{"id":832345,"date":"2025-03-07T14:11:53","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T20:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/07\/gay-men-can-train-as-priests-but-dont-flaunt-it-italy-church\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T14:11:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T20:11:53","slug":"gay-men-can-train-as-priests-but-dont-flaunt-it-italy-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/07\/gay-men-can-train-as-priests-but-dont-flaunt-it-italy-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Gay men can train as priests but don\u2019t flaunt it \u2013 Italy Church"},"content":{"rendered":"
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AFP<\/p>\n

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Homosexual<\/a> men can train to become Catholic<\/a> priests in Italy<\/a> but not if they \u201csupport the so-called gay culture\u201d, according to new guidelines approved by the Vatican.<\/p>\n

While stressing the need for celibacy, the Italian Bishops’ Conference guidelines \u2013 posted online on Thursday \u2013 open the door for gay men to attend seminaries, or divinity schools that train priests.<\/p>\n

But they came with a caveat \u2013 that those who flaunt their homosexuality should be barred.<\/p>\n

A section of the 68-page guidelines was specifically directed at \u201cpersons with homosexual tendencies who approach seminaries, or who discover such a situation during their training\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary and to Holy Orders those who practise homosexuality, present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture,\u201d read the document.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n

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The new guideline has been approved by the Vatican, where Pope Francis has led a more inclusive Roman Catholic Church. Photo \/ Vatican Media \/ CPP \/ Hans Lucas via AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

However, the guidelines say that, when considering \u201chomosexual tendencies\u201d of would-be priests, the church should \u201cgrasp its significance in the global picture of the young person\u2019s personality\u201d in order to arrive at \u201can overall harmony\u201d.<\/p>\n

The goal of training priests is \u201cthe ability to accept as a gift, to freely choose and live chastity in celibacy\u201d.<\/p>\n

The new guidelines have been approved by the Vatican<\/a>, the bishops’ conference said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis<\/a>, 88, has throughout his papacy encouraged a more inclusive Roman Catholic Church<\/a>, including for LGBTQ Catholics, even though official doctrine still states that same-sex acts are \u201cintrinsically disordered\u201d.<\/p>\n

In 2013, just after taking office, Francis famously said \u201cif someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?\u201d<\/p>\n

In May, however, the Pope used a vulgar gay slur in a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops<\/a>, according to two Italian newspapers, setting off a minor firestorm.<\/p>\n

The Pope had expressed his opposition to gay men entering seminaries, saying there was already too much \u201cfrociaggine\u201d in the schools \u2013 using an offensive Roman term that translated as \u201cfaggotry\u201d.<\/p>\n

Some observers welcomed the new guidelines, with the head of New Ways Ministry, a US-based Catholic outreach for LGBTQ individuals, calling it a \u201cbig step forward\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt clarifies previous ambiguous statements about gay seminary candidates, which viewed them with suspicion. This ambiguity caused lots of fear and discrimination in the church,\u201d said the ministry\u2019s Francis DeBernardo.<\/p>\n

Another advocate for LGBTQ Catholics, US Jesuit priest James Martin, told AFP it was the first time a Vatican-approved document included the notion that judging who was eligible to join a seminary \u201ccannot simply come down to whether or not he is gay\u201d.<\/p>\n

Martin said he interpreted the new rule to mean that \u201cif a gay man is able to lead a healthy, chaste and celibate life he may be considered\u201d.<\/p>\n

-Agence France-Presse<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Latest from World<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Luz Haslett
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AFP 11 Jan, 2025 02:36 AM 3 mins to read Homosexual men can train to become Catholic priests in Italy but not if they \u201csupport the so-called gay culture\u201d, according to new guidelines approved by the Vatican. While stressing the need for celibacy, the Italian Bishops’ Conference guidelines \u2013 posted online on Thursday \u2013 open<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":832346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[93580,24647],"tags":[93579,12320],"class_list":["post-832345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-priests","category-train","tag-priests","tag-train"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/832346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}