Let’s Find Out the Real Number of Gay Priests in the Church

From Quest Bulletin 77 (Lent, 2017), a challenge concerning gay priests:

 “It is time for the bishops to commission a reputable survey to determine what percent of their priests are gay. They should also do a survey to determine the reaction of their flock to the reality of gay priests.”

That’s one of the conclusions that Jesuit Father Thomas Reese, columnist for The National Catholic Reporter in the US has come to after hearing about the Vatican’s reaffirmation of a ban on gay priests. He explained his position in a blog post entitled “Yes, there are lots of good gay priests”

Reese was forthright in his condemnation of the Vatican document, noting:

“The idea that gays cannot be good priests is stupid, demeaning, unjust, and contrary to the facts. I know many very good priests who are gay, and I suspect even more good priests I know are gay.”

Reese notes that bishops have often been opposed to finding out the actual number of gay priests: “Before he died, I asked the sociologist Dean Hoge, who had done numerous surveys of priests, and he said that the bishops would never allow him to ask the question in any of his surveys. The bishops did not want to know, or they were afraid of the numbers being publicized in the media.”

Source: New Ways Ministry’s Bonding 2.0 Blog. For the full story:  or follow the link to the NCR website/