ROME, Italy (AFP)— Young homosexual men can train to become Catholic priests in Italy but not if they “support the so-called gay culture”, according to new Church guidelines approved by the Vatican.

While stressing the need for celibacy, the guidelines from the Italian Bishops’ Conference — posted online on Thursday — open the door for gay men to attend seminaries, or divinity schools that train young men to become priests.

But they came with a caveat — that those who flaunt their homosexuality should be barred.

A section of the 68-page guidelines was specifically directed at “persons with homosexual tendencies who approach seminaries, or who discover such a situation during their training”.

“The Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary and to Holy Orders those who practise homosexuality, present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture,” read the document.

The goal of training priests-to-be is “the ability to accept as a gift, to freely choose and live chastity in celibacy”.

The new guidelines have been approved by the Vatican, the bishops’ conference said in an accompanying statement.

Pope Francis, 88, has throughout his papacy encouraged a more inclusive Church, including for LGBTQ Catholics, even though official church doctrine still states that same-sex acts are “intrinsically disordered”.

In 2013, just weeks after taking office, Francis famously said that “if someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?”

In June, however, the pope used a vulgar gay slur in a closed-door meeting with the Italian bishops, according to two Italian newspapers, setting off a minor firestorm.

The pope had expressed his opposition to gay men entering seminaries, saying there was already too much “frociaggine” in the schools — using an offensive Roman term that translated as “faggotry”.

Asked to comment on the new guidelines, James Martin, a US Jesuit priest and well-known advocate for LGBTQ Catholics, said he believed it was the first time a Vatican-approved document included the notion that judging who was eligible to join a seminary “cannot simply come down to whether or not he is gay”.

Martin told AFP said his understanding of the new rule was that “if a gay man is able to lead a healthy, chaste and celibate life he may be considered.”