The molestation of minors by Catholic priests “is rightly considered a crime by society … an appalling sin in the eyes of God,” said Pope John Paul II at Tuesday’s formal Vatican session. While acknowledgement of the problem is the first step toward effecting a solution, the fact that church officials refused to discuss several topics – namely the issues of celibacy and intolerance of homosexuality – shows that the Vatican is still missing the big picture in the puzzle of preventing further abuse.
According to a New York Times story, the pope made it clear as far back as Saturday that clerical celibacy was not open for discussion. “The value of celibacy as a complete gift of self to the Lord and his church must be carefully safeguarded,” he said. “The priesthood must never be seen as a means for improving one’s lot in life or in terms of gaining prestige.”
As honorable as this devotion to tradition is, expecting human beings to overcome being human, even when devoted so deeply to their religion, is unreasonable. There are about 45,000 Roman Catholic priests in the United States, and every one of those priests is expected to maintain a completely celibate lifestyle. These same priests are expected to advise a flock of around 72,000,000 people, most of whom are married and very few of whom are celibate. There’s really no reason to expect that a Catholic church that allows a married clergy would be unable to survive. Seventy percent of U.S. Catholics believe that the clergy should be allowed to marry. In addition, many Eastern Rite churches have maintained the tradition of a married clergy with no scandals, sexual abuse, adultery and few divorces.
The refusal to accept homosexuality is similarly problematic. Dr. Richard Sipe of Johns Hopkins University said, “Generally, 30 percent of U.S. priests are either involved in homosexual relationships … or at least have serious questions about their sexual orientation or differentiation.” Should the church really be so devoted to “confuting the conventional wisdom of the world” that it shuts out all of these hard-working individuals so dedicated to the priesthood?
Changing the traditions of celibacy and views toward homosexuality flies in the face of 2,000 years of Roman Catholicism, despite a statement made by the pope in The New York Times that “Celibacy is not essential to the priesthood.” But how unreasonable is it to believe that these abuses weren’t due in some part to such constricting traditions?
