| -Caveat Lector-
Found: 1961 Vatican Document Barring Homosexuals
from Ordination and Religious Vows
by John Vennari Editor of Catholic Family News Catholics throughout North America have been
searching for it. The United States Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Gabriel
Montalvo, said that we weren’t allowed to see it.
But now, the 1961 Vatican document barring
homosexuals from ordination and religious vows is found. In fact, it can
probably be found on the shelf of most Catholic theological libraries
nationwide.
The 1961 Document, “Careful Selection and Training
of Candidates for the States of Perfection and Sacred Orders” was promulgated by
the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for Religious on February 2, 1961. The same
document is published in its entirety, in English, in the Canon Law Digest,
Volume V (Bruce Publishing Co, 1963), pages 452 to 486.
The Canon Law Digest is not a periodical but a
series of books that present “Officially Published Documents Affecting the Code
of Canon Law”. Volume V, the volume that includes the 1961 Instruction, contains
documents from 1958 to 1962. Oddly enough, Volume V bears the Imprimatur of
William E. Cousins, Archbishop of Milwaukee. Just last week, another Archbishop
of Milwaukee, the notorious Rembert Weakland, resigned in disgrace after his
homosexual liaison of 20 years ago was brought to light on ABC Television,
coast-to-coast. Getting hold of the 1961 document proved to be difficult.
Catholic News Services reported of it some time in March and reported that it is
still in force. The document was obviously not well-known. In fact, two
colleagues who have extensive expertise on the problem of homosexuality in the
priesthood had never heard of it. Did it even exist? About two weeks ago, I
spent an afternoon at a local theological library looking, page-by-page, through
the 800+ pages of the 1961 Acta Apostolicae Sedis. The Instruction was nowhere
to be found.
Just days before our latest deadline, a writer from
Catholic Family News was literally smuggled 3 pages of the original Latin
document from a source that the writer was forbidden to divulge. Clearly, there
are highly-placed Churchmen who do not want the contents of this document known.
(The front page and key paragraph of the document are published in the June 2002
issue of Catholic Family News).
The reluctance of Church leaders to make known the
contents of this document was recently verified by an exchange between Roman
Catholic Faithful’s James Bendell and the Apostolic Delegate of the United
States, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo.
On May 8, Mr. Bendell wrote a polite letter to the
Nuncio asking him for a copy of the document, “rather than relying on the
secular press for accuracy”. Archbishop Montalvo responded on May 11: “Kindly be
advised that the document, which you request, was reserved for use of the
bishops. Thus I regret that I am unable to help you in this matter.”
Unfortunately, this statement from the Nuncio is
patently false. On page 486, the Canon Law Digest says the following about the
1961 document:
“Note: Although this Instruction was not published
in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis or any other public form but was privately
circulated, it is nevertheless referred to by the Sacred Congregation of
Religious itself as ‘a matter of public law.’” (Emphasis in the original).
Then how was the document found?
On May 28, I received an e-mail from James Bendell
relating that he had heard that the document might be found in Volume V of Canon
Law Digest. I went to the local Catholic theological library, checked the index
cards and found it. The library call letters for the book are BQV 212.B68 v. 5.
The key paragraph regarding homosexuals and the
priesthood is on page 471. It occurs under Section D of the Instruction: “The
Required Chastity”. Here we read:
“Advancement to religious vows and ordination
should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to
homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly
ministry would constitute serious dangers”.
The Canon Law Digest from which we have quoted is
not an obscure series of books. As mentioned, it was a popular collection and is
probably still found in most Catholic university and seminary libraries. In the
very near future, I am sure that Roman Catholic Faithful will post the entire
document on its webpage1 . Look also for more coverage in Catholic Family
News.
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