Catholic Church Sex Scandal & Celibacy

This is an interesting article taking on the subject of priestly celibacy and child sex abuse.

It points out that sex abuse is also rampant and often covered up within the teaching profession and that the percentage of Catholic priests who have had sex with a minor is lower than the percentage for the general male population.

The article also explores some of the reasons people seem so offended by the very idea if priestly celibacy.

Catholic Church Sex Scandal & Celibacy

After getting in my car the other night, this writer turned on a radio show hosted by a man renowned as a rare moderate in talk radio, although he’s most notable for only moderately deep thinking. He was talking about the Catholic Church sex scandal, and he fielded a caller proposing a unique solution: allow priests to have concubines. This prompted the host to chime in and opine that perhaps the discipline of celibacy should be revisited. After all, said he, it’s only the Catholic Church that has “these problems.” It’s the kind of shallow analysis that passes for social commentary today.

First, the notion that only the Catholic Church “has these problems” is a media-generated fiction. In fact, a recent AP investigation found that sexual misconduct — and cover-ups to avoid scandal — are rampant in the government school system. It discovered 1,801 educators who were found guilty of sexual misconduct with youths between 2001 and 2005 alone. Moreover, reports the AP, this is the tip of the iceberg, as most cases go unreported.

Then, Wapedia adds perspective, writing, “A Perspective on Clergy Sexual Abuse by Dr. Thomas Plante of Stanford University and Santa Clara University states that ‘available research suggests that approximately 2 to 5% of priests have had a sexual experience with a minor’ which ‘is lower than the general adult male population that is best estimated to be closer to 8%.’” Thus, it’s clear that it isn’t only the Catholic Church that has these problems.

It’s also interesting how many everyday folks, many of whom aren’t themselves Catholic, behave as if they have some personal vested interest in overturning celibacy. If I didn’t know better, I’d suppose these people were thinking of joining a seminary and found the practice the only impediment to their aims. But since I do know better, I’d say that the attitude reflects today’s libertine priorities. Moderns are raised with the idea that sex is the end-all and be-all and that people — especially men — are supposed to be in a perpetual state of heat. (I’m sure you’ve heard that famous “statistic” stating that the average man thinks about sex every 20 seconds. Well, I’m glad I’m not average because I’d never get any writing done.) Thus, they think there is something bizarre about someone who doesn’t indulge the flesh.

Even more significantly and as funny as it sounds, there’s the matter of misery loving company. People are often made very uncomfortable by standards to which they cannot measure up, so they tend to want to bring them down. It’s the same factor that causes children to tease the “goodie-goodie” and try to lower him to their level.

Jealousy factors into this equation, too. People tend to be envious of those in possession of good things they lack, and virtue, holiness, is a good thing. Many will scoff at this analysis, especially since those plagued by these motivations usually aren’t fully aware of them (knowing thyself is rare). But I have seen this firsthand during the course of my life.

Whatever the psychology, however, there is a simple fact here: There is nothing unusual about celibacy. To the best of my knowledge, every major religion places value on asceticism, which involves denial of the flesh in all ways. And the irony here is that, for all their scoffing, most moderns do have a sense of what holiness should be.

Just consider the matter of Eastern holy men. When we think of such people, we not only accept celibacy, we expect it. When a long-haired Westerner imagines an Eastern monk, he perhaps envisions a bearded fellow adorned in robes sitting in the Lotus position. And if he ventured to the Far East in search of such a man, took a long trek into Tibet on foot and instead found the monk blasting rap music, dining lavishly and imbibing copiously amidst his harem, the disappointment would be intense.

Read more: The New American

Outrageous.

I have been practicing sexual abstinence for years, and there is nothing deviant about me. Celibacy is not a cause of perversion.

Disgusting, how that caller tried to EXCUSE PERVERTS with sexual perversion of his own.

Celibacy is a wonderful retain powerful personal energy. I can se why some people are jealous, or weirded out that one like me for instance, who isnt hideous and ugly, can forgo sex as a choice.

Society is obsessed with others sex lives, and the more religious one is the more emphasis on others sex lives is given!!

Anyway, what a stupid suggestion. The studies claim the incidence of abuse by priests is lower than average society, so how does this expert caller get off suggestion sexual activity for priests? Why should the caller care about others sex lives to that extent?? Revisit celibacy? What?

Lest see.Priest Perv is attracted to little boys.

So.

This means all the women in the world wont scratch that itch.

Just pitiful.


I am seriously curious if anyone on these boards thinks it is because priests cant have sex that they molest children.

In case yall dont get my post, heres the nutshell.

CELIBACY does not equate to or correlate in any way with PERVERT PRIESTS, and CHILD SEX ABUSE.

Not sure about the context the radio host was talking about, he could have been talking about the Celibacy rule which means obligations for all Catholic priests as per the church ruling. Aside from that, abuse of minors in full institutional care is wrong because it is taking advantage.

edit double post.

[edit on 31-3-2010 by smurfy]

I really enjoyed the post, thank you.

I have often found myself in discussions/arguments about priestly celibacy, and it is quite true that most of those against are neither Priests nor Catholics, so in my opinion what is it their concern.

Celibacy does not cause sexually deviant behavior, a few deviants found their way into the priesthood. Honestly, if it was simply a question on the effects of celibacy, there would be more instances involving women and girls, there are not.

After a bit of a wild child phase in my late teens, I decided that I needed a change the first thing I did was become completely celibate (among other changes), and I was completely happy with it, and no I did not walk around like sex starved zombie nor did I become deviant in behavior or thoughts, actually after a bit I the thought in general rarely entered my mind. It was the complete opposite effect of what ignorant individuals would like to claim.

[edit on 6-4-2010 by searching4truth]