|
YOUTH SEXUAL ABUSE BY CATHOLIC CLERGY
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
Sponsored link.
A moral panic
surfaced in early 2002. It alleges widespread child and youth sexual abuse by
priests and at least one bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. This essay
discusses solutions to the problem, as advocated by both conservative and liberal
Catholics.
Among the responses to this crisis within the church, we have selected
the following two:
 | William Donohue is the president of the Catholic League for
Religious and Civil Rights, a U.S. non-profit group that fights
anti-Catholic bigotry. He wrote: "People on the far left and the far
right greet bad news for the church as good news for them, because the
left can smile and say, 'We told you so - you didn't make enough reforms,'
and the right can say, 'We had too many reforms, and let's go back to
pre-Vatican II,' People on the left have been itching for reform regarding
the totality of the church's teachings on sexual ethics, and they're going
to seize this moment. And on the right, a lot of people have been arguing
for a long time that the church has gone soft and doesn't have the courage
of its convictions." |
| Patrick J. Buchanan, columnist and former candidate for the
presidency of the U.S., wrote: "what the Church needs, to restore its moral
authority, is to stand up to the moral confusion of modernity, not embrace
it. That way lies total ruin." 1 |
Sponsored link:
Solutions advocated by conservative Catholics:
Many conservative U.S. Catholic groups and individuals, shocked by the scope
of sexual abuse within the church, have suggested that the church:
| Place renewed emphasis on celibacy: George Weigel is the pope's
American biographer and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy
Center. He commented: "It's obvious that there has been a considerable
breakdown of clerical discipline, and that is an indication of people who
have been inadequately converted. It's not a problem of celibacy, but a
problem of people failing to live out the celibate commitments they have
made, because they were not properly formed into being radical Christian
disciples." |
| Reduce the percentage of priests with a homosexual orientation:
Many conservative critics suggest that homosexual priests are
primarily responsible for the sexual abuse of male Catholic teenagers.
This belief cannot currently be supported by facts, as there is no data
available on the sexual orientation of abusive clergy. Critics suggest
that the church aggressively recruit more heterosexual men into the
priesthood. |
| Restore traditional standards at seminaries. Ronald P. McArthur
is the president emeritus of Thomas Aquinas College, a conservative
Catholic institution in California. He said: "It's pretty well
documented that seminaries, by and large, in these latter times have not
wanted orthodox, ordinary male candidates, but have rather looked to those
who are more pliable or more upbeat with all the modern ideas, and
therefore many of those who would have become faithful priests have not
gone into seminaries." He suggests that seminaries recruit
candidates who are "heterosexual, with a certain psychological
stability and rigorous intelligence." He believes that "There has
been an attempt by so-called theologians and liturgists and leaders within
the church to literally midwife another religion, and that has had
repercussions in the seminaries and in the wider life of the church. What
is happening now, if not predictable, is at least compatible with the
flight from orthodoxy." 1 |
Solutions advocated by liberal Catholics:
Liberal reform movements within the Roman Catholic Church in North America
and Europe have long advocated that the church make a major overhaul of its
policies toward human sexuality, and of its internal organization. They have pressed
for:
| Elimination of enforced celibacy: Many see enforced celibacy as
a main cause of the current crisis. Being denied a normal outlet for their
sexual drives, a small minority of priests turn to children and youth.
Allowing bisexual and heterosexual priests to marry would not be a
massive step for the church to take:
 | The Catholic church already has a number of married priests in the
U.S. These were originally Anglican priests who were unable to accept
female ordination when the Episcopal Church ended its sexist policy and
started to ordain women. They left their church and were accepted as
Catholic priests. |
| In the 1990's the pope allowed a married priest in South America to
continue practicing, as long as he terminated sexual relations with his
wife. |
| Married priests are common in the Eastern Orthodox churches. |
However, the pope has repeatedly closed the door on free discussion of a married
priesthood. And, of course, marriage is not an option for the minority of the
church's priests who have a homosexual orientation.
|
| Permission for women to be ordained as priests and consecrated
as bishops: Many liberals view this as a human rights issue. Society has
gradually eliminated sexism in employment, except for certain job
assignments in the military, and in positions of authority within some
religious groups. As a side benefit, most researchers believe that a much
lower percentage of women then men are sexual predators. Thus, sexual
abuse of children and youth would decrease if women were ordained.
Ending sexism in the church's selection of priests would be a
more difficult step than allowing existing priests to marry. However,
liberal traditions within Judaism and Protestant Christianity have been
able to make the transition. They started accepting females into
the clergy decades ago. This policy has been accepted by most mainline and
some conservative Protestant denominations. However, the pope has
repeatedly stated that the church does not have the authority to ordain
women. This policy is based on a number of factors:
| Although Jesus had the freedom to select anyone as his 12 disciples,
the Bible reports that he
selected only males. |
| The Bible also describes that the apostles continued this tradition by selecting a male to replace
Judas. |
| During mass, there needs to be a "natural resemblance" between
Christ and his minister; thus the priest cannot be just any human; he must
be male. |
|
| Democratization of the church's leadership: Unlike Protestant
churches, there is no mechanism in North America by which the People of God,
the membership of the church, is able to elect -- or remove from office -- priests, bishops, cardinals
and the pope. There was a tradition in some areas of Europe in which the
priests selected their bishop. But that convention has been bypassed by
the present pope. Some liberal Catholics advocate
at least the partial democratization of the church's leadership, in order
to make it more responsive to the membership. 1 |
Related essay on this web site:
References:
- Michael Paulson, "Abuse scandal angers conservative Catholics,"
The Boston Globe, 2002-MAR-27, Page A1. Online at:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/086/
Copyright © 2001 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2002-MAR-27
Latest update: 2002-MAY-14
Author: B.A. Robinson
>
| |
|
Page Translator: