AUSTRALIA
PerthNow
Angela Pownall, PerthNow
February 24, 2017
PERTH’s Catholic Archbishop says the vow of celibacy contributed to “many cases” of child sexual abuse by Australian priests.
Giving evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney on Friday, Timothy Costelloe’s comments were at odds with Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher.
Archbishop Fisher said he did not blame celibacy for child sexual abuse in the same way he did not blame marriage for adultery.
But the Perth church leader, speaking on the final day of the royal commission’s public hearing into the Catholic Church, argued that a person’s motivation for choosing celibacy was the key.
“I think many people may have wanted to be a priest and thought, well, celibacy is part of the deal, so I’ll have to go along with it, he said.
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