The issue has worried the Pope for a long time and he has mentioned it in different forums. But he had never been so explicit about the issue. Nor had he used derogatory language. But last Monday, May 20, in the Vatican’s old synod hall, Francis met with the Italian bishops during their spring assembly. Since the beginning of his pontificate, this has been a crucial moment for a direct and unfiltered exchange between Francis and the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), with questions and answers behind closed doors, in a fraternal but frank atmosphere. On this occasion, the question of the supposedly high rate of homosexuality in Catholic seminaries arose again.
As first published on the website Dagospy —somewhat hooligan exclusive information— and then confirmed the newspaper The Republic, the Pope was categorical: homosexual people should not be admitted to seminaries. During the conversation, which according to the sources cited by the Italian media was very colloquial, the Argentine Pontiff commented in a joking tone that there is already too much “faggot.” [el término en italiano fue “frociaggine”]” in certain seminars. An idea, that of the supposed high presence of homosexual people in seminaries, is actually shared by a large part of the Church, which also extends this assessment to many other areas, including the Vatican itself.
The Pope’s words clash head-on with his public presentation on the rights of homosexuals, the blessings that he has opened up for them to receive or those words he pronounced when he was named pontiff: “Who am I to judge them?” The main requirement for future priestly life should be celibacy, not sexual orientation. But what Francis explained in the meeting on May 20 follows the line of the indications of the Dicastery of the Clergy which, in an instruction from 2005 (under the papacy of Benedict XVI) confirmed in 2016 (under Francis), established that “the Church , although it deeply respects the people in question, cannot admit into the Seminary and sacred Orders those who practice homosexuality, present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture. This definition has generated some ambiguity: how to measure whether “homosexual tendencies” are “deeply rooted”? How is it determined that someone is gay if he is celibate?
The issue of homosexual seminarians is very recurrent, has been the subject of debate for years and has caused mental problems in some of the rejected people. Even Paolo Sorrentino dedicated a chapter of his series Yong Pope to the question. Last November, during the fall assembly of Italian bishops in Assisi, a new Ratio formationis sacerdotalis, the regulations for seminaries in Italy. This text addresses various aspects of preparation for the priesthood—from ongoing formation to affective education, vocational accompaniment, and closeness to the people of God—and has not yet been published because it is pending final approval from the Vatican dicastery for the priesthood. Clergy. One of the issues that most divided the assembly in Assisi was, precisely, the admission of homosexual seminarians.
Between more progressive and conservative positions, at the Assisi assembly the Italian bishops debated the possibility of addressing the issue differently, encouraged by Pope Francis’ openness towards homosexual people. Without contradicting the Vatican instruction, the CEI discussed an amendment that distinguished between acts and tendencies, reaffirming mandatory celibacy for all seminarians, homosexual and heterosexual, thus opening the door of the seminaries to homosexual candidates committed to celibate choice. The amendment was reportedly contested by a considerable number of bishops, but was ultimately approved by a majority at the fall assembly.
The confusion sown on this matter became total and disoriented the bishops. During the hour and a half meeting with the Pope last week, at the spring assembly, two or three prelates who were in the room, according to what was published Republic, returned to the topic, and one in particular explicitly asked the Pope what to do when an openly gay candidate shows up at the seminary. The Pope, who had already expressed his opposition in the past, responded emphatically: Francis said that it is necessary to establish limits to prevent homosexual people, who could lead a double life, from choosing the priesthood. The Pope reportedly accompanied his comments with that joke about the “faggot” that already exists in some Italian seminaries.
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