VATICAN CITY
The Catholic Telegraph
VATICAN CITY — A long-awaited Vatican document drew a sharp line against priestly ordination of homosexuals, but in the process raised a series of delicate questions for church leaders and seminary officials.
The six-page instruction, prepared by the Congregation for Catholic Education, said the church cannot ordain men who are active homosexuals, who have "deeply rooted" homosexual tendencies or who support the "gay culture." Those who have overcome "transitory" homosexual tendencies, however, could be ordained, it said.
The document, expected to be released at the Vatican in late November, was published online Nov. 22 by an Italian news agency.
Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk, who reviewed a copy of the document, said, "It contains no real surprises. Those who are engaged in homosexual behavior, those who are active in the homosexual sub-culture of our society, and those whose homosexual orientation is so deep seated as to prevent them from relating correctly to others (both men and women) should not be allowed to enter the seminary or be ordained.