Yesterday, I offered my perspective on the Pope Benedict XVI's decision to retire from the papacy, and the media ridiculousness that has ensued. If you missed that first part, you can read it here. Today, I'll finish answering some of the questions that have inevitably found their way into the media's coverage of the Church in recent days. So, let's get back to it...
Will the next Pope allow priests to marry? And what
about all those sex abuse scandals?
Well, at this point, only God knows what the next
Pope will do. It's not for us to decide.
However, the entire argument about married priests has been hashed and rehashed more times than most of us can count, and it's more stale than last month's leftovers - another classic example of how the world simply does not understand the Church (and has no desire to seek such understanding).
However, the entire argument about married priests has been hashed and rehashed more times than most of us can count, and it's more stale than last month's leftovers - another classic example of how the world simply does not understand the Church (and has no desire to seek such understanding).
The Catholic worldview on the topic of priestly celibacy is pretty simple. There are these things called vocations, you see. They are not careers, as in the sense that I have chosen a career as a scientist. I am also a married woman, and that is my vocation - marriage. Sure, being a Catholic priest is a full-time job - 24/7/365 - and for men called to the priesthood, you could say that their vocation and career are parallel. But ultimately, vocation transcends career. There are people who have a
vocation to marriage (yep, that's most of us) - and there are people who have a
vocation to live in the single state, and there are people who have a vocation
to priesthood or religious life. The word vocation comes from the Latin verb
"vocare," which means "to call." A vocation is a calling -
most specifically, a calling from God.
And those who are called to priesthood or religious
life are called to be completely, unreservedly united to the Church. They are
not called to marriage, and therefore they aren't married! (With the notable
exception of those Anglican priests who have joined the Catholic Church and
been allowed to ordination as Catholic priests - which brings its own share of
challenges to these men and their families - and I think most of them would agree that married priests would not be a good norm for the Church.) To most Catholics, the idea of
married priests is as ridiculous as the idea of married nuns. I mean, seriously?!? Sounds kinda strange, doesn't it??
I think the biggest problem the world at large has
with a celibate priesthood is that the world at large cannot disconnect itself
from the false and sick notion that men are incapable of sexual self-control.
After all, our culture focuses on sex, sex, and more sex - women are objects of
sexual pleasure for men who shouldn't have to exercise one iota of discipline!
Self-control, what's that?? Not something you'd see a teaser about on the cover of Maxim magazine, that's for damn sure! Oh yeah, that's right - self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, if
anyone is keeping track. Check out chapter 5 of St. Paul's letter to the
Galatians for the entire reference. Oops. I just referred to the Bible. Which
is at least as "behind the times" as the Catholic Church - after all,
it was the oh-so-irrelevant Catholic Church who put together the canon of
scripture at the Council of Nicaea, way back in 325 AD. But no one cares about the Bible anymore, right? It's just another irrelevant vestige that we have evolved past.
In all seriousness, though, I do believe the issue the world has with the celibate Catholic priesthood has more to do with the world's skewed view of human sexuality than anything else. I realize there are those who somehow want to believe that allowing priests to marry would solve the sexual abuse scandals the Church has seen in recent years.
Which brings us to those sex abuse scandals.
The truth of the matter is that sexual abuse of minors has nothing to do with whether a man is married or not. Pedophilia and ephebophilia are are psychological disorders that lead to criminal action (the sexual abuse of children and adolescents) - they do not have anything to do with whether a man is gay or straight, and they are not solvable by simply allowing priests to marry.
Anyone who engages in these heinous crimes against the young should be subject to severe criminal penalties. I think we'd all agree that this includes not only Catholic priests who have been guilty of such crimes, but also ministers, teachers, scout leaders, coaches, and counselors - note that celibacy is not required of any of these groups, yet they have rates of sexual abuse of children and adolescents that arguably far exceed those noted in the celibate Catholic priesthood. In 2009, CBS News actually had the guts and forward-thinking to report on a 2002 study of sexual abuse in public schools led by the US Department of Education; a lead researcher in the study concluded that the rates of sexual abuse of children in schools was likely more than 100 times that perpetrated by bad priests.
And the last time I checked, people in those groups were typically not subjected to the careful screening, including psychological fitness examinations, that are now certainly required of men wishing to become a seminarian for the archdiocese in which I reside - and I would suspect are now required in most, if not all, other dioceses, as well (or will be required in the near future).
None of this is meant to take away from the point that the sexual abuse of children and adolescents is a terrible crime. My point is that it is not just a "Catholic problem."
Yes, there have been plenty of instances in which those within the Church have not done enough to stop these crimes, or have even tried to cover it up. That is a grievous and inexcusable failure. The future must be different. As a resident of an archdiocese that has suffered greatly from the evils of sexual abuse in the clergy, I've seen it - but I've also seen the positive steps taken to stop it from happening again. There is plenty of ground left to be covered here. We all wish it could happen overnight, but sadly, it cannot. The Church has to separate the weeds from the wheat (q.v. Matthew ch. 13), and that is a process that requires time.
