BishopAccountability.org
	Vatican Faces Call to Debate Celibacy The Star-Phoenix April 3, 2010 http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Vatican+faces+call+debate+celibacy/2760263/story.html The Vatican faced growing calls on Thursday to tackle the previously taboo subject of clerical celibacy as a way of preventing future sex abuse scandals involving priests. The head of the Catholic Church in Austria said the possible reasons behind sex abuse crises in Austria, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands in recent weeks should be subjected to "unflinching examination." A number of theologians and lay organizations have called for celibacy to be abolished on the grounds that it allows no outlet for priests' sexual urges, but it is rare for a senior figure within the Church to call for a debate. In an article for an in-house Church magazine, Christoph Schoenborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, called for a debate on celibacy. He said it was time to examine "the issue of priest celibacy and the issue of personality development. It requires a great deal of honesty, both on the part of the Church and of society as a whole." His office later put out a "clarification" -- reportedly under pressure from the Holy See -- saying the archbishop was "in no way seeking to question the Catholic Church's celibacy rule." But the Vatican insisted the principle of celibacy was not open to negotiation. "Priestly celibacy is a gift of the Holy Spirit which must be understood and experienced with a fullness of feeling and joy, in a total relationship with the Lord," said Claudio Hummes, a Brazilian cardinal who heads the Vatican's department concerned with the priesthood.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.