CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
In an effort to identify applicants who may be gay or bisexual, the Grand Seminaire de Montreal, a Catholic seminary, announced that this fall it will begin screening applicants for HIV infection, The [Montreal] Gazette reports. The Reverend Marcel Demers said a positive test should "sound an alarm bell" that the applicant may be gay. Applicants who test positive will be asked how they were infected. Demers said that those who have been infected through gay sex will have a "slim" chance of being admitted, although their applications will not be automatically refused. "It's not that Jesus wanted homophobia," Demers told the Gazette. "But we also realize that this profile doesn't lend itself as well to what we require of a priest." He added that gay men have a harder time following a priest's vow of celibacy than heterosexual men. Seminaries in Vancouver and Edmonton also require HIV tests for applicants, and U.S. seminaries have required HIV testing for more than 10 years, according to the Gazette. Bill Ryan, a spokesman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that he is "virtually certain" that all U.S. dioceses require an HIV test. Some gay and civil rights activists in Montreal say the seminary's policy could be in violation of the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but Ginette L'Heureux, a member of the Quebec Human Rights Commission, said the church may be exempt from the law.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Pete Buttigieg roasts JD Vance and his gay tech bro billionaire
July 22 2024 1:42 PM
The AIDs pandemic can be ended by 2030, but governments must act: report
July 22 2024 1:01 PM
Conservatives' first attack on Kamala Harris: Pronouns and accessibility?
July 22 2024 12:45 PM
Advancing equality during Disability Pride Month
July 22 2024 11:30 AM
Pete Buttigieg endorses Kamala Harris for president
July 21 2024 7:58 PM