Las Vegas SUN: Vatican Moves to Oversee Gay Priests
: "Vatican Moves to Oversee Gay Priests


By BRIAN MURPHY
ASSOCIATED PRESS

For more than four decades, the Roman Catholic Church has followed both the rules and reality concerning gay priests.
The Vatican - as far back as 1961 - has made it clear they are not wanted. But many seminaries continued to tolerate what one conservative theologian calls a 'lavender subculture' that's brought perhaps thousands of homosexual men to ordination.
Now those parallel worlds are coming under new and uncomfortable scrutiny.
The Vatican is putting the finishing touches on a document that strengthens its view that gay orientation and the priesthood are essentially incompatible. But the text - which could be released as early as next month - reportedly will not impose a blanket ban on gay priests. Instead, it may demand years of chastity before entering seminary and prohibit any public acts deemed to support the sexually active gay community.
If true, the Congregation for Catholic Education will be mostly bolstering existing Vatican positions rather than shutting the door completely on gay clerics as many liberal Catholics have feared. The question then becomes: What message is the Vatican hoping to send?"