The Silence of Sodom: Homosexuality in Modern Catholicism
The Catholic Church's long experiment with masculine desire
cannot be discovered through sensationalist trials of
priest-paedophiles or surveys of gay clergy. "The Silence of
Sodom" looks deeply into the intertwining, in words and deeds,
of Catholicism with homoeroticism; it is a profound 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
Mark D. Jordan is the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Religion at Emory University. He is the author of "The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology" and "Blessing Same-Sex Marriage: ""The Perils of Queer Romance and the Confusions of Christian Marriage," both published by the University of Chicago Press.
