MANDATORY CELIBACY REMAINS MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

[Colin]

An extensive survey by two former Australian priests says mandatory celibacy has been and remains the major risk factor for child sexual abuse and warns of an impending wave of abuse cases in India and Italy, which have a significant proportion of the Church’s remaining 9500 orphanages .

Mandatory celibacy remains major risk factor for child sexual abuse, claims Australian survey

 

[Targaryen]

Is this post an attempt to revisit the Roman policy of clerical celibacy? There are loads of factors that can be involved in risks for child sexual abuse, so I just am curious.

 

[Colin]

Is this post an attempt to revisit the Roman policy of clerical celibacy? There are loads of factors that can be involved in risks for child sexual abuse, so I just am curious.

The sole purpose of the post was to inform of the recent report by two Australian priests .

All reports by Catholics on the sexual abuse scandal need to be noted .

 

[Sarah G]

Is this post an attempt to revisit the Roman policy of clerical celibacy? There are loads of factors that can be involved in risks for child sexual abuse, so I just am curious.

From the article: "From our review of the literature, it cannot be argued that celibacy on its own has caused clerical sex abuse in Catholic settings," the survey said. "There have been too many good priests and religious who have successfully lived a celibate life. Celibacy has been a critical factor in the successful achievements of the Catholic Church throughout its long history... But it cannot be claimed that celibacy has been an unparalleled success. Although, from a social science perspective, it is impossible to conclude that celibacy has directly caused child sexual abuse, the preferred approach is to see celibacy as the major precipitating risk factor that has led to psychosexually immature identities and sexual deprivation on the part of those priests and religious who have offended against children."

 

[Norbert L]

From the article: "From our review of the literature, it cannot be argued that celibacy on its own has caused clerical sex abuse in Catholic settings," the survey said. "There have been too many good priests and religious who have successfully lived a celibate life. Celibacy has been a critical factor in the successful achievements of the Catholic Church throughout its long history... But it cannot be claimed that celibacy has been an unparalleled success. Although, from a social science perspective, it is impossible to conclude that celibacy has directly caused child sexual abuse, the preferred approach is to see celibacy as the major precipitating risk factor that has led to psychosexually immature identities and sexual deprivation on the part of those priests and religious who have offended against children."

Taken from the wiki, here are separate statements given by "Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said, "We don't see the Catholic Church as a hotbed of this or a place that has a bigger problem than anyone else. I can tell you without hesitation that we have seen cases in many religious settings, from traveling evangelists to mainstream ministers to rabbis and others." and "Philip Jenkins, a long-time Catholic turned Episcopalian, asserts that his "research of cases over the past 20 years indicates no evidence whatever that Catholic or other celibate clergy are any more likely to be involved in misconduct or abuse than clergy of any other denomination—or indeed, than non-clergy. However determined news media may be to see this affair as a crisis of celibacy, the charge is just unsupported."

 

[~Anastasia~]

I wonder what the statistics from Eastern Catholic priests look like? That might help to sort such a question from a Catholic point of view?

As far as I know, EC priests are like our EO priests. Married men can become priests. Many of our priests are married with families. Many who chose to be celibate and enter the monastic life become priests as well. So we have many of both kinds of priests. I have been aware of only one case of sexual misconduct by a priest in Orthodoxy, and he was removed permanently from the priesthood.

My thought is that for those to whom it has been given the gift of celibacy, it should not be any risk factor for such behavior. For those to whom it has not been given, to impose celibacy could lead to problems. Whether this particular kind of offense is particularly a part of those problems, I don't know for sure. I do think a person with such tendencies is unsuited to the priesthood - period.