Vatican Gay Priest Ruling Affects Austin Clergy

After much public outrage over the Catholic church's sexual abuse scandals involving teenage boys back in 2002, the Vatican yesterday formally released, in an official document, the church's stance towards gay priests. From Reuters:

Confronting an issue that has divided the faithful worldwide, it says practising homosexuals should be barred from entering the priesthood along with men with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies and those who support gay culture. The document, which has been leaked over the past weeks, would admit to the priesthood those who clearly overcame homosexual tendencies for at least three years.

The heavily conservative policy affects only those attempting to enter the seminary to prepare for priesthood, but its ramifications are being felt by all openly homosexual members of the church hierarchy, including here in Austin. Rev. John Markey, a Dominican Order priest here in town, calls the document a byproduct of a " 'cynical and cowardly' church hierarchy bent on purging gay people from the church or at least silencing them." He's considered taking a leave of absence come January, in silent protest.

Far and wide, critics have generally scoffed at the church's new, discriminatory practices. From the Statesman:

David Clohessy, executive director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, blasted the document as an attempt to distract the faithful from the recent clergy abuse crisis.
And Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project and a former Catholic seminarian, worries that bishops will have "the authority to purge on the basis of their own homophobia."

It's easy to see why people are confused by the document, noted the Rev. Thomas Reese, former editor of the Jesuit magazine America and now visiting scholar at Santa Clara University in California.

The Vatican allows enough "wiggle room" for celibate homosexual seminarians, but Reese added, "most homosexuals will perceive this as a document that says gays should not apply."

We're still not sure to what extent this is meant to address the actual sexual abuse allegations, and from a more general perspective it seems that matters of sexual orientation should be irrelevant when it comes to the Catholic clergy. Priests are, after all, expected to take a vow of celibacy, are they not? Feel free to discuss.

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