Vatican Opens Door for Gay Priests

 So it sounds like priests are still supposed to remain celibate but now their struggle with lust can include gay men lusting after sex with other gay men.  Yeah, that ought to go well!🙄

We continue to believe that the Catholic Church could very well play a huge part in the ONE-WORLD religion that will demand worship of Antichrist.  To do this they will need to be welcoming of all sinful behavior and NOT demand that sinners change.  They also need to celebrate pluralism by saying that all religions lead people to God…and they are doing both.

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In the Church there is place for everyone, for everyone. No one is useless, no one is superfluous, there is space for everyone. Just the way we are, everyone. — Pope Francis

A document published on January 10 by the Italian Bishops’ Conference allows openly gay men to apply for the priesthood.

The document stipulates that celibacy is the requirement—a routine mandate for the priesthood that, one would think, would override and make irrelevant whatever the candidate’s sexual preference was. It would be something like saying, “While you’re fasting, please refrain from eating any food.”

Nevertheless, the document is seen as a major step forward for the Church, which is trying to be more inclusive to groups such as women and the LGBTQ community, which it had previously shut out from holding ecclesiastical positions. The Italian bishop hierarchy, in particular, has been running thin on recruits and so has opened its gates in favor of more diversity in vocation.

The document states, “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,” and adds that the goal is for the candidate to know himself and find harmony between his human and priestly vocation.

New Ways Ministry, an advocacy group for LGBTQ Catholics in the U.S., welcomed the document, saying in a statement, “This new clarification treats gay candidates in the same way that heterosexual candidates are treated. That type of equal treatment is what the Church should be aiming for in regards to all LGBTQ+ issues.”

Pope Frances has been ambivalent on the subject. On the one hand, he famously said, “Who am I to judge?” in response to a question on gay priests, and on the other, he openly expressed his doubts that gay priests could maintain their celibacy.

This past May, he apologized for using a homophobic slur in describing gays in a private meeting with 200 Italian bishops a week earlier. According to local reports, the pontiff said, “There is already enough faggotry” in Catholic seminaries. Shortly after the reports, the Vatican released a statement: “The pope never meant to offend or express himself with homophobic terms, and he issues his most sincere apologies to all those who felt offended by the use of a term reported by others.”

https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/christianity/catholicism/brother-keep-going-vatican-opens-closet-door-allowing-gay-priests-in-italy/