Bishop says homosexual men should not be admitted to priesthood

Boston, Mass., Jul 19, 2004 / 22:00 pm

Homosexuals should be banned from the Catholic priesthood, said Bishop John D'Arcy in an interview published yesterday in the Boston Globe.

The bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana, was at a mass in Boston, where he grew up.

While there, he agreed to an interview with the Boston Globe. He told the Globe that the Church must improve its screening process for seminarians to keep homosexuals from being ordained.

The bishop said he hopes the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will discuss screening policies when it meets this fall, and will take a firm stance against admitting homosexuals.

The bishop also said putting a homosexual in the mostly male environment of the seminary and priesthood is unfair.

He emphasized that priests must embrace celibacy. He said priests with the right temperament will attract more good men to work for the Church.

Fr. Christopher J. Coyne, spokesperson for the Boston archdiocese, said there has been some discussion among members of the archdiocese and the Vatican about the possibility of banning homosexuals from the priesthood, but no decisions have been made.