Twenty-two percent of bishops in the United States are “comfortable ordaining a man who experiences deep-seated same-sex attraction, provided he is firmly committed to celibacy,” according to survey data that appeared in a newly published report.
Bishops are more likely than vocation directors (9%), seminary spiritual directors/formators (12%), seminary rectors (16%), or seminary mental health professionals (17%) to support the ordination of men with deep-seated same-sex attraction (SSA).
The survey data, originally published in 2025, appeared in “Do You Know Them to be Worthy? Twelve Proposals for Bishops, Rectors, Seminary Formation Teams, and Mental Health Professionals in Assessing the Suitability of Men for Holy Orders.” The University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life published the report on July 17.
The report’s authors, Father Thomas Berg and Dr. Timothy Lock of St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie, New York), grouped their 12 proposals under three categories: “Proposals Aimed at a More Effective Use of Psychological Services in the Formation Process,” “Proposed Best Practices Regarding Candidates with Special Needs,” and “Proposals Aimed at Supporting Chastity and Celibacy Formation.”
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