Manhattan Transfer

I have managed to avoid most of the commentary on the Vatican instruction on homosexuality and the priesthood. I'm sure nearly everyone drinking in bars on the lower east side regards any type of discrimination against homosexuals by any institution as atavistic and hateful, so there isn't much to talk about. In any case, I'm not really sure I want to get involved in arguing about ordinations with a twenty-something hipster agnostic drinking Pabst between bathroom bumps at Welcome to the Johnsons.

William Saletan's article in Slate caught my attention. Or rather, one paragraph caught my attention.

Notice two things. First, deep-rooted "tendencies" are now independent and automatic grounds for dismissal, regardless of whether you "practice" homosexuality or "support" gay culture (whatever that is). Second, even if these tendencies are merely a "situation" in which you "find yourself," they "gravely obstruct" you from relating properly to men and women. Through no fault of your own, you're doomed. The Catechism's paths to perfection—self-mastery, chastity, prayer, and grace—no longer suffice. The church won't settle for your self-restraint, even with God's help.

Emphasis, of course, is mine, all mine.

What is Saletan trying to say with that "whatever that is?" Is he saying that "gay culture" is a figment of the Vatican's feverish anti-gay imagination? Where does Saletan live anyhow? I mean, it's hard to believe anyone who has ever set foot in lower Manhattan not believing in gay culture.

Fearing maybe my lying eyes had deceived me into believing in gay culture, I decided to do some research on the topic (read: I went to google). And yep, Saletan's right. There's clearly no such thing as gay culture.