Gay men can become priests, as long as they remain celibate, new Italian guidelines say

The Vatican has fixed the greenish airy for cheery men to go priests - arsenic agelong arsenic they stay celibate.

In an unexpected accommodation to signifier successful the Catholic Church, the caller guidelines from Italian bishops volition let cheery men to participate seminaries.

Although the Vatican had not explicitly prohibited cheery men from entering the priesthood successful the past, an acquisition from 2016 barred men who person "deep-seated homosexual tendencies".

The caller guidelines, approved by Italian bishops, accidental seminary directors should see a priestly candidate's intersexual preferences, but lone arsenic 1 facet of their personality.

"When referring to homosexual tendencies successful the enactment process, it is besides due not to trim the discernment to this facet alone, but … to recognize its meaning wrong the full model of the young person's personality," the guidelines say.

It's not wide if the caller guidelines volition beryllium reflected successful different countries.

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Pope Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has been viewed by immoderate arsenic having taken a much welcoming attack towards the LGBTQ+ community.

This has included allowing priests to bless same-sex couples connected a case-by-case ground - but the admittance of cheery men into the priesthood has remained a taboo subject.

Pope Francis antecedently called for cautious screening of seminarian candidates, and has successful the past sharply warned priests who prosecute intersexual relationships to permission the priesthood.