National Coming Out Day took on multiple meanings this year in light of the Vatican’s proposal to allow celibate gay priests inside Catholic seminaries, Northwestern students and staff said.

NU’s Rainbow Alliance wanted all students to “come out” in some way, said Weinberg sophomore Kelsey Pacha, the Rainbow Alliance outreach and education chairwoman.

By handing out “coming out as-” nametags, Rainbow Alliance encouraged students to “come out” on issues from being gay to being “Star Wars” fans.

Members said this coincides with the Vatican’s possible decision to allow celibate gay men to be priests.

Currently the Vatican holds that no gay men should be ordained. But a document expected to be released soon might allow gay priests who have lived chastely for three years to enter seminaries, the Chicago Tribune reported this week.

“They’re making a statement about how the different identities within Catholicism can intersect, which is I guess the same thing that we’re trying to do,” Pacha said.

Although Pacha said she didn’t see an explicit connection between National Coming Out Day and the Vatican’s latest stance, she said the Catholic Church seems to be embracing the universal themes of this year’s National Coming Out Day.

Weinberg senior Corey Robinson said that although priesthood requires celibacy anyway, the Vatican’s impending document marks progress and greater acceptance. Homosexuality and Catholicism are no longer completely separate identities, he said.

“They’re not necessarily competing forces, but sometimes they’re overlapping,” Robinson said.

Robinson, who is gay, said he was raised Catholic but stopped attending church because of the politics involved. He said he is usually pessimistic about Vatican statements because of their tendency to scapegoat homosexuality. But he thought the impending Vatican document “makes sense” within the guidelines of the church.

Weinberg senior Chris Paolelli , a member of NU Catholic Undergrads, said the Vatican’s latest stance deals with extramarital sex more than with homosexuality.

Extramarital sex is not allowed in the Catholic Church, and only allowing celibate gay priests to enter seminaries is a way of preserving morality, he said.

“The world tends to be cavalier about sex,” he said. “It’s important for institutions like the church to stand for values they’ve stood for for generations.”

Paolelli said Catholics don’t mind the acceptance of homosexuality promoted by National Coming Out Day.

“We have no problem with people being gay and being proud of it, as long as it does not involve illicit sex,” he said.

Mary Deeley, pastoral associate at the Sheil Catholic Center, said she didn’t want to comment on the possible change to the Vatican’s policy because the document hasn’t been released yet.

But the church doesn’t have a problem with gay priests, as long as they don’t practice sex, she said.

There are gay priests who serve “faithfully and well,” she said.

NU’s National Coming Out Day activities highlighted the need for gay rights, which priests and others deserve, said Communication freshman Zachary Fishman, a Syllabus staffer. Fishman decorated himself in 13 “coming out as…” stickers. Two adorned his hat.

“A priest is a priest, regardless of their sexual orientation,” he said.

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