Church OK's guide on gays - U.S. Catholic bishops reconfirmed their belief that being gay is a sin, but adopted new guidelines for ministering to gays and lesbians

The nation's Catholic bishops passed new guidelines for ministering to gays and lesbians on Tuesday, urging Catholic groups to reach out to them but maintaining the church's position that same-sex relationships are sinful.

The guidelines, which were overwhelmingly approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at their meeting this week in Baltimore, drew immediate criticism from gay Catholic activists who said it would further alienate gays and lesbians from the church.

'We're deeply disappointed that the bishops' conference continued today to work in a vacuum behind closed doors without consulting any of us gay and lesbian Catholics," said Sam Sinnett, president of DignityUSA, the nation's largest gay Catholic organization.

Bishop Arthur Serratelli, who headed the committee that drafted the guidelines, said the document was designed to help bishops oversee ministry to gays and lesbians without diluting church teachings against gay activity, same-sex unions and adoption by gay couples.

The church has struggled publicly with sexual issues in recent years as Catholic leaders have attempted to deal with the pedophilia scandal, the national debate on same-sex marriage and a Vatican document barring gays with "deep-rooted homosexual tendencies" from joining the priesthood.

The bishops' document, "Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care," passed by a 194-37 vote, with one abstention.

Among the guidelines:

--The church should allow celibate gays to participate fully in parish life, but pastors can deny leadership roles to church members whose behavior contradicts church teachings on gay activity.

--Church ministers cannot perform same-sex unions or support them in any way.

--The church opposes adoption by gay couples, but will not refuse to baptize the children of gay parents, provided there is a "well-founded hope that the children will be brought up in the Catholic religion."

The document also upholds Catholic Church teachings that being gay is "intrinsically disordered," but not sinful unless a person acts on those feelings.

Unlike many conservative evangelical churches, the Catholic Church regards being gay as a sexual orientation rather than a choice, and doesn't recommend therapy for gay church members.

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