UNITED STATES
The Journal News
Original publication: September 24, 2005)
It has been a busy year for the Roman Catholic Church, observing the passing of a beloved pontiff, celebrating the election of a new leader, and soon, if Vatican news leaks are to believed, commencing a round of scapegoating for the ages. The purported target is gay clergy or would-be members of the clergy. Even those who are celibate would face new scrutiny as part of the Vatican's continued reply to the sex-abuse scandal that has rocked the church's foundations.
The Vatican in coming weeks, with all the subtlety of an outstretched finger, will release a document detailing in no uncertain terms that gays are not welcome in Catholic seminaries and should not be ordained as priests even if they are celibate "because their condition suggests a serious personality disorder which detracts from their ability to serve as ministers," according to Associated Press reports, relying in part on reporting by Catholic World News.
In addition to reaffirming longstanding opposition to gays in the priesthood, the "instruction" by the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education will take the added step of confronting the open secret that homosexuals already wear the collar, with varying estimates putting the U.S. total at 25 percent to 50 percent. Already ordained priests, if they have homosexual tendencies, will be "strongly urged to renew their dedication to chastity and a manner of life appropriate to the priesthood."