Priests, Celibacy, Scandals, etc. - Claire's Replies to Questions
I don't know all the answers, but here are my thoughts in question-answer form. Reporter Joe is a made-up character who is an amalgamation of various individuals who have come to my attention. But first, I personally apologize, on behalf of my Church, to all victims who have been scarred by despicable and hideous actions of those entrusted to guide Christ's flock.
Reporter Joe: What has the Church done to protect minors in the future?
C: I live in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. Obviously, no amount of prayer will
reverse past sins. But, since 2002, the Philadelphia Archdiocese has taken the following steps.
This from the Philadelphia Inquirer:
1. "Made it a policy to permanently remove any priest who ever abused a minor.
2. "Appointed a review board to advise the archbishop of sexual-abuse matters.
3. "Trained 40,000 adults, including priests, teachers, coaches and volunteers, who work in the archdiocese about its rules for interacting with minors.
4. "Educated more than 110,000 grammar school and high school youngsters about safe relationships with adults.
5. "Appointed victim-assistance coordinators to reach out to persons abused by clergy."
(Source: Inquirer 9/23/05)
RJ: What percent of American priests over the past 50 years were NOT accused of abuse?
C. 96 percent
RJ: What percent of priests
currently in active duty do you think are safe?
C: Well, now that the Great Purge has taken place, hopefully, 99 or closer to 100 percent, are safe. At the present time, the Catholic Church is by far the safest religion in the world for minors.
RJ: Don't you think the Church should allow priests to get married?
C: How would that help anything?
RJ: They could have relations all the time, and could have lots of children.
C: Well, here's the thing. Most of the abuse victims were male, and all the abusive priests were male. In other words,
for the most part, the abusive priests were the ones that would not have wanted to get married even if they were allowed.
RJ: Well, how about the heterosexually-oriented priests? Why not get them married?
C: Well, if you review all the studies and statistics, it becomes very apparent that heterosexually-oriented priests, on average, are the safest group of men in the world. Safer than married clergy. Safer than married laity. Safer than homosexually-oriented priests or laymen.
RJ: So, what would the harm be in letting the heterosexuals marry?
C: To tell these men to get married would either have no affect, or, worse, it would increase their risk. Most likely, it would lead to a situation in which men with less of a commitment to the Lord, men of a lower spiritual caliber, signing up for the priesthood.
RJ: Where in the Bible does it say it's better for clergy to be celibate?
C: St. Paul, who was celibate himself, recommends celibacy for full-time ministers in his first letter to the Corinthians in the Bible. St. Paul wrote: For the form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord (1 Cor. 7:31-35)
RJ: Interesting about St. Paul. How about Jesus? Did Jesus praise celibacy for the sake of the kingdom?
C: Yup. Here is what Jesus said: "For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves
eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it (Matthew 19:12)."
The most famous three virgins of the first century would probably be Jesus, Mary and St. John.
RJ: Can you point me to any other big celebrity saints that pledged celibacy for
the sake of God's kingdom?
C. John the Baptist! St. Augustine! St. Jerome! Leo the Great! Gregory the Great! St Thomas Aquinas! St. Anselm! St. Francis of Assisi! St. Patrick! St.
Bonaventure! Mother Teresa! In the Old Testament? The Prophet Jeremiah! The Lord told Jeremiah not to take a wife (Jer 16:1-4) Priesthood is all about sacrifice. The more one sacrifices, the more one is united to the Sacrifice on Calvary, and therefore, to Jesus. The more one sacrifices his life, the more souls will be brought to salvation, which Jesus won for
the benefit of the world.
RJ: What do you have against marriage?
C: Nada, mi amigo. I am married and think it's the greatest thing. The Church regards marriage as a beautiful gift from God, who created
this holy sacrament and holy union, whose goal is the continual sanctification
of both spouses to prepare them for union with God. In fact, God specifically created the male and female to complement one another. St. Jerome, one of the Early Church Fathers, said marriage was a precious
gift equivalent to silver, and that celibacy was a more precious gift, equivalent to
gold.
RJ: Ok, back to the abusive priests. If most of the accused ones were homosexually-oriented, why doesn't the Church just refuse to admit these men to the priesthood?
C: Some diocese have long had such a policy. The entire Church has been discussing
implementing such a policy and perhaps that is what will happen.
