UNITED STATES
New University Paper
by: Yolanda Vo
According to various news sources, the Vatican is preparing a document that would bar homosexual men from entering seminaries as a response to sexual-abuse incidents. However, the word “homosexual” is not clearly defined. The document has been outlined since 2001, but there is no evidence of the document, nor is it fully known if this document will be proclamated by the Vatican; still, it has many individuals stirred up.
The sexual-abuse scandals in the United States have had many individuals and the Roman Catholic Church infuriated, saddened and embarrassed. Many conservative Catholics blame homosexual priests for the scandal and feel that the church should “stay on the safe side” by restricting homosexual candidates for priesthood.
To start off, I am a Catholic. Knowing that fact, you may have already formed preconceptions of me. However, I hope you will delve into what I have to say, as unsophisticated as my opinions may be.
The background to the scandal is that there have been accusations of priests sexually abusing adolescents. These accusations came from the parents or guardians of the victims, and were then presented to the bishops within their diocese. Rather than removing the accused priests from their priesthood, the bishops relocated them to different parishes and notified no one of the accusations. As a result, more young children were placed at risk.