UNITED STATES
Standing on My Head
Fr. Dwight Longenecker
In this article in the UK’s Guardian paper former Catholic Bishop Kieran Conry confirms what I suspected all along: that his understanding of celibacy is simply that the priest promises not to be married.
Conry said celibacy was not about sex but marriage. “When a priest makes a promise of celibacy, he promises to remain unmarried, that’s all. Then the ordinary rules of morality apply,” he said.
Is it possible that a man becomes a bishop so profoundly and willfully misinterprets this basic understanding of the vow of celibacy?
This is why he did not publicly apologize for the sin of fornication or adultery but simply that the vague admission that he was “unfaithful to his vows as a priest.”
Here’s how it works for priests and bishops like Kieran Conry: the vow of celibacy means he doesn’t get married.
Therefore it’s okay to have a long term mistress. Its okay to have a series of sexual relationships and affairs. Indeed, it seems that it is okay to commit adultery. This is why liberal priests and bishops like Kieran Conry go on to abuse women, young men and even children. Anybody is game. You just can’t get married that’s all.
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