Sex education for priests urged by Pope
By Bruce Johnston in Rome
THE POPE has told Roman Catholic priests they should receive sex education to understand their own sexual urges and the confessions of their flocks.
His advice is contained in a 220-page apostolic exhortation on the proper formation of the clergy.
The document says priests should be given ' a properly-informed sexual education ' to prevent the ' love of chastity ' being displaced by the temptations of the flesh.
The Pope gives a warning that, even when the ' charisma ' of celibacy is' authentic and proven ', it still leaves intact ' inclinations towards affection and the pulsations of the instincts'.
The best way to cope with such an enemy, he says, is to understand it.
After referring to ' feminine charisma ', the document says there are many other pitfalls awaiting unsuspecting and unprepared priests.
The clergy have to be humble and ' men of chastity ' who refuse to submit ' to the tyranny of this contemporary world, which puts all its faith in money and material security '.
Hence, the priesthood, says the Pope, must exhibit ' a preferential love for the poor ', and a compassionate love for sinners, in other words those who are poor in spirit.
The document contains many guidelines.
For example, priests must not be ' arrogant or quarrelsome ', but rather ' friendly, sincere in word and in heart, prudent and discreet, and generous and available for service '.
The priest must offer his help in a personal way, must be genuine and brotherly, and always ready to understand, to pardon and to console.
But he also must be celibate and chaste, ' a man of God who belongs to God and who makes one think of God ', and one whose heart knows' no divisions'.
The document says it is impossible not to notice how society, for the most part, makes human sexuality banal, since it interprets it in a reduced and impoverished way, ' connecting it only with the body and egoistic pleasure '.
The Pope urges that students in seminaries should be taught about sex in seminaries.
Ordained priests should also be specially educated to arm themselves with ' more than supernatural means' against possible temptation.
Homosexual prayer book to go on sale
By Damian Thompson Religious Affairs Correspondent
THE HOMOSEXUAL prayer book abandoned by Britain's oldest religious publishers after pressure from the Archbishop of Canterbury has been bought by publishers Hamish Hamilton.
Daring to Speak Love's Name by Dr Elizabeth Stuart, a lesbian Roman Catholic, will be published this autumn.
The publishers are planning a major publicity campaign for the book, which includes liturgies for ' coming out '.
Last week, the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) dropped plans to bring out the book after Dr Carey hinted that he would resign as its president if publication went ahead.
A Hamish Hamilton spokeswoman said the book would be published on Oct 12 as one of its leading autumn titles.
' We can see a big market for the book, ' she said.
The book's text would not be changed, though there would probably be a new preface.
Lambeth Palace declined to comment.
' The Archbishop made his views clear in his letter to SPCK, ' a spokesman said.
In the letter, Dr Carey said the juxtaposition of ' coming out ' liturgies with prayers for Aids sufferers might foster the myth that HIV was only a problem for the homosexual community.
Several SPCK authors have withdrawn from the Society's lists in protest at the book's cancellation.
