Catholic Church
"Tests" for Gay Priests in Australia

The Melbourne Catholic Church is following a Vatican recommendation to test the sexual orientation of would-be priests. The identification measures are a response to Vatican guidelines, under which potential priests who "appear" to be gay must be removed from consideration.

Even celibate gay men are subject to the ban because, according to the Vatican committee that issued the instructions, homosexuality is "a type of deviation."

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Melbourne told the Melbourne Herald that a local seminary already had begun adhering to the guidelines.

He declined to specify how the tests for gay priests are conducted. An outspoken priest, Father Bob Maguire, criticized the policy. ''The point is not to what gender you are attracted, but how you manage that attraction,'' he said.