Although it is my personal opinion that the Catholic Church has been completely wrong-headed about homosexuality in general and the matter of
ordaining as priests men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" in addition to sexually active homosexuals, the newsdesk.org summation of the
article in the Irish Times is really misleading.
It implies that men with homosexual tendencies will not be permitted to enter seminary, making no mention of:
Speaking at a news conference in the Vatican, however, prefect for Catholic education Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski said the use of psychological
tests should become neither "obligatory" nor "ordinary practice".
article in the Irish Times
Moreover, the reference to the financial burden of lawsuits against the Church is added by the NewsDesk reporter, and not found in the Irish Times
article.
As far as I can find, the new suggestion makes no connection between homosexuality and pedophilia, but just continues the Church's (in my opinion)
misguided belief that homosexuality itself is a matter of dysfunction in personal relationships that may require additional support or a pause in the
discernment process:
This new document argues that if seminary students demonstrate areas of grave immaturity, then "the path of formation will have to be
interrupted". Such areas of "immaturity" included deep-seated homosexual tendencies, unclear sexual identity, difficulty with the celibate life,
excessive rigidity of character and lack of freedom in relations.
So it's not just homosexuals they're targeting, but any men who may have particular difficulty with the celibate life – and in their opinion that
includes homosexuals.
And the decision is not based on financial considerations or on the belief that homosexuals are pederasts.
[edit on 11/23/08 by americandingbat]
