope Benedict in Rome, where he owns a luxury apartment. In April 2009 - as a Prelate in normal standing - he was seen participating at the anniversary celebrations of the Faculty of Theology in Poznan (The Tablet, July 4, 2009, p. 31).

But the charges against Paetz include more than the sexual abuse of seminarians. As a matter of fact, in November 2008 a Polish parliamentary commission was established to investigate his past after the press revealed that Juliusz Paetz had acted as an informant for the Communist regime while working at the Vatican in the '70s and ’80s.

Given this not-so-clean past, how can one explain the decision of Pope Benedict XVI to honor this Prelate?

What is the reason for such complacence?

I don’t have a precise explanation, but the fact is that on June 28, 2009, he sent Paetz a message for the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination. His telegram was published by the Poznan Archdiocesan weekly Przewodnik Katolicki. In it Benedict congratulated Paetz for his “fruitful” and “salutary work for the good of the Church” he has carried out in Poland and abroad.

Benedict also stated, “Guiding your flock, you gave a testimony of faith in the resurrection of Christ that drove away all fear.” Further, he added that by “venerating Mary as Mother of the Church and Queen of Poland with a son’s love and piously venerating the saints and blessed of your land along with others, you labored for spiritual progress” (The Tablet, ibid.)

Fr. Pawel Deskur, editor of the Archdiocesan weekly, confirmed that Archbishop Paetz was “still active” in the Polish Hierarchy and that the Prelate had personally requested the Pope’s telegram be published. Catholic Polish Television (KAI) aired the High Mass in Poznan Cathedral celebrating the 50th anniversary of Paetz’ ordination.

Commenting on the Pope’s message, the daily mass-circulation Gazeta Wyborcza noted that these public appearances of Archbishop Paetz had caused “distaste among many local people.” The daily Polska said the Pope’s “great respect” for the Archbishop was “surprising in view of Benedict XVI’s severe statements on clergy who violate the vow of chastity” (The Tablet, July 4, 2009, p. 31).

I believe that my readers have the right to know about this congratulatory note, which so far I have not seen reported in our American media.

Perhaps it is not superfluous to remind here that in a recent Vatican document authorizing Bishops to defrock scandalous priests, it was carefully stated that those powers do not apply in cases of homosexual and pedophile priests. Such cases should continue to be judged by the Holy See itself.

The same protection offered to homosexual and pedophile priests would seem to apply as well to Prelates with analogous vices. The least that can be said for such procedure is that it is very consistent, indeed…

VATICAN NEWSPAPER PRAISES HOMOSEXUAL IDOL - On July 16, 2009 L’Osservatore Romano (OR), the organ of the Holy See, reinforced the approval of that same vicious conduct by praising Oscar Wilde, the famous Irish-born English writer and poet who became known for his flamboyant homosexuality and love for boys. Actually he is one of the foremost idols of the homosexual movement today.

Oscar Wilde with his lover Alfred Douglas - the Vatican paper sets no restrictions

Since a teenager Wilde professed his homosexuality and pederasty, both in his works and his participation in societies of artists turned to these vices. Before, during and after his marriage with Constance Lloyd in 1884, he practiced those vices.

At age 37 he engaged in another love affair, this time with 22-year-old Lord Alfred Douglas. After four years, the father of the young man, John Sholto Douglas, Marquess of Queensberry, publicly insulted Wilde. Wilde retaliated with a lawsuit. The trial backfired, and Wilde’s rotten life was revealed: his many male lovers, his frequenting of homosexual brothels, his acquaintance with male prostitutes and a slew of torrid details all became public knowledge, shocking Victorian England. In one of his sworn court depositions, Wilde made a formal apologia of pederasty.

He was found guilty of gross indecency - which in the juridical language of the time encompassed homosexuality - and served a two-year term of hard labor. After his release, he returned to the same vices. Some defend it was not meningitis that ended his life in 1900, but actually a syphilis caused by his debauched life.

At his deathbed and already unable to speak, he made a hand movement acquiescing to his entrance into the Catholic Church. A priest came to baptize him and give him the last rites (more here). This is what is being presented by OR as the model conversion of Oscar Wilde.

After his death, Wilde has been always remembered as a homosexual and a pedophile, one of the most rotten and extravagant representatives of the late 19th-century English literary circles. Consistent with this saga, on his tombstone in Paris an “angel” exposing his male genitals was sculpted.

Wilde's immoral tombstone in Paris; the naked "angel" wears a miter with esoteric symbols

Notwithstanding this filthy life and infamous reputation, in its July 16, 2009 issue L’Osservatore Romano praised him: “Oscar Wilde was a man constantly looking for the beautiful and the good, but also for a God whom he respected and never challenged, and whom he fully embraced after his dramatic jail experience, ending with his communion in the Catholic Church.” (DailyOnline, July 17, 2009)

The organ of the Holy See continued, saying that Wilde was not "just a non-conformist who loved to shock the conservative society of Victorian England," but rather "a man who behind a mask of amorality asked himself what was just and what was mistaken, what was true and what was false." It went on to praise Wilde as "one of the personalities of the 19th century who most lucidly analyzed the modern world in its disturbing as well as its positive aspects."

In spite of his sordid life and anti-natural vices, the Vatican paper affirmed, "Wilde was a man of great, intense feelings, who behind the lightness of his writing, behind a mask of frivolity or cynicism, hid a deep knowledge of the mysterious value of life." (Guardian, July 17, 2009 ; Telegraph, July 16, 2009).

The article in L’Osservatore Romano was a review by Andrea Monda of a new book titled A Portrait of Oscar Wilde by Italian author Paolo Gulisano.

What can we conclude about this new move of the Vatican newspaper? I believe it is difficult to avoid seeing it in the light of the previous praise of Archbishop Juliusz Paetz by Benedict XVI. In both cases we witness complacency for and indirect promotion of homosexuality and pedophilia.

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