Gay men can become priests as long as they are celibate, the Vatican hints
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Gay men can now become Catholic priests – but only if they don’t have sex, a new Vatican guideline suggests. In a surprise U-turn, the Vatican has signalled that openly gay men can now train to become priests. However, they will have to remain celibate – a rule that already applies to heterosexual priests.
It comes after the Italian Bishops’ Conference revealed new guidance yesterday just weeks after Pope Francis gave his annual Christmas speech. Gay men have never been explicitly barred from the priesthood. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.
Up Next. However, previous teachings view homosexual activity as ‘intrinsically disordered,’ while an instruction from 2016 said men who have ‘deep-seated homosexual tendencies’ cannot become priests. Now the new guidelines say that the priest candidate’s sexual preferences should be considered in the application process but only as one aspect of personality, Euronews reports.
The guide says: ‘When referring to homosexual tendencies, it’s also appropriate not to reduce discernment only to this aspect, but, as for every candidate, to grasp its meaning in the global framework of the young person’s personality.’. All women – regardless of their sexuality – remain barred from becoming Catholic priests. Only men can become a Pope.
