MANILA, PhilippinesThe Manila Archbishop Monday said that having homosexual Catholic priests wouldnt be too bad as long as they didnt act out their tendencies.

In an interview on Church-run Radio Veritas, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales acknowledged that gay men had been accepted into the priesthood because even if [the priest] has [homosexual] inclinations, it does not immediately mean that he is evil.

Distinction

The cardinal noted that such priests had chosen to make a distinction between inclination and acting out.

A homosexual inclination is not bad but acting it out is an entirely different matter, and that is what is written in the sacred scriptures, he added.

Rosales explained that this had been the stand of Pope Benedict XVI who, he said, was not condemning homosexuals per se when he confronted the issue of pedophile priests during his recent visit to the United States.

He noted that when Benedict declared in New York that the Church needs holy priests, not many priests, the latter was speaking out particularly against men of the cloth who had sexually abused children and brought shame to the Church.

Fact-finding body

In this country, Rosales said, complaints against priests who commit sexual abuse may be raised before bishops. The subject priest would be made to answer the allegations before a fact-finding body.

If found meritorious, the case would be elevated to the Vatican, where it would be decided whether the priest should be defrocked, Rosales said. Jeanette I. Andrade