RSSCATHOLIC SEMINARIES GRAPPLE WITH HOMOSEXUALITY
Grant Swank | March 9, 2008
J. Grant Swank, Jr.
One of the questions is this one:
“How does the formation integrate harmoniously the spiritual dimension with the human one, above all in the area of celibate chastity?”
According to Jerry Filteau of Catholic News Service, the homosexuality question is going to get its due when seminaries are visited by “inspectors” of Catholic belief and practice.
But that’s not the only delving. There are others. Another is prime. It asks if seminary students are taught to gear away from such theological detours as New Age “doctrine.” It appears that quite an influence on priests and nuns has been the influx of New Age teaching.
I attended a Catholic retreat house in mid-Maine where a nun held forth for the day. We were learning about death and dying when, as the day proceeded, I realized that the nun was in fact interjecting New Age patterns. When I raised the question obliquely, the nun caught on to what I was asking and let it be known to me in no uncertain terms that what she was instructing was indeed perfectly permissible.
Upon returning home I wrote the bishop to ask if she was correct in her instruction content. In a few words he let me know by letter that she was not in keeping with the Catholic belief system. So with that slight introduction to the New Age intrusion, I realized that it had spread quite far and wide throughout, not only America, but the Catholic worldwide community.
However, back to homosexuality.
Since of course lack of celibacy keeping has been of great concern to the Vatican — both relating to homosexual and heterosexual practice — the seminary visitors will hone in on the need for students to understand what it means to take a real-life in real-time promise to keep to no-sex-at-all-throughout-a-lifetime when serving the Roman Catholic Church.
“Of 56 questions that will serve as the framework for apostolic visitations of U.S. Catholic seminaries this academic year, one – ‘Is there evidence of homosexuality in the seminary?’ — sparked a big media flap in mid-September.
“One of the main purposes of the visitations is to assess how well U.S. seminaries are preparing their students for a lifelong commitment to celibacy as priests.”
Of course, clergy in all denominations whether Roman Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant have known homosexuals to be among their number. However, many have assumed that those with homosexual tendencies have not acted out their leanings. Therefore, there are known to be countless numbers of non-active homosexual clergy, many of them married.
The question then is whether the Catholic seminaries can still accept an individual who has a homosexual tendency, believing that he can make a vow for life that will stand against the temptations to be sexually active.
“’The church is trying to put out a very clear signal’ that those seeking ordination ‘must embrace a life of celibate chastity,’ said Father Stephen J. Rossetti, president of St. Luke Institute, a facility in the Washington suburbs that specializes in treating priests and religious who suffer addictions or behavioral, emotional or psychological problems.
“’The question of homosexuality is an important one,’ he told Catholic News Service Sept. 16. He said there is a need to determine when it is appropriate and when it is not to ordain someone who is homosexually oriented.”
Other questions dealt with include:
– “Are the church’s liturgical norms faithfully observed? … Does the seminary reflect a prayerful atmosphere?”
– “Do the formation faculty members have responsibilities outside the seminary which detract from their primary duties?”
– “Is psychological testing employed in the admissions process? If so, give full details.”
– “Do the seminarians know how to use alcohol, the Internet, television, etc., with prudence and moderation?”
– “Do the seminarians show an aptitude for and dedication to intellectual work?”
– “Does the seminary present a sound spirituality? … Is the seminary free from the influences of New Age and eclectic spirituality?”
– “How does the formation integrate harmoniously the spiritual dimension with the human one, above all in the area of celibate chastity?”
– “Do the seminarians receive a substantially complete and coherent grounding in Catholic dogmatic and moral theology? … How are the seminarians helped to integrate their theological studies with their spiritual life?”
– “Who is responsible for the pastoral experiences of the seminarians? How are the seminarians’ pastoral experiences evaluated?”
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