Gay men can now become Catholic priests if they remain celibate

New guidelines from Italian bishops will allow gay men to enter seminaries.

As reported by The Telegraph, the new guidelines were announced by the Italian Bishops Conference on Friday, marking a shift from the view previously held by Pope Francis that gay men should not be admitted to seminaries.

Although the Vatican had not explicitly prohibited gay men from entering the priesthood in the past, an instruction from 2016 issued a clear barring of men who have "deep-seated homosexual tendencies".

According to the new guidelines, the most important thing for aspiring priests is to show “an orientation towards celibate life”.

“In the formative process, when reference is made to homosexual tendencies, it is appropriate not to reduce discernment to this aspect alone,” the CIE said on Friday, adding that “the objective of the training for priesthood in the emotional-sexual sphere is the ability [to] welcome chastity in celibacy as a gift, to freely choose and to responsibly live it.”

However, it reiterated that while the Catholic church “deeply respects the people in question”, gay men who are sexually active cannot be admitted to seminaries or any other holy orders.

While the Roman Catholic church’s position is that homosexual acts are sinful, Pope Francis has sought to adopt a more inclusive tone towards LGBTQ+ people in his public statements across recent years.

In 2023, he approved a ruling allowing priests to bless unmarried and same-sex couples in a significant change of position for the Catholic church.

However, seven months later, the pontiff was forced to apologise after using an offensive slur during a discussion with bishops about admitting gay men into seminaries.

The 87-year-old had said there was already too much “frociaggine” in some seminaries. The Italian word roughly translates as “faggotness”.