This, I believe, is wrong and only a few steps from a clerical gulag. The CMA Position Paper makes eight valid and common sense points, I wish to highlight just a few. Psychiatry is a medical specialty dedicated to the treatment of individuals with mental disorders. Optimal treatment of a patient requires a confidential relationship between the physician and patient. A priest deserves the same dignity and respect as a lay patient.
Privileged communication excludes criminal behavior such as sexual battery, molesting or other acts.
The final point of the Position Paper deserves careful attention. The Church teaches that homosexuality is morally wrong and the desire for homosexual acts is a disorder. We agree with this teaching. Priests who are patients that agree with this Church teaching should not be treated adversely and labeled as homophobic. Although the APA view may appear popular, as it has been promoted by the entertainment industry and the media, it has no scientific validity.