The ugliness that has been leveled against the Catholic priesthood in recent years is one of those things that I don't laugh about. I have known many good priests over the years, and have counted several of them as friends. These men are committed to their promises of celibacy and the pursuit of holiness in their lives, and they give their lives for the good of the Church on a daily basis. They knew celibacy would be required of them before entering the seminary, and - gasp!! - they were okay with that. They aren't deviants. They are good men who have chosen to follow Christ in a radical way. And regardless of what the media would like all of us to think, these men are the majority of the Catholic priesthood - not the minority.
Which brings us to those sex abuse scandals.
The truth of the matter is that sexual abuse of minors has nothing to do with whether a man is married or not. Pedophilia and ephebophilia are are psychological disorders that lead to criminal action (the sexual abuse of children and adolescents) - they do not have anything to do with whether a man is gay or straight, and they are not solvable by simply allowing priests to marry.
Anyone who engages in these heinous crimes against the young should be subject to severe criminal penalties. I think we'd all agree that this includes not only Catholic priests who have been guilty of such crimes, but also ministers, teachers, scout leaders, coaches, and counselors - note that celibacy is not required of any of these groups, yet they have rates of sexual abuse of children and adolescents that arguably far exceed those noted in the celibate Catholic priesthood. In 2009, CBS News actually had the guts and forward-thinking to report on a 2002 study of sexual abuse in public schools led by the US Department of Education; a lead researcher in the study concluded that the rates of sexual abuse of children in schools was likely more than 100 times that perpetrated by bad priests.
And the last time I checked, people in those groups were typically not subjected to the careful screening, including psychological fitness examinations, that are now certainly required of men wishing to become a seminarian for the archdiocese in which I reside - and I would suspect are now required in most, if not all, other dioceses, as well (or will be required in the near future).
None of this is meant to take away from the point that the sexual abuse of children and adolescents is a terrible crime. My point is that it is not just a "Catholic problem."
Yes, there have been plenty of instances in which those within the Church have not done enough to stop these crimes, or have even tried to cover it up. That is a grievous and inexcusable failure. The future must be different. As a resident of an archdiocese that has suffered greatly from the evils of sexual abuse in the clergy, I've seen it - but I've also seen the positive steps taken to stop it from happening again. There is plenty of ground left to be covered here. We all wish it could happen overnight, but sadly, it cannot. The Church has to separate the weeds from the wheat (q.v. Matthew ch. 13), and that is a process that requires time.
The ugliness that has been leveled against the Catholic priesthood in recent years is one of those things that I don't laugh about. I have known many good priests over the years, and have counted several of them as friends. These men are committed to their promises of celibacy and the pursuit of holiness in their lives, and they give their lives for the good of the Church on a daily basis. They knew celibacy would be required of them before entering the seminary, and - gasp!! - they were okay with that. They aren't deviants. They are good men who have chosen to follow Christ in a radical way. And regardless of what the media would like all of us to think, these men are the majority of the Catholic priesthood - not the minority.
And one more...
Is the Catholic Church in crisis, or in danger of collapsing?
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!??
I attended Mass yesterday morning in a church packed full of fellow Catholics - yes, our parishes are alive. After the homily, we prayed for our RCIA candidates (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults - for adults who want to become Catholic) - yes, our parishes are growing.
I attended Mass this morning before heading to work - of course, daily Mass is nowhere near as full as Sunday Mass, but there's always a reasonable crowd - yes, our parishes are active and enduring.
If the Catholic Church is in crisis, or in danger of collapsing, or so far behind the times as to be irrelevant, then please tell me: why are our Sunday Masses packed? And why are so many people joining RCIA classes and becoming Catholic every year? Why is it that the archdiocese I live in has more than thirty men studying for the priesthood?
That's not the mark of an institution in crisis, or in danger of collapse. The Church is alive and well, and even thriving. The Church is not irrelevant - in a time when the dignity of human life is threatened from so many angles - by abortion, by poverty, by human trafficking - the Church is more relevant than ever. The simple fact that people want to attack the "relevance" of the Catholic Church should tell us a lot about how relevant an institution the Church is. Yes, there are areas of the Church that suffer brokenness because of fallen, sinful human beings (hey world, sin is real, and it hurts us all, whether you want to believe it or not) - but when something is broken, we don't throw up our hands and run away in despair. We fix it.
So I'm sorry, world, but I just don't see it. I don't see a Church on the verge of oblivion. I don't see a Church that is dying. I see a Church that does more to uphold the dignity of humanity than any other institution in the world. I see a Church that does more to support the poor and suffering of the world than any other institution, and far, far more than any government (and on a budget that is minuscule in comparison).
World, I know it's hard for you to understand, and I know you'll say I'm deluded - and really, I'd expect nothing less from you. But the truth of the matter is that Jesus Christ himself said the gates of hell would never prevail against his Church. That's a lesson you've never learned.
1.2 billion, and growing. Storms - real and imagined - come and go - but the Church is not going anywhere, despite what CNN or Fox or MSNBC or the Democrats or the Republicans or anyone else thinks.
+Peace and good, and prayers for whatever storm you may be facing.
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