US: In a letter accompanying its directive against the ordination of men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies", the Vatican has told bishops around the world that gay priests should not teach in Catholic seminaries.
But it also suggests the church is not about to initiate a purge of celibate gay priests and accepts that they should be able to continue their ministry.
The two-page cover letter, dated November 4th, was sent to bishops by the Congregation on Catholic Education, the Vatican department responsible for seminaries, with the "instruction" that men who "practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called 'gay culture'" should not be admitted to seminaries or ordained as priests.
The instruction was published on Tuesday by the Vatican, but the letter was not. Its contents were first reported by the Catholic News Service on Wednesday, and the full text was obtained by the Washington Post.
The letter says that the instruction "does not call into question the validity of the ordination" of men with "homosexual tendencies" who are priests.
"They are to continue to exercise their ministry, taking care to live with integrity," it says, but adds: "Because of the particular responsibility of those charged with the formation of future priests, they are not to be appointed as rectors or educators in seminaries."
The letter was signed by the top officials of the education congregation, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski of Poland and Canada's Archbishop J Michael Miller.
In the US Fr Donald 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 the letter is nonbinding and can simply be ignored by bishops.
But others predicted it will usher in a gradual removal of gays from leadership positions in the church, even if they have kept their vows of celibacy.
Fr Cozzens, whose research indicates that a quarter to half of all US priests are gay, said the letter "doesn't say that rectors or professors in our seminaries who have already been appointed should be removed, but one wonders if that's not what might begin to happen - a kind of culling of gay rectors and professors".
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 Sr Katarina Schuth, a professor at the University of St Thomas in Minnesota who is a leading researcher on Catholic seminaries.
"It's an amazing statement, coming as it does on the heels of so many people assuring us that this document does not relate to priests already ordained," said Fr James Martin, a Jesuit priest in New York.
Fr Ladislas Orsy, a canon lawyer at Georgetown University, said the covering letter did not have the same legal authority as the instruction.
"What kind of canonical force does it have? I'm speaking professionally, not editorialising. The honest answer is none," Fr Orsy said.
"It's not a piece of legislation. It would be like a letter from a committee chairman in Congress."
Nevertheless, several Catholic scholars said the letter was a logical step from the instruction.
"Priests still struggling with homo-erotic desires are perhaps not the best placed to act as evaluators or counsellors of candidates for the priesthood who are working through similar issues," said papal biographer George Weigel.