Vatican Restricts
Gays in Priesthood
By REUTERS, from the
NYTimes on the Web, November 29, 2005
VATICAN CITY -- In the first
major ruling of Pope Benedict's reign, the Catholic Church on Tuesday imposed
restrictions on homosexuals becoming priests, saying only men who had overcome
"transitory" gay tendencies could be ordained.
The ruling came in a long-awaited eight-page Vatican document that has already
sparked controversy after widespread leaks in the past few weeks.
Its strict line on the place of gays in the clergy has won praise from
conservatives and condemnation from liberals, and set off heated debate in other
churches by confronting an issue that has divided Christian congregations
worldwide.
The document says practising homosexuals should be barred from entering the
priesthood along with men with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies and those who
support gay culture.
The urgency of the document has been highlighted by a sexual scandal in the
United States three years ago, involving mostly abuse of teenage boys by
priests. Gay groups accuse the Church of using homosexuals as scapegoats
for the abuse scandals.
The "instruction" by the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education makes a
distinction between deep-seated homosexual tendencies and "the expression of a
transitory problem."
It says homosexual tendencies must be clearly overcome at least three years
before admission to the deaconate, a position one step short of the priesthood.
The document, released some seven months after Pope Benedict was elected,
reinforces standing policy that many in the Church believe has not been properly
enforced.
It does not affect men who are already priests but only those entering
seminaries to prepare for the priesthood. The paper also calls on the faithful
to show respect for homosexuals.
GAY GROUPS FURIOUS
"Deep-seated homosexual tendencies, which are found in a number of men and
women, are also objectively disordered and, for those same people, often
constitute a trial," it says, repeating a phrase that has angered gays in the
past.
"Such persons must be accepted with respect and sensitivity. Every sign of
unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided," it adds.
But in a commentary in the Vatican newspaper, French Jesuit and psychologist
Monsignor Tony Anatrella said homosexuality risked "destabilizing people and
society," had no social or moral value and could never match the importance of
the relationship between a man and a woman.
Conservative Catholics have welcomed the Vatican instruction as an important
step in the reform of the priesthood, particularly in the United States, where
they allege some seminaries have become venues for a thriving gay subculture.
Gay groups around the world were furious. The U.S-based Human Rights
campaign called on Catholics of all sexual orientations to complain to their
local pastors.
"We're speaking to Catholics in the pews and urging them to consider what Jesus
would do if he saw his neighbor treated this way," the group said in a
statement.
South African Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, said
the document was not just.
"For me, to make someone suffer penalties because of their sexual orientation is
on the same level as making people be penalized for their gender, or race," he
told Reuters.
George Weigel, a leading American theologian and author, welcomed the document,
saying bishops had to be reasonably sure candidates for the priesthood would be
able to live celibate lives "in the sex-saturated culture of the contemporary
West."
But many in the Catholic Church have said the document risks alienating men who
would be good priests and would be able to honor their vow of celibacy.
"I have no doubt that God does call homosexuals to the priesthood, and they are
among the most dedicated and impressive priests I have met," Father Timothy
Radcliffe, former master of the Dominican order, wrote in the British weekly The
Tablet.
(Emphasis added.)
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