The solution to fake celibacy
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
By Bryan Cones
Comments (19)
OMG as the young folks text nowadays. The new president of Paraguay, a former bishop, has admitted to fathering one woman's child, and today it comes out he admits that "it's possible" he could have fathered the child of at least one other. Both women, incidentally, seem to have been members of his parish, which leads one to wonder how consensual the relationships really could have been, given the imbalance in social power.
Lugo is a liberal, but there is, of course, the recent case of Legion of Christ founder Marcial Maciel both molested the men of his order and fathered a child of his own, provoking a Vatican investigation.
I don't think those who favor mandatory celibacy realize how seriously these sorts of cases damage the charism of celibacy. When those not called to celibacy take it on anyway, with bad consequences, the whole idea gets undermined. Fewer people believe priests and religious are actually celibate (in the sense that they abstain from sexual activity) as a result. Far better to restore the ancient discipline of ordaining already-married men and allow those who wish to make vows of celibate chastity do so. I think we're kidding ourselves if we think Maciel and Lugo are unusual cases here.
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You are absolutely right. He
By Anonymous (not verified) on Sunday, April 26, 2009You are absolutely right. He is not the only priest doing this.
celibacy
By Andres Sanchez (not verified) on Saturday, April 25, 2009I find many social and doctrinary contributions to the topic. Does any one know of books, net links, or blogs that address the medical and psicological issues related with a life of continent celibacy? And same sources but with contributions of spiritual and physical exercises that allow the aspirant to alleviate the physical and nervous tensions related to such purpose? In other ways, it is just a matter of saying "I want it" to become a celibate person in a spiritual community or are there tools to work one's way around the trouble?
Thanks!
Andres
"Solution" of Married Priests
By Jerry (not verified) on Wednesday, April 22, 2009Given the bias of the liberal press on covering sex abuse scandals it is understandable that people like Ms. Grenier below think that allowing priests to marry will avoid all these scandals, but you should know better Bryan.
Here are the words of Phillip Jenkins of Penn State University, who is not Catholic:
"Crucially, Catholic priests and other clergy have nothing like a monopoly on sexual misconduct with minors. My research of cases over the past twenty years indicates no evidence whatever that Catholic or other celibate clergy are any more likely to be involved in misconduct or abuse than clergy of any other denomination — or indeed, than non-clergy. However determined the news media may be to see this whole affair as a crisis of celibacy, the charge is just unsupported."
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0534.html
I agree with Bryan's last sentence that scandal is not all that unusual. Priests do not live in a vacuum and the liberal social trends of the sexual revolution have impacted them. It is not unusual of a woman to get a sexual thrill out of seducing and "conquering" a priest. Under the banner of value of tolerance so distorted by liberal culture, it is not uncommon to see young ladies at mass wearing skimpy tank tops and low rise pants revealing thong underwear. Social stigma is no longer applied to the inappropriately dressed person but against any person who would dare to ask an inappropriately dressed person to dress properly.
Yes, there are many priests who preyed upon their victims, but we as a whole have contributed to scandal and the married priesthood is not a pancea.
Blaming liberals for Maciel???
By Bryan Cones on Wednesday, April 22, 2009Wow, Jerry, I know you like to blame liberals and their revolutions for stuff, but I think conservatives have to take credit for their own, and Maciel was SUPER-conservative, at least publicly. I'm not sure you can blame the sexual revolution for this one, either. Maciel was around well before the birth control pill. Besides, I think clerical sexual misbehavior predates the 1960s by centuries.
I agree that married clergy are no panacea for the sex abuse crisis. That's not what I'm arguing; the solution to that is better screening. I'm arguing that, for the sake of the evangelical witness of freely chosen celibacy, we should get rid of the mandatory kind imposed on any man who wants to be a priest or even bishop. There is ample historical evidence and contemporary witness to both.
And contrary to some commenters, I am not dissenting from Vatican II. I am dissenting from a disciplinary ruling of Lateran IV (13th. c.), which imposed celibacy on the clergy of the West.
Bryan Cones
Presbyterorum ordinis and Optatam totius
By Timothy (not verified) on Wednesday, April 22, 2009I suspect that one Council’s disciplinary ruling regarding priestly celibacy is not actually binding doctrine to you, Bryan, which, if that is how you are mistakenly interpreting it, was nonetheless clearly confirmed as binding doctrine anyway by Presbyterorum ordinis and Optatam totius from Vatican II Council.
Timothy+
Of course not
By Jerry (not verified) on Wednesday, April 22, 2009How can you possibly jump to the conclusion that I blame liberals for Marciel based upon my position that modern sexual mores impact the clergy? I even had a line in my post stating that many priests preyed upon their victims clearly implying their personal culpability.
You are very knowledgeable about church history. I understand there were popes who were pretty open about their illegitimate children. (Yes, there is no such thing as illegitimate children, only illegitimate parents.)
Vatican II
By Timothy (not verified) on Wednesday, April 22, 2009Bryan, your continual open dissenting from the teachings of Vatican II significantly decreases your credibility when you would appeal to the authority of the teachings of Vatican II in other circumstances.
Timothy+
Fake Celibacy
By Cecilia Grenier (not verified) on Tuesday, April 21, 2009"Fake celibacy" has been going on in the priesthood ever since the Church imposed mandatory celibacy on the clergy late in the first millenium. Strictly speaking, celibacy means remaining unmarried, and that's the promise of celibacy made by diocesan priests. Members of religious congregations take vows of chastity, which means the renunciation of sexual pleasure. So the wayward dioscesan priests and bishops in these articles are celibate but unchaste; it's the virtue of chastity that they are lacking.
Some years ago in my hometown of Buffalo, NY, a Monsignor was "outed" for having a wife and family on Grand Island. I don't know what his neighbors and parishioners knew, but the situation went on for years until somebody finally blew the whistle.
Wouldn't it be better to abolish mandatory celibacy, allow priests to marry, recall the married priests who wish to the priesthood, and avoid all these scandals, as well as alleviating the priest shortage?
Scandal in the eye of the beholder
By Anonymous (not verified) on Tuesday, January 19, 2010There are plenty outside the Catholic tradition (and probably more than a few inside) who will only laugh at the tendency to dub a man's marrying a woman privately, in order to keep his clerical job, a "scandal." Or poor Padre Alberto's putting suntan lotion on his girlfriend's back at the beach in Florida, the interesting woman who is now his wife. Avert your eyes, everybody!!! A man and a woman fell in love and got married! A man touched a woman on the beach! OMG!!! Now they're both in a position to lead in a different denomination. Good news. Who's worse--Henry the 8th or Torquemada? I think it's a draw, personally. Each denomination has its mottled history. Wish more people would wake up to the celibacy-charism-based caste system involved in this stuff, though.
Bringing back the married guys
By Bryan Cones on Wednesday, April 22, 2009I think there are many, many priests who left to marry who would be delighted to return to ministry. Many would need a theological and liturgical tune-up, but their "pastoral" experience as spouses and parents would be a great contribution to our parishes.
Bryan Cones
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