Gay Priest Ban Even More Restrictive Than First Thought

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Gay Priest Ban Even More Restrictive Than First Thought

by Doreen Brandt, 365Gay.com Washington Bureau

Posted: December 2, 2005 1:00 pm ET

(Washington) A Vatican letter obtained by the Washington Post shows that the Roman Catholic Church is imposing deeper restrictions on gay priests than those made public earlier this week in a new directive for Catholic seminaries.

The letter instructs seminary leaders to remove any gay priests from teaching positions. It is the first indication that the Vatican wants to remove current priests who are gay.

The directive released earlier in the week (story) says only that men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" cannot be admitted to seminaries, and those already enrolled cannot be ordained.

The two-page letter affecting current priests was dated Nov. 4 and sent to bishops around the world but not made public. Details were first published by the Catholic News Service, and the Washington Post obtained the full text on Thursday the Post said in a story appearing in Friday's editions.

The letter says of gay priests already ordained " are to continue to exercise their ministry, taking care to live with integrity [but] because of the particular responsibility of those charged with the formation of future priests, they are not to be appointed as rectors or educators in seminaries."

The letter was signed by Polish Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski and Canadian Archbishop J. Michael Miller, the top officials of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

The Rev. Donald Cozzens, a Catholic author and former seminary rector told the Post that the letter is a "bombshell" because of its implications on current priests.

Other Catholic priests agree and suggest it is only a matter of time before the Vatican extends the gay ban to all priests.

"It's an amazing statement coming as it does on the heels of so many people assuring us that this document does not relate to priests already ordained," the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest in New York told the Post.

©365Gay.com 2005

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