IRELAND
Irish Examiner
By Caroline O’Doherty
GAY rights activists have accused the Vatican of incitement to hatred in an official Catholic Church directive banning homosexuals and their supporters from the priesthood.
The “Instruction” issued from Rome yesterday excludes from seminaries “those who practice homosexuality, show profoundly deep-rooted homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called gay culture.”
It restates the Church view that homosexual practices are “intrinsically immoral and contrary to natural law.” The only concession it makes is to candidates for the priesthood who have “overcome” their homosexual tendencies at least three years before ordination.
Eoin Collins, director of policy change with the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, said the order was “invidious” and harked back to a time when it was believed homosexuality was a problematic condition that could be cured.