Seminary Formation and Homosexuality Changing Sexual Morality and the Church's Response

The article examines recent comments by Pope Benedict XVI in Light of the World regarding the recent Vatican instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with Regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in View of Their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders, which deals with homosexuality and the priesthood. This article demonstrates that Pope Benedict XVI's comments are consistent with the "fractures" in the understanding of sexual morality which he identified in The Ratzinger Report. As sexual mores have changed, attempting to "normalize" homosexuality, gradually the Church has developed norms and guidelines for seminary formators, culminating in the instruction.