What About Obedience?

The Congregation for Catholic Education released an instruction "On Priesthood and Those With Homosexual Tendencies" yesterday.

This instruction has already generated plenty of discussion, and will generate much more, so I was planning to ignore the subject, but I must comment on this Washington Post article:

Several prelates, including Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington, indicated that they will continue to ordain seminarians regardless of sexual orientation, as long as the candidates are committed to live in celibacy and to uphold church teachings.

I'm confused:

• Cardinal McCarrick says he will ordain homosexuals as long as they uphold the Church's teachings.
• But, the Church says that homosexuals should not be ordained.
• Therefore, a homosexual who is being ordained is, by this very action, not upholding the Church's teachings.

Now that the Instruction has been promulgated, all Catholics (whether they agree with it or not) should have a serious problem with a homosexual who is ordained, as well as the bishop who will ordain a homosexual. Can a priest or bishop who is picking and choosing which rules require obedience really be charged with the formation of a parish or diocese? There is no way to know the exact teachings these new leaders will dissent from (besides the ordination of homosexuals, I suppose), but there can be no doubt that they will pass on this perversion of obedience. "We must follow Mother Church," they will say, "except on this rule, or that rule, because there She is wrong." Maybe I'm a simple-minded papist, but this attitude seems to fit more under the Dictatorship of Relativism than the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.



[note: The Instruction delineates between men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" and men "dealing with homosexual tendencies that were only the expression of a transitory problem." I did not address any distinctions because I simply wanted to respond to Cardinal McCarrick's statement, in which he is clearly stating that he will not follow the Instruction.]