A long-awaited
Vatican document says practicing gays, those with
"deeply rooted" homosexual tendencies, or those who support
gay culture cannot be admitted to the priesthood, an
Italian newspaper reported Friday. Any candidate with
"passing" homosexual tendencies that were never acted
on must have overcome them for at least three years in
order to be ordained, the conservative daily Italian
newspaper Il Giornale reported.
The paper said
the eight-page document from the Vatican's Congregation
for Catholic Education would be made public on November 29.
Il Giornale said it had seen the document and
provided full quotes in its report. Previous reports have
cited only sources familiar with the document and
provided only partial citations from the text.
"The church
cannot admit to the priesthood those who practice
homosexuality, present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies,
or who support the so-called gay culture," the
newspaper said, citing the document. Such men cannot
be priests because they live in a situation that
represents an "obstacle to a correct relationship with men
and women," the newspaper said.
Bishops,
spiritual directors of seminaries, and superiors of
religious orders have the responsibility to discern
candidates' "emotional maturity" to determine if they
are suitable for the priesthood and should bar them if
there is any "serious doubt," it said. That includes
verifying that the candidate practices celibacy and has no
"sexual disturbances that are incompatible with the
priesthood." "Those tendencies that might be just an
expression of a passing problem, such as from
adolescence that hasn't been acted on, must be clearly
overcome at least three years before ordination as a
deacon," the document says, according to Il Giornale.
The document
states that gay men should be treated with respect and
that all forms of discrimination concerning them should be
avoided, the newspaper said. (AP)
