Gay men can become priests as long as they are celibate, the Vatican hints

Gay men can now become Catholic priests – but only if they don’t have sex, a new Vatican guideline suggests.

In a surprise U-turn, the Vatican has signalled that openly gay men can now train to become priests.

However, they will have to remain celibate – a rule that already applies to heterosexual priests.

It comes after the Italian Bishops’ Conference revealed new guidance yesterday just weeks after Pope Francis gave his annual Christmas speech.

Gay men have never been explicitly barred from the priesthood.

However, previous teachings view homosexual activity as ‘intrinsically disordered,’ while an instruction from 2016 said men who have ‘deep-seated homosexual tendencies’ cannot become priests.

Now the new guidelines say that the priest candidate’s sexual preferences should be considered in the application process but only as one aspect of personality, Euronews reports.

The guide says: ‘When referring to homosexual tendencies, it’s also appropriate not to reduce discernment only to this aspect, but, as for every candidate, to grasp its meaning in the global framework of the young person’s personality.’

All women – regardless of their sexuality – remain barred from becoming Catholic priests. Only men can become a Pope.

Pope Francis has previously been heralded for adopting a more accepting tone towards the LGBT+ community during his more than a decade as the head of the Catholic Church.

Previously, he has publicly said that ‘being a homosexual is not a crime.’

However, the 88-year-old pontiff allegedly used a hateful slur in May behind closed doors when he was asked if gay men could be allowed to train as priests as long as they were celibate.

The pope reportedly responded that there was already too much frociaggine in the Church, which translates as ‘fagginess,’ according to Italian outlets.

Just days after, the pontiff is said to have repeated the slur despite apologising for the previous incident.

However, unnamed bishops who were in the room suggested that being from Argentina, the Pope might not have realised that it was an offensive term.

Pope Francis has received the highest civilian award in the US after the outgoing President Joe Biden presented him with the honour today.

President Biden said the pontiff is a ‘light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world.’

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