|
|
Statement of The National Federation of Priests' Councils On the Recent Instruction From the Congregation for Catholic Education
The National Federation of Priests' Councils recognizing the challenges of the present day
shares the concern of the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education for those men who are to be received as candidates for the Sacred Order of Priesthood. Certainly great care must be taken to insure the holiness and integrity of those who would be priests of Jesus Christ.
We state clearly our expectation that those who would be priests must be mature men, capable of healthy and holy relationships with others. They must be secure in their self-understanding and able to make an adult commitment to a chaste and celibate way of life.
Consequently,
- Any man who is unable take up the way that leads to holiness, foregoing the pleasure of genital sex and relationships that lend themselves to sensuality and sexual pleasure, is not a fit candidate for Sacred Orders.
- Any man who seeks out situations and entertainments where excessive sensuality is displayed and inappropriate sexual behaviors are being performed is not a fit candidate for Sacred Orders.
- An individual who finds that this is a focus of his attention, such that it impedes his ministry and his ability to enter free and healthy relationships, is not a fit candidate for Sacred Orders,
The document of the Congregation for Catholic Education attempts to make this clear as it applies to homosexual men. Citing the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the document affirms that practicing homosexuals, those with deep-seated homosexual tendencies and those who support a “gay” culture are not acceptable as candidates for the Priesthood.
The National Federation of Priests’ Councils holds that a man who seeks to live a holy life, to commit himself to chaste and celibate living and who honestly and uprightly lives that life for three years thus demonstrating his maturity and freedom, is able to present himself for candidacy for the priesthood.
November 30, 2005
|
|
|
