A Student priest has claimed life in Maynooth college seminary is “poisonous” because of an alleged homosexual sub culture.
St Patrick’s College in Co Kildare has been in the spotlight following allegations some trainee priests use the gay dating internet app Grindr.
But the institution has insisted there is “no concrete or credible evidence” such a culture exists.
The trainee priest, who spoke anonymously to RTE radio on Friday said the “dogs on the street know Maynooth seminary is not fit for purpose in its current state”.
He added: “It’s an element which has lingered in the seminary for decades and sadly our bishops have for some reason turned a blind eye to this problem.
“The Catholic Church is very clear that men with deep-seated homosexual tendencies cannot be ordained priests.
“I’ve heard a lot in recent days about how seminarians made complaints through anonymous letters – this is being used as a reason for why the complaints are not being investigated.
"Is it any wonder a seminarian might feel the only thing he can do is complain anonymously when he sees what happens to seminarians when they report inappropriate behaviour?”
And the trainee priest slammed the President of Maynooth, Monsignor Hugh Connolly, for describing the atmosphere at the college as “healthy”.
The anonymous said: “Neither I, nor I suspect the majority of seminarians, would describe the atmosphere in the seminary, this past year in particular, as anything other [than] poisonous.
“How can it be healthy for seminarians to be living in a situation where fear rules, where whistleblowers are shown the door, where there exists a culture of secrecy and suspicion?
“I, like the vast majority of seminarians in Maynooth, feel God is calling me to be a priest.
“I love the Church and I love what she teaches because I believe it to be the truth.However, what I have been met with here is a formation structure which would prefer me and my brother seminarians to be worldly, just one of the lads, to be a Yes man who’ll not offer the challenge of the Gospel to the modern world.”
Monsignor Connolly said he had no reason to believe there are students who are not living a celibate life.
He added the college has to be realistic about the world we live in and not everyone is suited to a life of celibacy.
On Wednesday, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said he did not believe the seminary is the right environment for men to study to become priests.
He added he was “somewhat unhappy about an atmosphere that was growing” in Maynooth and had decided to transfer Dublin seminarians at the college to study at the Irish College in Rome.
Today's top stories
What do you think? Let us know in our comments section below
