Diogenes notices the incongruity. Some people are claiming that the new Vatican Instruction on gays in seminary says nothing more than that it’s okay for gays to be priests, as long as they’re celibate. But a former priest writing an LA Times op-ed actually gets at the heart of the question despite his opposite intent:
If you’re celibate, as the Catholic Church already requires you to be, then what’s the difference if you’re gay or straight at heart?
What indeed? After all, the Church already requires celibacy of priests, gay or straight, so what’s the need for yet another Instruction saying the same thing?
Because, that’s not what the Instruction is about. The document is saying that self-identification as homosexual, as something that you are now, is a disqualifier for ordination. This is the plain meaning and any other reading of it is disingenuous.
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