The Vatican permits homosexuals to become priests
A new document by the Italian bishops’ conference states that being openly gay no longer bars candidates from discerning the priesthood.
On January 10, 2025, the Vatican approved a document prepared by the Conference of Italian Bishops, allowing openly homosexual individuals to become priests, reports Religion News Service (RNS).
A provisional document, signed by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian bishops and a close ally of Pope Francis, will remain in effect for three years.
The new guidelines highlight that homosexual orientation is no longer an obstacle to ordination.
According to the document, “In the formative process, when referring to homosexual tendencies, it’s also appropriate not to reduce discernment only to this aspect, but, as for every candidate, to grasp its meaning in the global framework of the young person’s personality.”
However, while being openly gay no longer automatically bars a candidate from becoming a priest, such candidates are still held to the same standard of chastity as heterosexual priests are.
In a statement published on Friday, New Ways Ministry, an advocacy group for LGBTQIA Catholics in the U.S., welcomed the document as “a big step forward” in combating discrimination in the church.
As previously reported by the UOJ, Pope Francis stated that there are too many "faggots" in Roman Catholic seminaries.
