The document on gay priests has been released. It's not an outright ban, as some expected, but the decree holds that men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" or who fail to reject "gay culture" may not become priests. Men who have "overcome" tendencies that were "transitory" and who have remained celibate for three years before joining the seminary are still eligible.
The language is just ambiguous enough to allow it to be used, or not used, in an arbitrary and cruel fashion. But judging from this silly L.A. Times headline, "Vatican Document Bans Active Gays as Priests," you might think that prior to the document noncelibate gays had been deemed ok.
The Human Rights Campaign weighed in with a call for gay Catholics to speak out, which is fine, but their statement refers to the Vatican "Decision Banning Gays," which is not quite accurate (and if you're opposing a policy, you really should understand what that policy is). [Update: A subsequent HRC release got it right, correctly noting the policy is a "restriction of gays in the priesthood."]
To add insult to injury, the Vatican then came out with another
official statement, charging that homosexuality risks
"destabilizing people and society," has no social or moral value
and can never match the importance of the relationship between a
man and a woman. The more things change...