Catholic Church in crisis over sexual misconduct.

[Debbaux]

Celibacy is for those called to celibacy by God, not necessarily for all clergy. By artificially excluding qualified would-be clergy who are not called to celibacy, the pool of potential priests is distorted. Such distortions ripple into the behavior of the men who are eventually selected as clergy.

I couldn't agree more. Considering that the early popes and clergy were allowed to marry and that this continued up to the 1500-1600's, it may be time to revisit the question.

I know two former priests, both very good men, who left the priesthood to marry. We should have kept them.

[Thersites]

I'd rather just see all the evidence go public. Money won't heal the wounds such acts create, but the ability to have one's story heard and validated? My own cursory study of the subject suggests that such an experience can be tremendously helpful in the healing process.

[ikaika777]

How is letting Catholic priests marry going to stop them from raping and molesting children especially if the priests are gay? I doubt a gay priest wants to marry a woman anyway. Now, I'm not saying all the priests that got in trouble are gay but the majority of the sexual abuse were homosexual acts on minors which leads one to believe that those priests have homosexual tendencies. But regardless, the Catholic church needs to put the law down and stop giving those priests a slap on the wrists, they need life in prison with no parole.

[Debbaux]

The crisis at this point is more in the media than in the hierarchy.

The hierarchy is in need of reform, and the Vatican bureaucracy definitely needs work. I just don't see the sex abuse scandal as a particularly compelling issue. The Church needs much more comprehensive reform than just that which relates to the issue of sexual misconduct.

Sure there's broader reform needed. The sexual misconduct questions will bite deep though. Australian church leaders will have a huge credibility problem as men of God if the Royal Commission investigation delivers the expected bad news that child molestation is even more common in the church than previously recognised, and that the church has routinely covered it up. Royal Commission findings are known to be brutally honest and to include imperatives for change. The RCC worldwide will be implicated, not just in Australia.

[Debbaux]

How is letting Catholic priests marry going to stop them from raping and molesting children especially if the priests are gay? I doubt a gay priest wants to marry a woman anyway. Now, I'm not saying all the priests that got in trouble are gay but the majority of the sexual abuse were homosexual acts on minors which leads one to believe that those priests have homosexual tendencies.

It's up to the church to get good accurate information about the extent of the problem and come up with some solutions. I don't know that we can say the problem is mainly to do with homosexuals. But we are excluding heterosexual marrying kind of men from being priests, so we lose the opportunity to have a normal range of men as priests.

The only case I have first-hand experience of is my twelve year old best friend being molested by the local priest decades ago. She told me about it and made me promise not to tell anyone, though I couldn't really believe what she said. She said the priest was going away. Sure enough, the following Sunday at mass we were told that Father D. was "sick" and had moved to the priest's retirement home. I'd say he fell into the category of pedophile.

But regardless, the Catholic church needs to put the law down and stop giving those priests a slap on the wrists, they need life in prison with no parole.

They sure need to lift their game, and I hope things are changing for the better.

[ikaika777]

The only case I have first-hand experience of is my twelve year old best friend being molested by the local priest decades ago. She told me about it and made me promise not to tell anyone, though I couldn't really believe what she said. She said the priest was going away. Sure enough, the following Sunday at mass we were told that Father D. was "sick" and had moved to the priest's retirement home. I'd say he fell into the category of pedophile.

My only first hand experience I have is from my own mother who in her 20's, maybe late teens, was when a priest tried to rape her. She drove him home after he ate dinner with her and my grandmother and he wanted to take a walk in the park, so him being a priest she thought nothing of it. Then as they were talking he jumped her and ripped her panties off and she told me he pulled her pubic hair out from tearing off her panties. She managed to get free. She told my grandmother about it but she wouldn't believe it. And sometime later, my grandmother told my mom to go to confession and when she got in the confessional, he was there. As she was confessing her sins to him she noticed he wasn't talking so she looked through that screen like thingy and he was masturbating, she could see everything. She ran out.

