UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
(Filed: 30/11/2005)
A long-awaited Vatican document that bars men with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies from the priesthood was officially published yesterday in the first major ruling of Pope Benedict XVI's reign.
The document, which has been widely leaked, earned the fierce opprobrium of liberals who said that it could trigger a witch-hunt and force gay clergy underground.
But Roman Catholic leaders in Britain played down its impact, saying that it was merely emphasising the need for all candidates for the priesthood to be mature enough to control their sexuality.
The document said that practising homosexuals, those with deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or those who supported "gay culture" should be weeded out by bishops and principals of theological colleges.