Men's orders concerned about rumored ban on ordaining gays

Published: 2005-09-30

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Rumors of an imminent Vatican instruction excluding most gay men from seminaries or ordination have sparked concern among superiors of men's religious orders in the United States. The Conference of Major Superiors of Men is sending a delegation to Rome to voice its concerns, The New York Times reported Sept. 30. One Jesuit superior, in a late September letter obtained by Catholic News Service and other news agencies, said he feared "the great harm this will cause many good priests and the Catholic faithful" if the Vatican does issue such an instruction. Father Gerald J. Chojnacki, New York Jesuit provincial superior, wrote to members of the province that such an instruction would be unjust and discriminatory. "We know that God does not discriminate," he said. "We know that gay men have felt God calling them to serve the church as priests and religious. We know that gay men have felt those calls confirmed by prayerful and legitimate discernment processes. We know that gay men who have responded to the call have served the church well as priests and religious -- and so why would we be asked to discriminate based on orientation alone against those whom God has called and invited?"

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