Alison Girone
CV NEWS FEED // Contrary to many misleading headlines, a new document from the Italian Bishops’ Conference does not, “for now,” allow for gay men to enter seminary, according to the Italian Catholic site La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana.
The text of the new document, “The Formation of Priests in the Churches in Italy: Guidelines and Norms for Seminaries,” “sets as disqualifiers not only the practice of homosexuality and support for gay culture (a reminder that also applies to non-homosexuals) but also the deep-rootedness of this tendency,” Nuova Bussola author Luisella Scrosati wrote Jan. 11.
However, the new document’s text is ambiguous, and “[i]t cannot be ruled out that this is intentional,” Scrosati wrote.
An excerpt from the new document reads:
In the formative process, when referring to homosexual tendencies, it is also appropriate not to reduce discernment solely to this aspect but, as with every candidate, to understand its significance within the general framework of the young man’s personality, so that […] he may reach a general harmony.
This could be interpreted two different ways, Scrosati argued.
“It could be correctly interpreted to mean that the discernment of priesthood candidates, in the realm of affective and sexual matters, is not limited solely to homosexuality but opens up to the broader significance of celibacy,” he wrote.
“However,” he continued, “it could also be understood to mean that the criteria for non-admission to seminaries and Holy Orders just mentioned are to be reconsidered in light of a nebulous concept of chastity as liberation from possessiveness, competition, and comparison. Translated, this could mean: if you live your homosexuality as a gift and not as ‘competition,’ then you can become a priest.”
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, promulgated the document, which the General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference approved on Jan. 1. This is the fourth edition of the document. It replaces the document released in 2006 and removes certain clarifications from the older document, according to Scrosati.
The removal of “the 2006 guidelines’ clarifications on evaluating the rootedness of homosexuality—based on the notion that it is a disorder to be corrected and overcome,” combined with the text of another related 2016 document contributed to the current headlines, Scrosati wrote.
One such headline about the document was written by Reuters: “Vatican approves Italian guidelines allowing gay men to become priests”.
In the Jan. 11 article, Scrosati indicated that there may be a deeper motive behind the press’ interpretation of the document, concluding, “it cannot be overlooked that someone may have deliberately instructed the press to indicate to seminary rectors the direction of the new discernment, given that the official text could not be too explicit.”
