“(Don’t confuse this with not being chaste; they would not have encouraged fornication.)” — Charles Benedict Copy Share Image
“After all, eighteen years of my life had been geared toward priesthood.” — Charles Benedict Life Copy Share Image
“Fred, who was probably gay, didn’t bother to hide himself and didn’t care if you looked. Then again, he never hinted at… — Charles Benedict Copy Share Image
“These catalogues all contained similar yet different images of young men modeling athletic clothes, underwear, and exercise equipment—and I liked those pages.” — Charles Benedict Young men Copy Share Image
“They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from… — Charles Benedict Life Copy Share Image
“All I knew is that I could not continue living a lie.” — Charles Benedict Living a lie Copy Share Image
“However, a priest with a spouse and potentially a family would have understood the gravity of the situation and responded appropriately.” — Charles Benedict Family Copy Share Image
“I had my own weight set in the basement and I subscribed to Men’s Fitness magazine. The beauty of receiving this magazine… — Charles Benedict Fitness Copy Share Image
“played the chameleon once again while trying to appease both sides. At the same time, as I came to know my sexuality… — Charles Benedict Copy Share Image
“My husband grabbed my hand and held onto it as we walked down the aisle toward the exit and I did not… — Charles Benedict Marriage Copy Share Image
“I was constantly surrounded by people in love and I always went back to the rectory—and to bed—alone.” — Charles Benedict Love Copy Share Image
“Whenever I visited Sebastian and Ryan in Chicago, they took me to the gay-friendly Catholic church they attended. I fell in love… — Charles Benedict Copy Share Image
“Stop sinning—you mean stop being gay? That’s like asking you to stop being straight, and that’s where the whole biblical argument falls… — Charles Benedict Copy Share Image
“When the game heated up on the racquetball court, our shirts would often come off. I must admit, it was hard not… — Charles Benedict Copy Share Image
“You have always had beautiful eyes to your mother and me. In fact, the day I first saw your mother’s eyes in… — Charles Benedict Beautiful eyes Copy Share Image
“Occasionally, formation staff would join us for these conversations. Since the media—and the Church at times—and the sensationalized public perception erroneously connected… — Charles Benedict Communication Copy Share Image
“I still need to innovate, to break out-of-the-box, and be a force of change, but I have not figured out how to… — Charles Benedict Business Copy Share Image
“I quickly realized I had backed myself into a corner with no knowledge or information about how to do something different. My… — Charles Benedict Education Copy Share Image
“In hindsight, we were each other’s first boyfriend.” — Charles Benedict First boyfriend Copy Share Image
“Since most boys (including me) learn masturbation around the time they hit puberty, they quickly develop a well-formed habit. As such, it’s… — Charles Benedict Habits Copy Share Image
“I firmly believed and preached—albeit discreetly—that everyone had a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. I realized that I preached God’s love… — Charles Benedict Kingdom of heaven Copy Share Image
“It made little sense that God could be an all-loving, wonderful, and powerful God who loves his creation, except the gays. After… — Charles Benedict Powerful god Copy Share Image
“Homosexuality and pedophilia were aggressively aligned as equal and the same.” — Charles Benedict Copy Share Image
