Families, Not Celibacy, to Blame for Child Abuse, Says Catholic Cleric

Natasha Bita
December 12, 2014

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AUSTRALIA’S most senior Catholic cleric has proclaimed that families are more likely than priests to abuse children and ­rejected a church report that linked celibacy to sexual abuse.

Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher said that celibacy could not be to blame for abuse, which occurred in every church, regardless of whether it was celibate.

“The thing about child abuse is most of it happens in families,’’ Archbishop Fisher told The Weekend Australian yesterday.

“It’s an awful thing, we hate to even touch on it, but it can’t be about celibacy … because you look around society at the ­moment, it’s in every church, celibacy or not. It’s in many families and they’re not celibate, generally speaking.’’

The Australian yesterday revealed that the Truth, Justice and Healing Council of the Catholic Church in Australia had concluded that celibacy might have contributed to decades of child sex abuse committed by Catholic priests and clergy.

The council called for ongoing training and “psychosexual development’’ for priests to deal with celibacy.