Catholic Church Advisory Group Says Obligatory Celibacy May Have Contributed to Child Abuse

By Sally Hayden
VICE News
December 12, 2014

https://news.vice.com/article/catholic-church-advisory-group-says-obligatory-celibacy-may-have-contributed-to-child-abuse

The Australian Truth, Justice and Healing Council has published a report stating that celibacy among Catholic priests may have been contributing factor in child abuse.

The church advisory group made the statements in its December 2014 activity report. The council is comprised of 12 people with expertise across specialized fields including child abuse, trauma, mental illness, and psychosexual disorders. These include the archbishop of Brisbane, Mark Coleridge, and bishop of Maitland-Newcastle, Bill Wright.

Since February 2013 it has heard more than 2,600 victims tell stories of abuse, and have held 21 public hearings.

In a section called "Culture and clericalism," the report said that along with issues around parents being reluctant to believe their children when they report abuse, and church institutions protecting themselves rather than young people, "obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse in some circumstances." The report goes on to suggest that there may be flaws in "the way in which candidates for the priesthood or religious life were accepted for entry."

The report adds that, "Church leaders across Australia have now recognized and acknowledged that sexual abuse of a child by a priest is a crime under Australian law and under canon law. This was not always understood by some Church leaders."

We spoke to one of the cardinals who opposed the Church welcoming gay people. Read more here.

The council's chief executive officer Francis Sullivan told the Guardian that they were not advocating for the Catholic Church to drop their current celibacy vow, but said that priests — like everyone else — need to develop emotional and sexual awareness. "Because they are in an environment, in a service, that's very intimate and close with people, they need to be quite clear about the boundaries, and what is and isn't appropriate."

Sullivan also said that training for priests should include "psychosexual development."