VATICAN CITY
Science Daily
Vatican City, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI reportedly is now studying a proposed instruction that would ban the ordination of homosexuals as Roman Catholic priests.
The Observer said that the instruction written by the Congregation for Catholic Education and Seminaries would, for the first time, make heterosexuality a requirement in selecting candidates for seminaries. In the past, because all priests take vows of celibacy, sexual orientation was not an issue.
The instruction has gone through three drafts without being released, and the pope could still decide to withhold it. Barring homosexuals from the priesthood could lead to an even greater shortage of candidates in the church. ...
The document is a response to the scandal about sexual abuse in the United States, because, in addition to complaints of pedophiliac priests, some priests claimed they had been abused or sexually harassed by superiors.