RJ: Wait, wouldn't such a policy be unfair to
good priestly candidates who are homosexually oriented?
C: 'Tis true there have been many homosexually-oriented priests who have
faithfully served God and the Church, and who have lived virtuous lives of charity and chastity. In fact,
most homosexually-oriented priests have been faithful and trustworthy.
You have to feel badly for these priests, who have spent 24/7 serving and loving
God. Even though they will be able to remain priests, they must feel terrible
that the sinful actions of other men have demeaned their own good work and cast
undeserved suspicion on them.
RJ: Well then....?
C: The priority of the Church must be to protect minors. Let me give you an example. When I was little, my younger brother got a lot of pressure from a friend to join the Boy Scouts. This is a wonderful organization and the vast majority of Boy Scout leaders are probably of a
higher caliber than the average man. But my mother had heard the boy scout leader position attracted a disproportionate number of men who
got involved for the wrong reasons and who preyed on youngsters. Resisting all pressure, my mother refused to allow my brother to join the Boy Scouts for that one reason. Many years later, a newspaper article revealed that the Boy Scout leader of the EXACT troupe that my brother was invited to join was arrested for molesting boys during the EXACT time my brother would have been a boy scout. Was it fair that my mother kept my brother from the boy scouts? No. Did it save him? Yes.
RJ: So you're saying being fair is not important?
C: No, I'm saying there must be balance. Is it more important for minors to be
safe? Or for every single man to have the right to be a priest? Actually, there are many things that can make a man ineligible for priesthood: allergies to bread, alcoholism, etc. Also, there are hundreds of alternative careers and missions where these men can serve God, the poor, the hungry, the imprisoned, the sick, the disabled. etc. The height of Christian life is to offer one's
entire life as a sacrifice. For some men, that might mean sacrificing their ambitions for getting married and having a family. For others, it might mean sacrificing their dream of being a priest. The teachings of Jesus are difficult. He wants people to drop all their ambitions and Earthly attachments to things and people for the sake of the kingdom. But he promises huge rewards for those who do so. (See Mt 19:27-30, Mk 10:28-31, Lk 18:28-30). Jesus also said: " . . . whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." (Mt 16:24-25).
Our time on Earth is just one day compared to all of eternity.
RJ: I still don't think it would be fair to bar any man
at all from the priesthood.
A: If a study determined that 90 percent of fatal train accidents last year occurred while deaf conductors were driving, would you say it would be unfair to bar deaf people from applying for conductor jobs just because most deaf drivers had excellent driving records?
RJ: You know, there are probably
unfaithful guys in seminaries at this very moment training to be priests.
C: The Vatican has authorized visitations of all U.S. seminaries and is requiring seminarians to answer surveys about life there. While some seminarians may eventually be kicked out, homosexually-oriented seminarians who have been living celibate lives and who do not engage in gay activism or the gay bar scene should be able to remain.
RJ: Hey, I read that homosexually-oriented men are no more likely to be pedophiles than heterosexually-oriented men.
C: Well, neither are priests more likely to be pedophiles, compared to the average male population. Pedophilia is defined as the abuse of those who have not reached puberty. Some of the abusive priests are accused of that, but the majority of cases involved males who
had reached puberty (still evil, but not pedophilia). (See the John Jay study)
RJ: What Bible verses discuss homosexual acts?
C: 1
Corinthians 6:9, 1
Timothy 1:9-10, Romans
1:27, Jude 7, Lv
20:13, Lv
18:22, Genesis
19, Genesis
2:21-24 and Genesis
1:27
RJ: Have you ever met anyone who had same-sex attraction, but who decided to persist in chastity?
C: Yes. It must be very difficult. God bless them.
RJ: Is there anything sinful about strong same-sex friendships that are chaste?
C: Nope. In fact, there is a former gay activist named David
Morrison who recently wrote a book about his decision to embrace the Catholic faith and chastity. He has said that he still lives with his former partner, but they have agreed to maintain a committed chaste friendship. They have separate bedrooms. I don't know if everyone could do that, but I
have to believe that with a whole lot of prayer, penance and frequent reception of the sacraments, it is certainly
possible with God's grace for those who are further along on their spiritual
journey. David Morrison wrote this
article.
RJ: Back to the issue at hand. When will we get married priests?! Married priests! Married priests! How about women priests too!
