Cardinal responsible for document on gays in seminaries says priest education is key

Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski

Function: Prefect of Catholic Education, Roman Curia

Title: Cardinal Deacon of San Nicola in Carcere

Birthdate: Oct 11, 1939	Country: Poland

Elevated: Feb 21, 2001	More information: www.catholic-hierarchy.org

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Cardinal responsible for document on gays in seminaries says priest education is key
Oct 11, 2005
The Vatican official responsible for an upcoming new document allowing gays in the priesthood under certain conditions told a meeting of the world's bishops that the education and formation of priests was key in helping Roman Catholics understand the Mass.

(Associated Press, October 8, 2005) VATICAN CITY — Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, did not mention the pending document in his Friday speech to the Synod of Bishops, according to a summary of his remarks released Saturday.

But he said "there is still a lot of work to be done'' in many seminaries to make sure priestly candidates are properly educated in all aspects of the Mass, from its theology to its liturgical norms and beyond.

"This formation of seminarians is of maximum importance and must be underlined, because the way the Eucharist is celebrated and the way it is perceived and lived by the faithful, depends principally on the priest,'' he said.

The Vatican confirmed in 2002 that Grocholewski's congregation was preparing new guidelines for seminaries that would address whether gays should be admitted. The issue had gained attention following the U.S. clerical sex-abuse scandal and surveys showing that most victims were adolescent boys.

On Friday, a senior Vatican official said the document, which is expected soon, would stop short of a sweeping ban on homosexuals entering the priesthood and would set out three criteria for barring gay candidates.

The official confirmed news reports saying a candidate could be barred if he has not lived a chaste life for at least three years before admission to a seminary, if he publicly shows his homosexuality and if he reveals an attraction to the gay lifestyle.

The Synod of Bishops, the Oct. 2-23 meeting of some 250 bishops from around the world, reconvened Saturday with more speeches on various aspects of the Eucharist, or Mass. The bishops are in Rome to make recommendations to Pope Benedict XVI.

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