Dear John:

I heard the news about the Presbyterians. It is very sad when any religious community abandons its own historic faith in favor of political correct (and unBiblical) nonsense.

In the Catholic Church, women cannot be ordained -- period.

The qualifications for a man to be ordained, according to Canon Law, include:

Only those are to be promoted to orders who, in the prudent judgment of the proper Bishop or the competent major Superior, all things considered, have sound faith, are motivated by the right intention, are endowed with the requisite knowledge, enjoy a good reputation, and have moral probity, proven virtue and the other physical and psychological qualities appropriate to the order to be received. (Canon 1029)

Those who are practicing homosexuals, or those men in heterosexual relationships, fail to meet the standard of "sound faith ... good reputation, and have moral probity, proven virtue..." and thus may not be ordained.

As for ordaining homosexuals at all, a 1961 document prohibits the ordination of homosexuals (Careful Selection And Training Of Candidates For The States Of Perfection And Sacred Orders, Sacred Congregation for Religious, 2 February, 1961):

Advancement to religious vows and ordination should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers.

More recently an Instruction From Congregation for Catholic Education in 2005 says in part:

2. Homosexuality and the Ordained Ministry

From the time of the Second Vatican Council until today, various documents of the Magisterium, and especially the Catechism of the Catholic Church, have confirmed the teaching of the Church on homosexuality. The Catechism distinguishes between homosexual acts and homosexual tendencies.

Regarding acts, it teaches that Sacred Scripture presents them as grave sins. The Tradition has constantly considered them as intrinsically immoral and contrary to the natural law. Consequently, under no circumstance can they be approved.

Deep-seated homosexual tendencies, which are found in a number of men and women, are also objectively disordered and, for those same people, often constitute a trial. Such persons must be accepted with respect and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. They are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter.

In the light of such teaching, this dicastery, in accord with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, believes it necessary to state clearly that the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called "gay culture."

Such persons, in fact, find themselves in a situation that gravely hinders them from relating correctly to men and women. One must in no way overlook the negative consequences that can derive from the ordination of persons with deep-seated homosexual tendencies.

Different, however, would be the case in which one were dealing with homosexual tendencies that were only the expression of a transitory problem -- for example, that of an adolescence not yet superseded. Nevertheless, such tendencies must be clearly overcome at least three years before ordination to the diaconate.

Thus, homosexuals, whether practicing or chaste, are not to be ordained. The 1961 Instruction had been completely ignored. The 2005 document re-affirms the wisdom and mandate of not ordaining homosexual men.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary