Pope
Francis aboard the papal flight from Rio de Janeiro to Rome, July 28, 2013.
When the pope told reporters, "Who am I to judge" a homosexual
person, he was emphasizing a part of Catholic teaching often overlooked by the
media and misunderstood by many people.
The Vatican on Wednesday declared that “persons with
homosexual tendencies” cannot be admitted to Catholic seminaries. This reaffirms a
2005 policy now seemingly at odds with Pope Francis’ famous “Who am I to
judge?” response when asked about gay priests in 2013.
The document, entitled “The Gift of the Priestly
Vocation,” was drafted by the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy, and it is
meant to offer wide-ranging guidelines for priestly formation. In addition to
several quotes from Pope Francis, the document draws heavily from the writings
of St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.
Three of the document’s 210 paragraphs are devoted to
“persons with homosexual tendencies” who desire to become priests, drawing
primarily from a 2005 document that bans candidates with “deep-seated
homosexual tendencies.”
Pope Francis approved the document, according to a
letter signed by Cardinal Beniamino Stella, who heads the clergy office.
Quoting the 2005 teaching, the new document says that
men “who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or
support the so-called ‘gay culture’” cannot become priests.
It goes on to say that gay men “find themselves in a
situation that gravely hinders them from relating correctly to men and women.”
“One must in no way overlook the negative consequences
that can derive from the ordination of persons with deep-seated homosexual
tendencies,” it says.
But men who experience a “transitory” attraction to
other men could be admitted to seminaries, it says, again repeating the 2005
document, though “such tendencies must be clearly overcome at least three years
before ordination to the diaconate.”
The church allows individual bishops, seminary rectors
and the superiors of religious orders to screen candidates for holy orders, and
as a result the guidelines issued in 2005 have been implemented in widely
different ways.
In some instances, those in charge of entrance to
seminaries and religious orders as well as those in charge priestly formation
have interpreted it to mean that gay men are prohibited from entering Catholic
seminaries.
In others, men who have made homosexuality their
primary identity, or have been outspoken in supporting what the Vatican calls
the “so-called gay culture,” are barred.
But a third interpretation has been that men who
identify as gay can enter so long as they do not act on their desires, and
maintain their vows of chastity or promises of celibacy. (Though there are rare
exceptions, such as married priests from other faith traditions who become
Catholic, priests are required to practice celibacy.)
For example, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New
York and former rector of the North American College in Rome, a residence for
American seminarians, said in 2005 that he felt that gay men who satisfied all
the Vatican’s requirements “shouldn’t feel discouraged” from becoming priests.
The new document says that gay men who seek to enter
the seminary must be honest with their spiritual directors, “in a relationship
of sincere dialogue and mutual trust,” and that church authorities should, in
turn, “dissuade” gay candidates from pursuing ordination.
The language barring gays from the priesthood first
came to light in 2005 under Pope Benedict XVI, but it was crafted soon after
the clergy sexual abuse scandal broke in the early 2000s.
Some observers said at the time that church leaders were
trying to pin the scandal on gay priests, even as psychology and law
enforcement experts said there is no link between homosexuality and child
abuse.
A letter released with the document in 2005 said that
gay priests would be allowed to continue ministry but that they should not
train current seminarians.
In 2008, the Vatican issued an update, saying that
those overseeing the formation process of would-be priests must look at “areas
of immaturity,” including “uncertain sexual identity” and “deep-seated
homosexual tendencies,” when determining the suitability of candidates for the
priesthood.
In the new document, the paragraphs about gay priests
appear between a section about seminarians suffering from mental illness and
seminarians who are considered threats to children.
There are no reliable statistics on the number of
priests in the United States who are gay. But James Bretzke, S.J., a professor of moral theology
at Boston College, said in 2013 that it is “an empirical fact that lots of men
are gay who are priests. And they are very good priests.”
"I would also observe that the numbers of gay men
and women in the church ministry is probably larger than the general
population, precisely because they are not seeking marriage,” he told U.S. News
and World Report.
The new Vatican document, dated Dec. 8, the feast of
the Immaculate Conception, was drafted in the spring of 2014, about a year
after Pope Francis was elected. It then went through several rounds of editing
after input from various Vatican offices and bishops from around the world.
Michael
O'Loughlin | Dec 7 2016