What a hoot that would be! Yeah!
C: Well, the male priesthood is part of official Church teaching and this rule
ain't going to change unless it is discovered that the Apostles John and Simon
were really Juanita and Samantha. Joking. Female priests will never, ever
happen. On the other hand, the celibacy rule is not an absolute intrinsic and
necessary quality of the priesthood, so exceptions are technically allowed. But
remember, celibacy is a historic Christian tradition and I surely
hope and believe that celibacy will forever to be the norm for our priests. After all, the Bible says it's better. I want my priests to imitate Christ and be united to Him as closely as possible. But since
celibacy is an honored Christian discipline rather than dogma, there can be
changes and exceptions. Even now there are exceptions to the rule. For example, some married Anglican priests who converted were permitted to be Catholic priests, but
they would not be able to remarry should they be widowed. Actually, in some of the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church, priests are allowed to be married! But bishops must always be celibate. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, bishops also must be celibate.
RJ: Okay, maybe the Early Church people had enough grace for overcoming temptations to indulge
in sexual desires. But nobody can do this anymore!
C: I have plenty of Catholic friends who refrained from sex a quarter century or more prior to finding a man or woman to marry. So how can you say that! Even married couples
must refrain sometimes, like if one person needs to fight a war overseas or if one is very ill.
Not to mention widows. Say a rosary and get back to me.
RJ: One final point. I am married, and
I feel called to the priesthood!
C: Considering you would not be permitted to embrace such a calling in this lifetime, I doubt it is God calling you to this. Let me relate a little anecdote to you: When my youngest brother was in high school or college, he announced he would like to be either a dolphin trainer, a stunt man, or a
priest. But he added he definitely wanted to get married, so he joked he'd have to find Protestant religion to switch to if he chose the
clergy vocation.
He is full of charm and charisma and I imagine he would just love to be up at a pulpit preaching his heart out (or singing or rapping or acting). But would I want him to be my parish priest? If married priests were legally an option, he just might be one. And I would be sitting in a pew thinking to myself, "Why should I listen to him? This guy is probably no holier than myself." (No offense to my awesome brother)
RJ: So you're saying the priesthood
requires a higher calling than that of an ordinary civilian?
C: Yes! These priests are handling the Body of Christ! Their lives revolve
around the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass, which will forever be offered up to the
Father for our sins so that we can have salvation. St. Francis of Assisi didn't even think he
was worthy to be a priest. Not to mention, these priests need to be filled with
Jesus' grace so they can pass on Jesus' wisdom to those in the confessional or
in need of pastoral advice..
C: Joe, I have an idea. Why don't you try out for deacon?
Married men can be ordained a Catholic deacon! The only rule is that if your wife should die, you would not be able to remarry after being ordained.
RJ: Cheese and Crackers! I want to be able to remarry tons of times!
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Further reading and resources:
BOOKS: Priestly Celibacy (by Fr. Peter Stravinskas), The Changing Face of the Priesthood (Fr. Cozzens), Beyond Gay (David Morrison), Books by Fr. John Harvey,
WEB SITES: Celibacy and the Priesthood, Celibacy and the Clergy, The Priesthood Debate, Married Priests, Consecration of a Virgin Early Teachings on Homosexuality Gay Marriage Pope Benedict XVI on Legal Recognition of Homosexual Unions The Five Goals of Courage (Courage is the Church's outreach group for persons with same-sex desires), The Courage Apostolate
AUDIO-CD: Did Christ Give Us Priests?
STUDIES Celibacy: Fact and Fiction, What Percentage of Priests Abuse?, Refuting Arguments Against Celibacy, Celibacy Not the Problem A Crisis for Celibacy? Ephebophilia Ten Myths, Partial Ban on Homosexual Priests Witch Hunt? Seminary Visitations Seminaries Await Vatican Visitation What the Church Teaches Homosexuality and the Church The Church Answers Questions about Same-Sex Unions Washington Post
THE JOHN JAY RESEARCH STUDY: "The Nature and Scope of the Problem." This widely disseminated report showed that 4 percent of the priests were accused of abuses (1950 and 2002). The study showed that most victims had reached puberty, and that 81 percent of the victims were males.
COURAGE Ministry of the Catholic Church supporting people with Same-Sex Attraction
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