The Silence of Sodom

Homosexuality in Modern Catholicism

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by Mark D. Jordan

University of Chicago Press

Due/Published May 2002, 332 pages, paper

ISBN 0226410439

New in paper (S02)

Sexual scandals in the Roman Catholic Church have been highly public in recent years, and increasingly shrill directives from the Vatican about homosexuality have become commonplace. The visibility of these issues begs the basic question of how the Catholic Church can be at once so homophobic and so homoerotic. Jordan takes up this fundamental question in this study of the relationship between male homosexuality and Catholicism.

The Silence of Sodom is devoted, first, to teasing out the Church's complex bureaucratic language about sexual morality. Rather than trying to point out that official Catholic documents are simply wrong in their discussions and directives regarding homosexuality, Jordan examines the rhetorical devices used by the Church throughout its history to actively produce silence around the topic of male homoeroticism. Arguing that we cannot find the Church's knowledge of homosexuality in its documents, Jordan looks to the unspoken but widely known features of clerical culture to illuminate the striking analogies between clerical institutions and contemporary gay culture, particularly in the mechanisms of discipline, the training of seminarians, and the ambiguities of liturgical celebration.

The Catholic Church's long experiment with masculine desire cannot be discovered through sensationalist trials of priest-pedophiles or surveys of gay clergy. The Silence of Sodom looks into the intertwining, in words and deeds, of Catholicism with homoeroticism; it is a reflection on both "being gay" and "being Catholic."

"[Jordan] has offered glimpses, anecdotal stories, and scholarly observations that are a whole greater than the sum of its parts. . . . If homosexuality is the guest that refuses to leave the table, Jordan has at least shed light on why that is and in the process made the whole issue, including a conflicted Catholic Church, a little more understandable."--Larry B. Stammer, Los Angeles Times

"[Jordan] knows how to present a case, and with apparently effortless clarity he demonstrates the church's double bind and how it affects Vatican rhetoric, the training of priests, and ecclesiastical protectiveness toward an army of closet cases. . . . [T]his book will interest readers of every faith."--Daniel Blue,Lambda Book Report

A 2000 Lambda Literary Award Finalist

Review

For two millennia the Catholic Church has maintained a firm line against homosexuality as perversity of God’s teachings. However, in this frank discussion, that will surely inspire some and raise the ire of others, Mark Jordan examines the homoerotic nature of the Church, its rituals, iconology, and institutions. In the first section “Church Words,” Jordan examines the official pronouncements made by the Church in recent years on the subject of homosexuality. Jordan resists a discussion of whether the Church is right or wrong in their stance towards homosexuality; instead he examines the church's rhetorical devices employed to describe sexual morality and obscure any homoerotic overtones in the practice of Catholicism. Jordan then turns his attention to the (open) secret regarding homosexuals in the clergy, the lives they lead, and the implications of the scandals that have occurred in recent years. Exploring some of the rituals and institutional frameworks of Catholicism, Jordan suggests that the homosocial world of the clergy as well as other facets of the church are infused with elements of gay culture. The purpose of The Silence of Sodom goes far beyond “outing” the Church and should not be seen as such. It is a provocative and thoughtful beginning to a conversation about how the Church itself can discuss homosexuality in a more honest and rational fashion. Jordan's work also opens up a space for gay Catholics to better define their own sense of community as practicing Catholics. Finally, Jordan’s use of interlocking fragments and montage to explore these issues is a bold and ultimately rewarding form that includes official church documents, church history, queer theory, and utopian reveries to illuminate his arguements, challenges, and hopes.

Also by Mark Jordan: The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Thought.

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