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Vatican gives gays 3 years
29/11/2005 11:38 - (SA)
Vatican City - The Vatican published its long-awaited document on gays in the priesthood on Tuesday, affirming that men with "deep-seated" gay tendencies shouldn't be ordained but that those with "transitory" tendencies could be if they had overcome them for three years.
The official release of the Instruction from the Congregation for Catholic Education came a week after an Italian Catholic news agency posted a leaked copy on its website.
Reaction to the document since its leaking has been mixed, with supporters saying it may help reverse the "gay culture" that has grown in many United States seminaries. Critics have complained that, if enforced, the restrictions will create morale problems among existing priests and will result in an even greater priest shortage in the United States.
Pope Benedict XVI approved the Instruction from the Congregation for Catholic Education on August 31 and ordered it published - one of the first major documents he has approved for release since being elected pope April 19.
The document has been years in the works, but its existence came to light in 2002 at the height of the clergy sex abuse scandal in the United States.
- AP
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