Gabe Menezes wrote: > Comment: Hello! So you do not see it as a derogatory term? > persons/people are usually defrocked for breaking their professional > code of conduct....to accuse someone who has not been defrocked is > derogatory...okay mate?
Gabe, Mervyn, Gilbert, Santosh, I appreciate your responses on the subject. I was merely questioning the use of the the term "derogatory" when referring to someone who has been defrocked. A question of semantics has morphed into an issue of a certain priest's status in the clergy. Please hear me out, this post is sarcasm-free. :-) For your information, I know nothing of the priest/ex-priest in question. I don't know his name, and I have no interest in doing so either. I have no reason to defend him or Chris on this matter, even though I have spoken in Chris' defense each time there's a campaign to smear him. (I will ignore comment on the last sentence.) If indeed the priest in question has not been defrocked, then Chris' comment should be called false, instead of derogatory. The one term clarifies fact, while the other imputes motive. Your responses, which were rather defensive--and for good reason, I've learnt--caught me by surprise, because I actually believe that the term defrocked does not have to be derogatory. Somebody could conceivably be defrocked for questioning Catholic doctrine, or for committing some form of highly principled clerical disobedience (marrying someone while in the priesthood, for example). In these cases, being defrocked for standing up for principle is nothing to be ashamed of, and using the term derogatory to describe such a defrocked priest would be inappropriate and demeaning to the individual who has suffered the consequences of taking a principled stand. As indicated in the subject line, this is my last post on the issue. Sincerely, Peter _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list ([email protected]) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
