Archbishop says he's not speaking for Vatican on gays in seminaries

Published: 2005-09-30

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The archbishop overseeing a Vatican-run inspection of U.S. seminaries said that he was not speaking for the Vatican or the U.S. bishops when he said he opposed admitting to seminaries men who have engaged in homosexual activity in the past or who have strong homosexual tendencies. "I was reflecting my personal opinion and offering a prudential practice based on 12 years experience as rector (president) of two U.S. seminaries," said Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien, head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, in a Sept. 30 statement. The archbishop is coordinator of the apostolic visitations of more than 220 U.S. seminaries and houses of formation that began this academic year under the supervision of the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education and with the cooperation of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. His statement was posted on the USCCB Web site. It did not retract his position regarding the suitability of homosexual candidates for seminary admission.

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