Last week, Bing Tang asserted that the problem of sexual abuse by Catholic priests has existed for a long time.
Of course, that depends on what is meant by “long.” In fact, the problem is quite recent and a consequence of reforms instituted by The Second Vatican Council (1962-65), which dramatically lowered the threshold for elevation to the priesthood. While the intent was to reverse a serious decline in vocations, the consequences were most disastrous, noble intentions notwithstanding.
Further his claim, that marriage is the solution to the abuse problem – thereby implying that celibacy is the cause – is false.
Historically, many apostles were married. Also married priests were the rule, rather than the exception, until the Second Lateran Council of 1139, when opposition to this practice became highly vocal, for multiple reasons. Finally, the Council of Trent (1545-63) forbade a married priesthood.
In essence, it was the judgment of the Church of Rome then that a priesthood with families created a natural conflict between the needs of these families and the needs of the faithful.
Today, among Eastern Rite Catholics, married priests are the norm. Also, since the outreach to Anglicans during the papacy of Benedict, many hundreds High Episcopalian Priests have reconciled with Rome and brought their families with them, back to the Church.
Within the Catholic Church long overdue reform in the seminaries, the incubators of this problem, were put in place some decades ago by the recent popes and the administrative staff responsible for this debacle, forced into retirement. Yet a 2,000-year-old institution, like a great ship, does not turn quickly.
The core of the problem is older males abusing younger males and constitutes 99 percent of all incidents. The root cause has always been predatory sexual behavior.
Within any male population grouping, some will be celibate, a majority will marry, many will be monogamous, some will be predatory and so on. Screening out and forcing into retirement those psychologically and temperamentally unfit to be entrusted with the care and welfare of younger males was the traditional way of dealing with a problem such as this and it remains the solution.
Tom Coffey
Herricks
