[Catholic Caucus] With Vatican Approval, Italian Bishops Change Criteria for Gay Seminarians

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Posted on 01/12/2025 1:30:44 PM PST by ebb tide

A new directive from the Italian Bishops Conference will allow gay seminary candidates to be assessed in the same way that heterosexual candidates, clearing up two decades worth of confusion caused by ambiguous Vatican statements about gay men and the priesthood.  This directive was approved by the Vatican.

ANSA Brazil reported that the conference statement said that “an orientation towards celibate life” is what will be required of gay candidates.  This is the same requirement which heterosexual candidates must meet.  The conference statement continued:

“In the formative process, when reference is made to homosexual tendencies it is appropriate not to reduce discernment to this aspect alone, but … to understand its meaning within the whole framework of the young person’s personality. . . .The objective of the formation of the candidate for the priesthood in the affective-sexual sphere is the ability to accept as a gift, to freely choose and to live chastity in celibacy responsibly. . .”

This guidance was released on the Italian Bishops Conference website. 

Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director of New Ways Ministry, commented:

“This developement is a big step forward. It clarifies previous ambiguous statements about gay seminary candidates, which viewed them with suspicion. This ambiguity caused lots of fear and discrimination in the church, way beyond the arena of seminary admissions.

This new clarification treats gay candidates in the same way that heterosexual candidates are treated. That type of equal treatment is what the Church should be aiming for in regards to all LGBTQ+ issues.”

This new guidance clarifies two previous statements from the Vatican in 2005 and 2016.  The 2016 statement, signed by Pope Francis, was basically a reiteration of the 2005 statement, signed by Pope Benedict XVI.  In fact the latter statement directly quoted from the earlier one:

“The Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called ‘gay culture’. Such persons, in fact, find themselves in a situation that gravely hinders them from relating correctly to men and women.”

These two previous statements created a climate of fear among gay priests and seminarians for two decades.  This exclusion also helped to fuel unsubstantiated claims that gay priests were responsible for the clergy sex abuse crisis. A number of gay priests shared their fears and their life journeys in a 2019 New York Times article.

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1 posted on 01/12/2025 1:30:44 PM PST by ebb tide

To: Al Hitan; Fedora; irishjuggler; Jaded; kalee; markomalley; miele man; Mrs. Don-o; ...

FrankenChurch Barf Alert

2 posted on 01/12/2025 1:31:57 PM PST by ebb tide ("The Spirit of Vatican II" is nothing more than a wicked "ideology" of the modernists.)

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