The Vatican approved new guidelines for Italy who say that a candidate for seminary cannot be rejected just because he is gay, as long as he is celibate.
The guidelines say that seminary directors should consider sexual orientation as only one aspect of a candidate’s personality.
They do not change the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that “homosexual tendencies” are “intrinsically disordered”, and that men with “deep-rooted” homosexual tendencies should not become priests. But they clarify that if the candidate remains pure, his sexual orientation should not disqualify him from entering the priesthood.
The Catholic Church has struggled with contradictions for years yes it is the priesthood has long been a haven for homosexualswhile church teaching rejects same-sex relationships.
Bishops in other countries where homosexuality is regularly condemned are unlikely to consider guidelines similar to those of the Italian bishops.
The guidelines — adopted by the Italian bishops’ conference in November and approved by the Vatican’s clerical office — went into effect Thursday for a three-year trial period. They cover various aspects of the candidate’s years in seminaries, the schools that prepare men for the priesthood.
“This is the first time I have seen in a document approved by the Vatican the suggestion that the decision about whether a homosexual may enter the seminary cannot be determined solely by his sexual orientation,” said the Reverend James Martin, high profile advocate for the church to be more welcoming to gay Catholics.
“My interpretation of this — and it’s only my interpretation,” added Father Martin, who lives in New York, “is that if a homosexual can lead an emotionally healthy chaste celibate life, he can be considered for seminary.”
The seriousness of the problem became clear last year, when reports emerged that Pope Francis used an insult against homosexuals when responding to Italian bishops at a conference in May on the admission of gay men to seminaries.
In his remarks, Francis said there is already too much homosexuality in Catholic seminaries, using a pejorative to describe it, according to bishops who attended the conference. The Vatican later apologized.
In June, the pope was again accused of repeating an anti-gay slur during a meeting with priests in Rome.
Repeated use of an insult shocked many Catholics who embraced Francis’ largely inclusive message calling on the church to be more welcoming to members of the LGBTQ community. He often met with gay rights activists, and in 2023 he decided to allow priests bless same-sex couples — but not to bless their unions.
Father Martin, who met with Francis after the episodes last year, later shared publish on social networks who said: “With his permission to share this, the Holy Father said he knows many good, holy and celibate seminarians and priests with homosexual tendencies.”
And yet, Francis has repeatedly expressed concern that homosexual candidates for the priesthood could end up in relationships and living what he described as double lives.
In 2016, he gave the go-ahead to a document on priestly vocations stating that men with “deep-rooted” homosexual tendencies should not be allowed to enter seminaries, echoing a 2005 document approved by Benedict XVI.
Seminary directors have interpreted these instructions in different ways, but the new guidelines offer some lucidity.
The guidelines, published Thursday on the website of the Italian bishops’ conference, cite the 2016 document’s ban on men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies, but also state: “When talking about homosexual tendencies in the formation process, it is also appropriate not to reduce discernment to this aspect alone , but, as with any candidate, to understand its meaning within the overall picture of the young person’s personality.”
The guidelines also say that “the goal of the formation of candidates for the priesthood in the affective-sexual sphere is the ability to accept as a gift, freely choose and responsibly live chastity in celibacy.” The sections of the guidelines on the importance of celibacy do not differ by sexual orientation.
“It’s a step forward,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based group that supports gay Catholics.
“It clarifies previous ambiguous statements about gay seminary applicants, which cause a lot of fear and discrimination. And this clarification treats homosexual candidates in the same way as heterosexual candidates. That kind of equal treatment is what the Church should strive for with regard to all LGBTQ+ issues.”
