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"If you say, you are going to have a house, you are going to have a car, a salary, of course, who doesn't want that life? Everybody," Stalin said. Others who have inside knowledge told NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago that they also questioned the program's recruitment process. Stalin said he wasn't surprised when he heard about the seminarians who were dropped from the program.
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Sources told NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago that three seminarians were thrown out of the program last February after reports surfaced that they were at a gay bar in Jerusalem. Since the program began in 1987, 260 men have attended, but only 52 of them have been ordained as priests. "I would say Casa Jesus was like that for me."Ĭhicago Mayfest Reveals 2022 Concert LineupĬasa Jesus spends approximately $30,000 a year for each seminarian, and nearly everyone enrolled in the program is living in Chicago on a religious visa. "When you see a door open welcoming you, it's a great feeling, a great blessing," Father Garcia said. He is a pastor in Chicago today and says he is grateful for the experience. Father Jose Maria Garcia also studied at Casa Jesus, arriving in Chicago from Mexico to enroll in the program. Other seminarians shared a far different experience, however. Before he left, he said he knew he was gay and didn't want to lead a "double life." Stalin eventually left the seminary after he received funding from the Archdiocese for a college education. "When I was at Casa Jesus, I used to go to gay bars, bring my friends. The seminarians also agree to live a celibate life, but Luis Stalin, a former seminarian at Casa Jesus, said celibacy was often ignored. Until recently, the program was only one year.
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Men enrolled in the program live in Casa Jesus for two years, where they work toward the priesthood and take intensive English lessons. Multiple sources have told NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago, however, that Casa Jesus removed three seminarians for visiting a gay bar and transferred the director of the program during this past year. Nearly 30 years after a Catholic seminary program opened its doors in Chicago to accept students from Latin America, former insiders are now questioning the integrity of the program, which has raised concerns over alleged moral oversight.Ĭasa Jesus is a vocational program funded by the Chicago Archdiocese to train men from Latin American countries who are interested in the priesthood.