Washington D.C., Sep 13, 2005 / 22:00 pm
It would be best if homosexual men would not apply for the Catholic priesthood and if they were not accepted into a seminary, Archbishop Edwin O’Brien said Monday.
A delegation of Vatican officials is currently in the United States conducting an evaluation of all seminaries across the country. The Vatican ordered the seminary review three years ago in response to the clergy sex-abuse scandal, which has led to more than 11,000 abuse claims. Last year a study found that most of the alleged abuse victims since 1950 were adolescent boys.
Archbishop O’Brien was named to oversee the Vatican visit.
According to an Associated Press report, the archbishop said homosexual candidates for the priesthood struggle to remain celibate