[Debbaux]

My only first hand experience I have is from my own mother who in her 20's, maybe late teens, was when a priest tried to rape her. She drove him home after he ate dinner with her and my grandmother and he wanted to take a walk in the park, so him being a priest she thought nothing of it. Then as they were talking he jumped her and ripped her panties off and she told me he pulled her pubic hair out from tearing off her panties. She managed to get free. She told my grandmother about it but she wouldn't believe it. And sometime later, my grandmother told my mom to go to confession and when she got in the confessional, he was there. As she was confessing her sins to him she noticed he wasn't talking so she looked through that screen like thingy and he was masturbating, she could see everything. She ran out.

Did your mother ever report it to the police or to the church? If she didn’t, could you possibly support her to do that now if she wants to and if it could give her some feeling of satisfaction or justice? It’s not too late to report it.

[ikaika777]

Did your mother ever report it to the police or to the church? If she didn’t, could you possibly support her to do that now if she wants to and if it could give her some feeling of satisfaction or justice? It’s not too late to report it.

She never reported it, and she's 83 years old now and the priest has long since died.

[robrecht]

The hierarchy is in need of reform, and the Vatican bureaucracy definitely needs work.

What reforms would you like to see?

[Thersites]

What reforms would you like to see?

I don't know much about the Curia other than the fact that it is currently not extremely efficient or effective. If I knew more about the curia, I could make some specific recommendations. From what little I know, though, it seems as though there are political factions within the Curia that need to be reconciled.

[robrecht]

I don't know much about the Curia other than the fact that it is currently not extremely efficient or effective. If I knew more about the curia, I could make some specific recommendations. From what little I know, though, it seems as though there are political factions within the Curia that need to be reconciled.

Thanks. So, you were only referring to the curia?

When you said, "The hierarchy is in need of reform, and the Vatican bureaucracy definitely needs work," I thought perhaps 'the Vatican bureacracy' referred to the curia and 'the hierarchy' referred to the bishops, cardinals and pope.

[Thersites]

Thanks. So, you were only referring to the curia?

When you said, "The hierarchy is in need of reform, and the Vatican bureaucracy definitely needs work," I thought perhaps 'the Vatican bureacracy' referred to the curia and 'the hierarchy' referred to the bishops, cardinals and pope.

There's probably some work to be done with regard to the international hierarchy, but I know even less about those problems than I do about the Curia's. I know marginally more than most of the reporters trying to cover the Vatican, but the only thing I know that they don't is how little I actually know.

[RBerman]

How is letting Catholic priests marry going to stop them from raping and molesting children especially if the priests are gay? I doubt a gay priest wants to marry a woman anyway. Now, I'm not saying all the priests that got in trouble are gay but the majority of the sexual abuse were homosexual acts on minors which leads one to believe that those priests have homosexual tendencies. But regardless, the Catholic church needs to put the law down and stop giving those priests a slap on the wrists, they need life in prison with no parole.

Obviously you are correct that there won't be much effect of offering to let gay priests get married to women. We were speaking of longer-term effects, though. As Robrecht said above, a priest who is married has an outlet for his sexual impulses. That won't prevent impropriety altogether, any more than it does among married non-priests. But it surely would help.

[Catholicity]

Obviously you are correct that there won't be much effect of offering to let gay priests get married to women. We were speaking of longer-term effects, though. As Robrecht said above, a priest who is married has an outlet for his sexual impulses. That won't prevent impropriety altogether, any more than it does among married non-priests. But it surely would help.

Remember this not a lone isolated incident but its worldwide in every church. Not that all churches have abusive pastors but all cities are affected in every place. Son churches have heirachies and all are guilty of moving the abusive ministers around as opposed to notifying authorities e.g. Umc episcopal anglican and RCC. Its rampant and vile and the only way to weed sexual sins out be it adultery pedophilia etc.. is to revert to the disallowance oof sexual sin in the church all together, and to confess what is wrong to the people and vow and change permanently.

[ikaika777]

But it surely would help.

I agree it would help to some degree but what do you do with the homosexual priests?