After a spate of embarrassing sex scandals worldwide, the Vatican now insists on psychological assessment of future priests for ‘gay tendencies’. Homophobia, or legitimate precaution? RAPHAEL VASSALLO takes a peek behind the Curia’s closet

In recent weeks the international press was alive with stories about the latest example of ‘homophobia’ to emerge from the Holy See: namely, a set of new guidelines aimed at preventing homosexuals from entering the priesthood.
But while gay communities around the world railed in unison against this measure, the rector of the Malta Seminary in Tal-Virtù, Fr Jimmy Bonnici, suggests that such negative reactions may be a little late in coming.
With reference to a story in The Telegraph under the headline “Vatican to use psychologists to weed out homosexual priests”, Fr Bonnici explains that the newspaper “interprets the (Vatican) document solely in reference to recent sex scandals concerning priests, and the issue of homosexuality.”
This, he claims, is a superficial response to a much broader and more complex issue, which has been ongoing for decades.
“If one takes a quick glance at the origin of the recent document, one notes that the process has taken over 30 years: a period in which the role of the human sciences was being appreciated, applied, and evaluated in the context of the formation of future priests.
“Before one is admitted to the seminary, discernment includes an interview with two priests who are called to appreciate the candidate’s history, prayer life, and motivation for the priesthood. It also includes a personality assessment conducted by a priest who is a qualified psychologist with a specialisation in this area. A long interview constitutes the core of this psychological assessment, together with a battery of tests chosen according to the needs of the candidate...”
The screening process, Fr Bonnici adds, has been in place since 1984.
Apart from its own resident psychologist – Rev. Dr. Paul Galea, who also lectures at the University of Malta – the seminary occasionally enlists the professional services of other psychologists and psychiatrists.
In the light of the latest Vatican guidelines, Fr Bonnici admits that the process may now need some fine-tuning.
“Following the publication of this recent document, I will be discussing it with the Archbishop, the seminary staff, the psychologist and the Seminary board, in order to evaluate our own system and realign it where necessary.”
But he does not envisage any particular difficulties: “We are not establishing a new system with possible repercussions on applicants. Besides, this document will enable us to bring more clarity to our existent policies, and in turn these would benefit all those who consider a priestly vocation.”

Homosexuality ‘not a psychiatric condition’
While homosexuality is but one of a wide range of issues dealt with by the Vatican guidelines – which also include “predatory heterosexual instincts”, a fact often overlooked by the document’s critics – it nonetheless remains inescapable that the Holy See takes a dim view of homosexuality in general.
This much is evidenced by Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Catholic Education Congregation, who argued that a celibate candidate with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies” should be barred “not because he commits a sin, but because homosexuality is a deviation, an irregularity, a wound...”
Gaby Calleja, director of the Malta Gay Rights Movement, is generally unimpressed by this argument. “The biggest problem (with the Vatican’s position) is that it reinforces popular misconceptions of the homosexual man as a being more voracious and insatiable than his heterosexual counterpart,” she told MaltaToday. “But there is no evidence to back this up.”
The MGRM also takes umbrage at the general inference that some form of direct link may exist between paedophilia – the cause of the most hurtful and damaging scandals to have rocked the Catholic Church in recent times – and homosexuality.
“This is not the case at all,” Calleja insists. “In fact, research shows the very opposite is true, suggesting that heterosexuals are statistically more likely to be involved in child abuse cases than homosexuals.”
In this observation at least, the MGRM appears to have the backing of Malta’s association of professional psychologists.
Although not involved directly “as an association”, a spokesman for the Malta Psychologists’ Association confirmed with MaltaToday “that individual psychologists within our association, who have been trained in assessment and in clinical or pastoral psychology, have carried out psychological assessments as part of the (Church) screening process.”
However, the Malta Psychologists Association openly doubts the Vatican’s official view of homosexuality as an “aberration”.
“The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-II (DSM-II) in 1974, and it was replaced by ego-dystonic homosexuality in the DSM-III in 1980,” a spokesperson for the association explained. “This was later removed in 1987, with the release of the revised DSM (DSM-III-R). Thus, homosexuality is no longer considered as a psychiatric condition.”
As for the presumed link between paedophilia and homosexuality, the MPA dismisses it out of hand: “No, there is no research that suggests a link between paedophilia and homosexuality. Anglo-American literature shows that psychologists who treat sex-offenders report that the majority identify themselves as heterosexual, regardless of the gender of children they have abused.”
But even as the debate rages in the background, it appears to have had little immediate impact on the actual number of vocations in Malta.
“This year, there are 37 seminarians,” Fr Bonnici confirmed. “Five of them are preparing for priestly ordination in July, and 11 are doing an intermediary year that includes work in Malta and pastoral work abroad.”
Meanwhile, the rector adds, an additional seven youngsters have also applied for admission next year.
Nonetheless, Fr Bonnici is reluctant to supply any specific figures for the number of seminarians who were prevented from becoming priests specifically on account of psychological screening.
“While keeping in mind the whole discernment process (which includes, but does not limit itself to, the psychological assessment), I can confirm that there were candidates who did not enter the seminary as a result of this discernment process,” he said.

 

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