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Straight-talking men of the cloth
By Fr. Brian D’arcy
Thirty-Three Good Men is a book which analyses the lives and beliefs of 33 Irish Catholic diocesan priests and former priests. It deals with the years 1960 to 2010. The author, Dr John Weafer, an experienced and highly regarded researcher, had personal interviews with each of the 33 priests. They knew what he was researching and they were willing participants, though they retained their anonymity.
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The interviews were limited to three basic areas of their lives. 1. How do Irish diocesan priests understand and experience celibacy in their day to day lives? 2. How do Irish diocesan priests negotiate their priesthood within a large and complex organisation? 3. How do Irish diocesan priests understand their priesthood, and how has this understanding changed over time, if at all? The study is not easy reading though it is at all times interesting. The sample of 33 is small but the honesty of the participants adds greatly to its significance. It’s interesting because it deals with the priests’ personal lives in some detail, particularly how they experience celibacy and obedience in the modern church. Dr Weafer interviewed 24 serving Irish diocesan priests and nine former diocesan priests. None are from religious orders. There are priests in good standing and some who have left the priesthood; some are young, most are middle-aged / elderly; most are heterosexual, some are homosexual. According to the research, most of them try to live a celibate life though others are sexually active; some are enthusiastic about their priesthood and others have become disillusioned. By way of background, there are 26 Catholic dioceses in Ireland. Presently there are just over 3,000 diocesan priests here of whom 76% are still ministering. The others are retired or out of ministry. These men have to serve over 4.3 million Catholics in 1,365 parishes where there are 2,645 churches. Because there are few new vocations, the age profile of priests in Ireland is alarmingly high. 48% are over the age of 60. There are few newly ordained priests and many of those are late vocations. In the early ‘80s there was an average of 84 priests ordained every year. Now there is less than a dozen newly ordained each year. There simply has to be a rethink if a Eucharist Church is to survive. This book examines the practice of clerical celibacy. Canon Law demands: “Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven and are therefore bound to observe celibacy which is a special gift of God...” (Can 277). The book makes it clear that “compulsory celibacy is one of the most contentious disciplines in the Catholic Church…” Judging by the answers these priests gave, it still is. Dr Weafer divides his interviewees broadly into three -: A. Those who were ordained before the Second Vatican Council. B. Those who were ordained just after the Second Vatican Council. C. Those more recently ordained. Weafer discovered that four pre-Vatican II priests saw themselves as ‘natural’ celibates. Two pre-Vatican II priests regard themselves as ‘confirmed bachelors’. Others had a different point of view. One parish priest is quoted : “Priests are just human beings and two priests in Parish X were just inseparable. It was a love match between them and they went on holidays together.” Others spoke about priests who “were able to lead a double life.” Some noted that “colleagues seemed to be in and out of relationships,” and that “one priest had destroyed two girls by long relationships. Many of these are still priests in senior positions”. Furthermore Weafer concluded, “Four pre-Vatican II priests felt ‘mandatory celibacy had endured in the Catholic priesthood because it enabled Church authorities to crack the whip over priests’.” On page 102 Weafer has this valuable statistic. “While all of these priests could see some value in celibacy, nine of the 10 priests in the pre-Vatican cohort disagree with mandatory celibacy because they do not believe it is intrinsic to the priesthood.” For the second group, celibacy was a more practical issue. “None of them would have serious problems if they or one of their colleagues did not live up to the ideal of celibacy, provided it did not lead to scandal.” This is the group that recognises “a deep deprivation and emptiness in not having a special person that had laid down their lives for you in a continuous, ongoing, life-supporting way.” Being gay and a priest is a definite characteristic for some in this group. “One gay priest who is in a long-term sexual relationship said he is just waiting for the right time to marry his partner secretly. Another gay priest said he would consider the equivalent of marriage if it were a real option.” One man said, “I think I would have been as good, if not a better priest, if I was married.” Only one of the priests in this group is in favour of mandatory celibacy. “The other 13 Vatican II priests and former priests believe that celibacy should be a free choice.” Another believes that “ the supposed benefits of celibacy are often used by bachelor priests as an excuse to play golf or play cards rather than working in their ministry.”
The final group, the younger post-Vatican II priests, by and large embrace the idea of celibacy which they feel is central to the identity of the priesthood. That a large proportion of priests are gay has been shown to be true over the past 40 years. Studies in America in the early ‘80s concluded that 35-40% of priests and clerical students were gay. Nowadays the figure is likely to be between 25% and 30%. One priest ordained in the ‘90s lived in denial that he might be a homosexual. It was only after ordination that, “He ended up sleeping with another priest…” One gay priest discovered, “A strong clerical gay scene in Ireland, although it was not easy to access because of our need to be even more secretive than non-priests…” He was friends with two priests in his diocese and later it transpired they were gay. They told him stories of long weekends and holidays abroad which he found exciting… ultimately he decided to leave the priesthood because he did not wish to be celibate and neither did he wish to lead a double life (page 120). Some cope with being gay by joining, “A national clergy support group for priests who are gay, including many priests who had not yet ‘come out’. They had to be careful in case the media discovered its existence so they used a secret name for their group that was known only to them” (page 121). Dr Weafer concludes that Irish diocesan priests share similar emotions and sexual desires to those of their lay counterparts which should be obvious to those who live in reality, but which needed to be said. Many priests find, “perfect continence” well beyond their reach. When I read this section I found there were too many signs of emotional immaturity, and a lack of any real understanding of the sacredness of healthy holistic human relationships. Perhaps clerical formation is partly to blame but the awful power-based world of clericalism is utterly destructive for those who buy into it. Apparent hypocrisy is never acceptable as a constant way of life. There are many other sobering and insightful comments in this work. It is not easy reading but it is, in my opinion, a good reflection of the reality of modern priesthood.
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