Pope confirms: seminaries should exclude homosexuals
May 25, 2018
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CWN Editor's Note: In a closed-door discussion with Italian bishops, Pope Francis reportedly said that seminaries should not accept men who are, or may be, active homosexuals. “If you have even the slightest doubt, it’s better not to let them enter,” the Pope was quoted as saying. Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, the newly elected president of the Italian bishops’ conference, confirmed the substance of the papal statements.
The Pope’s stand confirms a 2005 Instruction from the Congregation for Catholic Education, and a later 2016 document from the Congregation for Clergy advising against acceptance of candidates for the priesthood who “practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called gay culture.”
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Posted by: jlw5094538 -
May. 26, 2018 4:37 PM ET USA
This is pastorally essential. For a good Catholic man who struggles with male-sex attraction, a seminary would be a problematic place: surrounded by and living with attractive young men in situations encouraging physical closeness and social intimacy. It's hard enough for anyone --- anyone --- to ward off inappropriate romantic passions. You wouldn't put young hetero men in a sisters' novitiate. would you? Practice moral realism. Let's not put stumbling-blocks at our seminarians' feet.
