Homosexuality & ordination

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Shlomey

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Considering the shortage of priests and monks we have - especially here in Europe, I would like to ask for clarification on this issue.

Can homosexuals, i.e. people attracted to the same-sex (not practicioners or ‘gay rights activists’), be admitted into the seminary or holy orders?
ROME, Sept. 21 - Homosexuals, even those who are celibate, will be barred from becoming Roman Catholic priests, a church official said Wednesday, under stricter rules soon to be released on one of the most sensitive issues facing the church.
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source:
nytimes.com/2005/09/22/international/europe/22vatican.html

From the Vatican’s decree:
. Homosexuality and the Ordained Ministry
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From the time of the Second Vatican Council until today, various Documents of the Magisterium, and especially the Catechism of the Catholic Church, have confirmed the teaching of the Church on homosexuality. The Catechism distinguishes between homosexual acts and homosexual tendencies.
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Regarding acts, it teaches that Sacred Scripture presents them as grave sins. The Tradition has constantly considered them as intrinsically immoral and contrary to the natural law. Consequently, under no circumstance can they be approved.
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Deep-seated homosexual tendencies, which are found in a number of men and women, are also objectively disordered and, for those same people, often constitute a trial. Such persons must be accepted with respect and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. They are called to fulfil God’s will in their lives and to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter[8].
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In the light of such teaching, this Dicastery, in accord with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, believes **it necessary to state clearly that the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question[9], 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”
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I also read German sources on this issue and one stated that only “ex-gay” men may be admitted into ordained ministry: which is odd since the Vatican teaches that there is no scientific evidence for people changing their sexual orientation.

So, did I get this right? If one is born with a homosexual orientation, one may never be admitted to priesthood or holy orders?

Thanks for your time 😃
 
Yes, I believe that’s the ruling.

It’s totally outrageous and stupid I know.
 
Teen4Christ said:
Yes, I believe that’s the ruling.

It’s totally outrageous and stupid I know.
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However outrageous and “stupid” it may seem to us, we have remember that we are the sheep, not the shepherds 🙂

I am bound to obey the Holy Church, however hard it is.
 
One thing about ordination you have to understand is that it is not a right. No one (man, woman, gay or straight) can demand admission into the priesthood. It is a divine calling to be determined as genuine by the Holy Church.

Catholicism in particular and Christianity in general are not democracies. Our attitude may seem unfair to you, but remember, all of us are expected to bend our will to God’s, not the other way around.
 
Drilling4Truth said:
One thing about ordination you have to understand is that it is not a right. No one (man, woman, gay or straight) can demand admission into the priesthood. It is a divine calling to be determined as genuine by the Holy Church.

Catholicism in particular and Christianity in general are not democracies. Our attitude may seem unfair to you, but remember, all of us are expected to bend our will to God’s, not the other way around.
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I am totally aware of that. But is it correct to say that only those with “temporary homosexual interests” may be allowed into priesthood and all others are barred from that?

See, I have spoken to two priests about this issue already and they both said that one may become a priest if one manages to be celibate: this, however, is not what I see in the Vatican’s decree.

Someone help?
 
I would say the priests you talked with probably aren’t fully aware of the Church’s recent statement on homosexual seminary candidates. Should you really be interested, you should contact the vocations director of your respective diocese. The vocations office is meant to be the first authority on screening potential seminarians.

What the Church is looking to avoid is admitting those with deep seated homosexual tendencies into seminary. Part of the application process to seminary and to the religious life is psychological screening which is meant to help determine the mental health of the candidate. A homosexual candidate trying to hide his sexual orientation can likely breeze by and not get noticed, but is that person really being honest with himself, much less his diocese or community? And, is this act of dishonesty indicative of future behavior?

The religious life is nowhere for a person to hide. The Church needs strong men who want to become priests honestly and for the right reasons. Looking for loopholes and lying to psychologists is simply not conducive to a properly discerned vocation.
 
One more thing, celibacy is not something to be “managed”. It is a sacrifice we embrace to become more fully formed as spouses of the Church. We can ill afford to throw open the doors to the seminary to all who apply and simply hope for the best. The consequences of ill-formed vocations are still resonating through the Church.
 
Shlomey said:
What is meant by that?
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The phrase was taken from the statement issued by the Vatican we are currently discussing.

