Washington, D.C.
A Roman Catholic archbishop said that men with “strong homosexual inclinations” should not be allowed to become priests, even if they are celibate, a Catholic newspaper reported last week. The archbishop, Edwin O’Brien, leads the Archdiocese for the Military Services in Washington and is considered well-connected in Rome, so his statement may indicate that the Vatican plans to bar gays from the priesthood. The Vatican is expected to announce a new policy soon. The church began reviewing the issue last year, after a study found that most victims of sexual abuse by priests were adolescent boys. The crackdown could add to the church’s already severe priest shortage; by some estimates, 25 percent or more of U.S. seminarians are gay.
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