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Vatican Directive On Homosexuality Triggers Debate

Views of Bishops William S. Skylstad and John M. D'Arcy, cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, and Peter Tatchell, member of a gay rights group.

Bishop William S. Skylstad, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bishop John M. D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind. Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington. Chester Gillis, professor and chairman of the theology department at Georgetown University. Peter Tatchell, member of OutRage!, gay rights group.

They all have something in common, their view on the directive given by the Vatican, currently headed by Pope Benedict XVI, concerning recommended Catholic attitude toward homosexuality within church ranks.

Bishop William S. Skylstad, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, considers that according to the new Vatican directive, the first major policy statement since Pope Benedict XVI became Pope, men that are attracted to the same sex can be ordained as priests as long as they control their impulses and are not "consumed by" them. Below is a fragment of the interview he gave to The Washington Post:

"I think one of the telling sentences in the document is the phrase that the candidate's entire life of sacred ministry must be 'animated by a gift of his whole person to the church and by an authentic pastoral charity. If that becomes paramount in his ministry, even though he might have a homosexual orientation, then he can minister and he can minister celibately and chastely.'"

"It cuts both ways. . . . I think if the orientation dominates one's personality, whether that be homosexual or heterosexual" then he cannot be ordained, Skylstad said.

"You know, a heterosexual person who cannot live the celibate life in fidelity to his mission, in fidelity to appropriate boundaries, is not going to be called by the church to priesthood, either."

Bishop John M. D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., said Skylstad's interpretation is "simply wrong," in one of the rare public clashes of opinion between bishops:

"I would say yes, absolutely, it does bar anyone whose sexual orientation is towards one's own sex and it's permanent. I don't think there's any doubt about it. . . . I don't think we can fuss around with this."

The six-page instruction from the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Vatican department in charge of seminaries, although was supposed to clear the issue of attitude toward homosexuality in the Catholic church, is not sufficiently straightforward to rule out debates.

"The Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called 'gay culture."

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington, indicated he will continue to ordain homosexual seminarians as long as the candidates are committed to live in celibacy and to uphold church teachings:

"It is important to look at the whole person. One issue of many that are looked at in the overall evaluation process is in the area of human sexuality. Applicants for the Archdiocese of Washington must have a demonstrated commitment to living a chaste life and must fully embrace, through belief and action, the Church's teachings, including those on human sexuality."

Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Cardinal:

"We don't anticipate our admissions policy changing based on the document. There can be people whose orientation is homosexual if it's not such a strong part of their makeup that it interferes with their ability to live out church teaching. It's part of the larger picture we have to look at."

Chester Gillis, professor and chairman of the theology department at Georgetown University:

"I think it will have a profound impact. As much as they say the document doesn't say anything new, it creates a tone, an atmosphere, one that's unwelcoming to the homosexual community. When you get that message from the institution where you work, it can't help but have some sort of psychological impact."

Peter Tatchell, member of OutRage!, gay rights group:

"If these rules had existed in the past, many existing archbishops and cardinals would have never been allowed to enter the priesthood. Given the high proportion of gay clergy in senior positions in the Vatican, this new policy is rank hypocrisy. Given that about a third of Catholic clergy in Britain are gay, the new rules are an own goal that could result in hundreds of churches being left without priests."

He added that the Church should concentrate on eliminating child sex abusers from the priesthood. Widespread child abuse by Catholic priests has been revealed in the United States and other countries. The Boston Archdiocese agreed to pay £49 million to more than 500 victims in 2003. Last week a Brazilian priest was jailed for 14 years for abusing two children, and Italian police said yesterday that a priest in Tuscany had confessed to molesting 30 boys over the past five years.