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	Pope Quashes Push for Celibacy Debate By Emma Alberici ABC News March 13, 2010 http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/13/2844974.htm?section=world In the wake of the latest sex abuse claims in the Catholic Church in Germany, a number of senior clergy have called for a debate on the issue of celibacy in the priesthood. The Archbishop of Vienna called for a thorough examination of the link between celibacy and child sex abuse by priests and the Archbishop of Salzburg asked whether it was an appropriate way of life for priests today. But overnight, Pope Benedict quashed any suggestions of a change in the vow of celibacy, calling it the ultimate commitment to God. Father Thomas Williams, a Catholic priest and professor of theology and ethics in Rome, says there needs to be more study into any links between clerical celibacy and child abuse. "I think studies need to be done and we need to know whether there is a causal relationship," he said. "Is, for example, the incident of child abuse higher among celibate clergy than it is among, for example, non-celibate clergy of other faiths to start? "Or is it higher among celibate clergy - Catholic priests for example - than it is among other people that work with children; so in public schools, the boy scouts; whatever. "These are studies that need to be done." Since the start of his Papacy in 2005, Pope Benedict has met with abuse victims in the Unites States and in Australia. Now Europe is in the spotlight. Crimes the Pope called heinous were exposed in Ireland last year, and now in the Pope's home country of Germany, 19 of the 27 dioceses have been implicated in a flood of allegations of child sex abuse. Tip of the iceberg One of the 170 known German cases is Norbit Denoff, who says his soul was murdered by a priest. "When I was 10 years old the local priest selected me to be an altar boy," he said. "I was very excited. After the service, he took me up to his apartment, I felt very proud. "But he locked the door, sat down and undid my trousers. Then he performed a sexual act on me. At that very moment he murdered my soul." Mr Denoff is now 61 years old. The priest who abused him was a friend of his parents. The abuse carried on for five years until a church organisation intervened. The priest was transferred to a different parish. "This is only the tip of the iceberg," Mr Denoff said. "If you hear 10 people talking about how they were abused, you can be certain that there are 10,000 more victims remaining silent. "It's also misleading to say that the sexual abuse happened 30 years ago and not talk about what is happening now." Overnight Germany's top Catholic cleric met with the Pope and issued a new apology to those affected. He announced that creation of a watchdog to monitor abuse claims.
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