Vermont Catholic Magazine Cover Could Imply Sex Act

A recent Vermont Catholic magazine cover could be interpreted as a rude sex act. We’re wondering why this cover wasn’t vetted properly. Vermont Catholic is a monthly magazine published by the Diocese of Burlington. Given all the sexual scandals between Catholic priests and young boys, you would think that somebody would have noticed that the recent cover on their June 2010 issue looks a little… uh… scandalous:

The cover, showing a young man kneeling in front of a Bishop, with the Bishop’s hands on his head, comes courtesy of The Plaid Crew, which mentions that what we’re looking at is really the Rite of Ordination, aka “Holy Orders” which is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church.

Basically, the young guy in the photo is no altar boy – he’s in the process of becoming a priest. What you are looking at in that photo is called the Laying of the Hands, which some people also call “The Divine Touch.” Please try to refrain the use of the Beavis-and-Butthead laugh, or the “That’s What She Said” refrain. Here’s another angle of the Laying of the Hands:

No, that’s not some kinky “group” thing. Shame on you.

Hat tip to TPC, from one group of recovering Catholics to another.