priesthood

Pope Benedict XVI touched on many of the themes close to his heart, including celibacy in the priesthood, dialogue between religions, and his opposition to legal rights for gay and unmarried couples in a year-end speech Friday in Vatican City.

Many gay Roman Catholic clergy members are struggling to serve a church that considers them "intrinsically disordered," especially in light of the fact that the Vatican may well codify that stance with a soon-to-be-released document that could set new restrictions on candidates for the priesthood.

A Vatican document will be released in the coming weeks that reaffirms the Roman Catholic Church's belief that homosexuals shouldn't be ordained priests, a Vatican official said Thursday.

A long-awaited Vatican document says practicing gays should not be ordained, but it leaves the door open for those individuals with "passing homosexual tendencies" that have been overcome for at least three years.

For more than four decades the Roman Catholic Church has followed its rules concerning gay priests while recognizing the reality of their presence. But the Vatican--as far back as 1961--has made it clear they are not wanted.

Bishop William Skylstad (pictured), president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, noting concerns about an upcoming Vatican document that will address whether gays should be ordained, said "witch hunts and gay bashing have no place in the church."

A Vatican official suspended after being caught on hidden camera making advances to a young man says he is not gay and was only pretending to be gay as part of his work. In an interview published Sunday, Monsignor Tommaso Stenico told La Repubblica daily he frequented online https://www.gay.com/chatgay chat rooms and met with gay men as part of his work as a psychoanalyst.

Pope Benedict XVI has reportedly approved a new Vatican policy indicating that gay men should not be ordained as Catholic priests.