The vocational discernment of seminarians must not be “reduced” to the question of homosexuality when it arises for a candidate to the priesthood, say the new norms for the operation of Italian seminaries (in Italian). The Holy See approved the document, which took effect January 9, 2025.
Despite what some painted as an apparent relaxation, the doors of the seminary are still closed to people with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies.
Over the past few days, Italian and international press made much of the possible ordination of homosexuals to the priesthood in Italy. At the heart of the issue is a text titled “Training for priests in Italian churches. Guidelines and norms for seminaries.”
The Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI) prepared the text and the Dicastery for the Clergy approved it. The 88-page document, called Ratio nationalis, is valid for three years.
It was paragraph 44 of the document (out of 118), devoted to the issue of homosexuality, that particularly caught the attention of American Jesuit James Martin. He’s a consultant to the Dicastery for Communication and an author committed to the pastoral care of LGBT people, who regularly advocates for a more inclusive approach.
“My reading of this — and it is only my reading — is that if a gay man is able to lead a healthy chaste and celibate life, he may be considered for admission to the seminary,” he writes.
The New York Times echoed this reading, claiming in its headline, “Vatican Allows Italian Gay Men to Be Priests, if They Remain Celibate.” According to Euronews, even “Openly gay men can now become priests.”
What the Church says on the subject
In 2005, the Congregation for Catholic Education, then in charge of seminaries, published a document with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI titled “Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders.” It called for active homosexual candidates, those with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies,” or those who support “gay culture” not to be admitted to the seminary.
The document provided for the admission of a candidate in cases where homosexuality was not deeply rooted, but the sign of a “transitory problem — for example, that of an adolescence not yet superseded.” However, it called for these tendencies to be “overcome” at least three years before ordination to the diaconate, the penultimate step before ordination to the priesthood.
The instruction had been reiterated in the Ratio fundamentalis (fundamental rule for seminaries) published by the dicastery for the Clergy in 2016. The text emphasized the need for candidates to “reveal to their formators [...] any doubts or difficulties” concerning their potential homosexual tendencies.
What the new Italian text says
The Ratio nationalis (rule adapted only to the national situation) published by the Italian bishops this January takes up and quotes the indications of the two previous documents — notably the idea that deep-seated homosexuality is not compatible with the priesthood.
However, it adds further indications in a long paragraph in which the seminary formator is invited not to stop at a candidate's possible homosexual tendencies alone.
When addressing the question of homosexuality, the formator is urged to consider it “within the overall framework of the young man's personality.” He must therefore assess the ability of the seminarian with possible homosexual tendencies “to welcome [celibacy] as a gift, to choose freely and to live responsibly chastity in celibacy.”
“This does not mean only controlling one's sexual impulses, but growing in a quality of evangelical relationships that goes beyond forms of possessiveness,” the document explains. Finally, it affirms that a candidate who understands the meaning of chastity must be able to “motivate” his renunciation of sexuality and the affective and sexual frustrations that ensue.
The CEI's explanation
Some media outlets have seen these indications as a sign of a fundamental change in the seminary's approach to homosexuality. But Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops, denounces a “partial and non-contextualized reading of the text.” The journalist states unequivocally that “the rules concerning the non-admission of homosexuals to the priesthood remain unchanged.” The article insists on the text's continuity with the Ratio fundamentalis published in 2016 by the dicastery for the Clergy.
“The true novelty of the document, in reality, is the attention that the new norms place on 'discernment,' particularly in the first three years of the formation journey,” the article further clarifies. Bishop Stefano Manetti of Fiesole, in charge of the topic for the CEI, affirms that the Ratio nationalis was intended to help “candidates for the priesthood to achieve interior clarity” by offering them guidance. “It's all about putting the person at the center,” he insists.
The Pope's warnings
On May 20 and June 11, Pope Francis raised the issue of homosexuals in seminaries. In two closed-door meetings with Italian clergy, he discussed the draft Ratio nationalis. His remarks — including the use on two occasions of an insulting term (frociaggine, a Roman slang word) to describe the climate in certain seminaries — were leaked and caused media scandal.
During these meetings, the Pope stated that if a young man had a homosexual “tendency,” it was better that he not enter the seminary, as one of the priests present told I.MEDIA. “They're good young men, but with this tendency, it's better not to do it,” the pontiff said.
At the level of the universal Church, the question of discernment and formation of seminarians is the subject of a working group resulting from the Synod on Synodality (Group 4). This should lead to a new Ratio fundamentalis.
