The highly-anticipated document on the Catholic church's view on the gay clergy was officially released on Tuesday.

The release of the Instruction from the Congregation for Catholic Education said that men who practice homosexuality, have "deep-seated" gay tendencies, or support a "gay culture" should not be ordained or admitted to seminaries, but those with "transitory" tendencies could, if they remained chaste for three years.

The short document comes after it was leaked last week through an Italian Catholic news agency, thus causing mixed reactions to escalate.

Conservative Catholics feel that the document may help to reverse the "gay culture" that they feel has grown in U.S. seminaries, while critics have complained that this may lead to problems of morale among the ordained gay priests, the Associated Press reported.

Critics also said that the Instruction will alienate gay men from becoming priests, which would lead to a shortage in pastors in the United States.

It will not affect men who are already priests, but only those who are entering the seminaries or the priesthood, and it advises others to not discriminate against the gay clergymen.

The document reinforces the Catholic church's policy that many in the Church feel hasn't been properly addressed. Pope Benedict XVI approved it on Aug. 31.