What Will the Bishops Do Next? (The new directive on homosexual priests)

TIME.com ^ | Oct. 09, 2005 | Jeff Israely

[Petrosius]

The new directive updates a 1961 document that bars from the priesthood "those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty." According to the leading Italian daily, Corriere della Sera, and other newspapers, the new instruction provides much more specific guidance on whom to exclude. First, it is said to eliminate from consideration anyone who has engaged in gay sexual relations in the previous three years. Second, it would bar those who openly declare their homosexuality or take part in gay life by, say, visiting gay-oriented websites and bookstores and gay-pride events. According to the National Catholic Reporter, a third, more loosely defined strike would go against seminary candidates whose homosexual orientation is sufficiently "strong" and "permanent" as to make the all-male environment of a seminary a temptation to sexual activity.

[Petrosius]

If reported correctly (always a big if) this would explain the so-called allowence for the ordination of gays who have proved that they could remain chaste for three years. In reality, as the third point makes clear, homosexuals per se would be barred from ordination. The so-called three year rule does not allow gays to be ordained but rather covers those who do not have a homosexual orientation but might have "experimented" in the past. In other words, someone who might have had an homosexual encounter in the past but does not have a permanent homosexual orientation would not be barred from consideration for ordination if it can be shown that this is not a part of his psychological makeup.

[Salvation]

Agree with your **big IF*

After all, this is coming from TIME who usually bashes the Catholic Church.

[Tomassus]

Time asks, "What will the bishops do next?" and answers the question in its other article posted on Sunday October 9th: "Screening The Priests: How do the church's shrinks decide who is gay and who isn't? The first thing they do is ask" (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1115662,00.html):

The bishops will ask their shrinks to continue the coverup, as one psychiatrist candidly reports, "[O]ne West Coast diocese responded to rumors of Rome's new hard line by asking [me] to keep homosexual designation out of [my] final reports, for fear it would hurt gay priests' careers down the line."