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_20051104_istruzione_en.html
Deep-seated homosexual tendencies, which are found in a number of men and women, are also objectively disordered and, for those same people, often constitute a trial. Such persons must be accepted with respect and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. They are called to fulfil God’s will in their lives and to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter.
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It’s not a question of qualification or disqualification. The Church is looking for priests, not airline pilots.

I think you’re looking for a concrete answer in an area where the Church is showing at least some space for interpretation and charity. Is a person who is a self-described homosexual barred from seminary and the religious life? The statement from the Vatican says yes, though it goes to great lengths to stress that those who are homosexuals should be treated with respect and sensitivity. Is a person who may have struggled with homosexual acts or behavior but has since matured mentally and spiritually barred from seminary and the religious life? The answer from the Vatican is no.

In today’s over-sexualized environment, there is no doubt that sexual confusion abounds. And this can lead to experimentation by people of the same sex. Being bombarded with sexual imagery day and night, is it any wonder that the sexual mores have blurred somewhat?

Believe it or not, the Church is not as hard-nosed and bureaucratic as you think it is. There isn’t a check list of specific actions that vocations directors go through to see if you are a homosexual. All that the Church asks is that if you feel you may be called, be open and honest with who you are. You owe it to the diocese or community because you would be declaring life-long fidelity to them sooner or later. The Church has the right and obligation to decide that certain people are not called to the religious life. That does not mean that we still cannot be faithful members of the Body of Christ. All of us, from the Pope to the young child in the pews are called to serve God and the Church. But, we may not be called to serve in the capacity that we would want. As I said before, we are called to bend our will to God’s, not the other way around.
 
Thus, in essence the Church teaches that only those who manage to overcome a temporary homosexual orientation may be admitted to ordination?

And all those who are - by nature - attracted to the same sex are per default excluded from ordination to priesthood and the religious life?

Did I get that correctly now?
 
Your question has been answered. You could go on for days discussing the old nature vs. nurture theories about homosexuality. You could also go on about whether or not deep-seated homosexuality can be “cured”. Frankly, such discussions don’t interest me. The Vatican’s statement speaks for itself and it is up to each vocation directors to decide on how to properly implement it.
 
If a man is attracted to other men, wouldn’t the Vatican statements be protecting him?
 
it necessary to state clearly that the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question[9], cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, **present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called “gay culture” **
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There is your answer right in the document. Men who are practicing homosexuals, those that have deep seated tendencies, and those that support the “gay culture”. Perhaps deep seated tendencies can be overcome and eliminated but that would be something to work out with the Bishop and one’s confessor. If someone is deeply prone to falling into homosexual sins, then it would be a poor idea to ordain that man just as it would be to ordain a man that is prone to fornication with women or prone towards other sins of those natures. I do not believe the document talks about religious life at all so it would really be up to the individual religious order’s superiors or rules as far as deep seated tendencies. Obviously the other two things listed above are completely out of the question and I have no sympathy for anyone seeking ordination or religious life if they are active homosexuals or supporters of the gay culture.
 
Shlomey said:
Considering the shortage of priests and monks we have - especially here in Europe, I would like to ask for clarification on this issue.

Can homosexuals, i.e. people attracted to the same-sex (not practicioners or ‘gay rights activists’), be admitted into the seminary or holy orders?

So, did I get this right? If one is born with a homosexual orientation, one may never be admitted to priesthood or holy orders?

Thanks for your time 😃
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Considering your sources, unfortunately not. From what I’ve read from other sites, apparently, some of the priests are… homophobic… to an embarrassing level. It’s kind of like that “Don’t ask, don’t tell” issue, to an extent, in the military. People just get uncomfortable.

I think it’s very illogical, considering the priest shortage we have.

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood
 
KCT said:
By keeping him out of what could be a very tempting situation - living w/ lots of other men. (same reason college dorms used to be single sex)
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Just because a guy is gay doesn’t mean they like *all *men within sight. That’s like saying a straight guy wants to mindlessly do every single girl he comes into contact with.

I’m pretty sure a gay man who wants to become a priest would understand the sacrifices he must make.

Ironically Yours. ❤️
 
Once upon a time I believed it would do no harm for priests to be homosexual, as long as they were chaste and obedient to their vows. I no longer feel that way.

The lunacy of acceptance of homosexual acts by some Catholic colleges where homosexual priests were openly embraced is in direct contradiction to all biblical and Church teaching. It is tolerance gone wild, IMHO. There are priestly orders who wear their defiance of Rome like a badge of honor. Basically, the loonies have ruined it for those who might have been able to live their vows…not too different from the rest of society.
 
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