Letter Advises Against Gay Seminary Teachers
Experts Split on How It Will Affect Priests
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 2, 2005; Page A03

In a letter accompanying its directive against the ordination of men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies," the Vatican has told bishops that gay priests should not teach in Roman Catholic seminaries.

The Rev. Donald B. Cozzens, a Catholic author and former seminary rector, called the letter a "bombshell" because it affects current priests, not just future ones.

Some experts on church law said yesterday that the letter is nonbinding and can simply be ignored by bishops. But others predicted that it will usher in a gradual purge of gays from leadership positions in the church, even if they have kept their vows of celibacy.

Because priests who teach in seminaries are frequently transferred to serve in parishes and vice versa, "it could be implemented gradually, without anybody knowing" for certain why a clergyman was moved, said Sister Katarina Schuth, a professor at University of St. Thomas in Minnesota who is a leading researcher on Catholic seminaries. The rest