Calendario Romano 2009. The calendar can be bought here 10% of proceeds go to The Food Chain a registered charity supported by peripheries.

The Roman Catholic Church has issued guidance for future priests to have psychological test aiming at preventing “tragic situations” (read “sexual abuse by priest”) caused by what the Church calls psychological defects.

According to the BBC, “The guidance says the voluntary tests should also aim to vet for those with ‘deep-seated homosexual tendencies’ ”. The advice also stipulates priests must have a “positive and stable sense of one’s masculine identity”.

There is little point commenting on the well-known view expressed by the Roman Catholic Church about homosexuality, but it is worth noting that in an era where the complexity and multiple faces of sexual behaviour are finally recognised, the Church still believes that a “masculine identity” warrants heterosexuality.

The guidance produced in response to the numerous cases of sexual abuse involving priests, raised a different but related question: What is the incidence of HIV amongst Roman Catholic Priests?

Data on the subject is very sparse and can be reduced to a survey conducted in 2000 that found that US Roman Catholic priests were dying of AIDS at a rate four times higher than the general population.

In addition, the African Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (ANERELA+) created in Uganda in November 2002 by Canon Gideon Byamugisha living openly with HIV reports more than 3400 members living with or personally affect by HIV and AIDS in Africa.

Faced by a never ending stream of scandals and HIV, the Church prefers to stigmatise men who have sex with men (including priests) and to use them as scapegoats rather than put order in its house and provide the support and comfort it should be providing.

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