FORT WAYNE (IN)
News-Sentinel
I am in full support of the recent statement on Criteria for the Discernment concerning Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in View of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders.
The Church bears the serious responsibility of establishing criteria concerning who should be admitted to the seminary and ordained to the priesthood, and who should be helped to some other vocation in life. Recent events have shown when the Church does not do this well, the pastoral care of souls suffers, the parishes are torn apart and the people lose confidence in the leadership of that Church.
The priest calls his people to a life of holiness and they rightly expect that he, himself, is living such a life, both in public when they see him and in private when they do not.