WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service
By Agostino Bono
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A Vatican document putting restrictions on admitting homosexuals to seminaries and ordaining them to the priesthood has drawn both praise and criticism from U.S. bishops and seminary officials.
While some praised it as a reaffirmation of church teaching on sexual morality and the need to assure the commitment to celibacy by candidates to the Latin-rite priesthood, others said the document is also hurtful to priests and seminarians who are homosexual and celibate.
Several bishops and seminary administrators said that the criteria in the Vatican document about judging homosexuals is already compatible with what is being done in the United States and noted that the document does not offer any specific procedures for screening seminarians, leaving bishops and religious superiors with flexibility in applying the criteria.