Paolo Pezzi has dismissed claims that the Vatican welcomes homosexuals to the priesthood as misleading
The Vatican has never allowed homosexuals to become priests, Catholic Archbishop, Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, Paolo Pezzi, has said, describing previous media reports on the matter as misleading.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported, citing a directive published by the Italian Bishops Conference (CIE), that the Vatican had approved new guidelines permitting gay men to enter seminaries, provided they remain celibate.
In a conversation with Kommersant on Monday, Pezzi dismissed media reports claiming that gay men could become priests and clarified the amendments to the guidelines for priestly formation in the Church in Italy.
“First and foremost, it must be clearly stated that the information repeated by numerous news agencies following Reuters is not accurate,” the archbishop told the outlet.
The CIE published updated guidelines for joining the priesthood in Italy on January 9. In point 44, which addresses the issue of homosexuality, the document states that seminary directors should consider the candidate’s sexual preferences, but only as “one aspect of his personality.” The media interpreted the amendment to mean that the ban on ordaining homosexuals was no longer in effect, the archbishop said.
He added that media reports had shaped a misleading understanding of the issue, which resulted in an incorrect conclusion that “there was something fundamentally new in the decision that contradicts the Church’s traditional teaching on the matter.”
The guidelines, on the contrary, emphasize the Church’s unwavering stance on the issue, the archbishop argued, noting that the teaching of the Catholic Church as outlined in its catechism “presents homosexual acts as a grave form of depravity.”
Pezzi quoted the document as saying that the Church “cannot admit to the seminary and to Holy Orders those who practice homosexuality, present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called gay culture.”
The Church views “homosexual tendencies” as “a specific case of the fragility of human nature,” which can be “healed through a return to God,” Pezzi explained. People with such tendencies, according to the archbishop, are no different from others who experience sinful temptations of various kinds. “We must avoid any form of unjust discrimination toward them,” he added.
Since becoming Pope in 2013, Francis has made a series of somewhat contradictory statements on homosexuality. When asked that year whether he supported gay men joining the priesthood, he replied, “Who am I to judge?” However, in 2018, he suggested that gay priests should step away from the Church, stating, “It’s better for them to leave the ministry or the consecrated life than to live a double life.”