Pennsylvania Priest Charged With Groping 17-Year-Old Girl

[chessnerd321]

By not allowing Catholic priests to marry, the Church discourages family men who have a control on their libidos.

I’m gonna be really frankly. Probably because I’m sick of these threads. A normal guy who has a hard time being celibate masterbates. He doesn’t rape children. Pretending this is anything other than a bunch of deranged people is rediculous.

 

[Padres1969]

Just a thought, but could it be more than one issue?

 

[Reuben_J]

Celibacy isn’t the problem and there will probably always be some isolated cases of abuse.

Need to repeat that. Celibacy isn’t the problem.

Come on, sexual abuses are quite often committed by some very sick people. One does not have to be celibate to do that.

 

[therese1998]

As any long time married man will tell you, there is an element of celibacy in marriage. If you go into marriage thinking all your sexual desires are going to be taken care of for life, you’re dreaming. And that is as it should be.

Definitely! I am aware of that

Sex abusers are generally sexual predators. Sexual predation is more about control than sex. Predators will still abuse even if they are married.

All verifiably true.

I don’t think we should get in the mindset of, “How can we give potential abusers what they want so they don’t abuse?” Why should we give a damn what they want? They are criminal perverts, not men struggling with celibacy. There is enough opportunity for priests, if they want to violate their vows, to find consenting adults to do it with, although I’m certainly not recommending or supporting that. I’m just saying that preying on children goes beyond lust, beyond sexual identity, etc. It is crossing a line no one should ever cross. There has to be a really hot place in Hell for them, if they don’t repent.

Again, agreed.

 

[goout]

Scott84:

Will there be any end to this corruption and sickness that has gripped God’s Holy Church? In this poster’s opinion, it is time (it’s been time) to end the rule of celibacy within the Church.

Why do you think ending celibacy will stop sexual assault?

Because the culture that allowed this abuse to happen is
1 all male, which is not bad per se
2 celibate, which is not bad per se
3 has the power to secrecy and abuse of that power
Those are just facts.
And so the culture is open primarily to abuse of those factors, which leads to predominantly homosexual issues. It’s just a fact that this particular stew is unavoidable. You don’t have adultery in the priesthood because, well, priests are not married.
And it is also a fact that marriage is a healthy and well ordered expression of sexuality, and might be, might be , less prone to abusive personalities.

I am not sure why, in the face of such abuse, considering legitimate options like permission of married priests are taboo.
Why should any legitimate option cause such angst?
Change is hard, and meaningful change should be hard. If you refuse to consider the really difficult options, you are selling yourself short of your best. And we are called to be holy, not same old, same old…
I’m not claiming this is a perfect cure, but is needs to be seriously, patiently, thoroughly, considered.

 

[PJH_74]

No one claims it is only gay priests…only 80% of the cases are. So, seeing one of the the 1 out of 5 cases doesn’t really mean anything. It’s like arguing for/against global warming because it is a hot/cold day outside.

I think you are missing the argument that gay = sexual deviant that has been floating around here. First Pedophilia goes not equal gay. Second, traditionally priests worked more with boys as alter boys, in extracurricular activities, and the like. Part of this is having secluded access to an impressionable group of youth that happened to be boys. Rape is an act of power control (Priests had a lot) that happens to be sexual in nature. The sex of the victim does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of the abuser especially in the environment priests live in. Were there gay ones for sure? Eliminating gay priests is not a complete answer and getting lulled into this will not solve the issue.

 

[leroy.garrett]

You are correct that gay does not equal pedophilia, but the vast majority of the cases were not pedophilia (sex/abuse of pre-pubescent children). They were ephebophilic (older adolescents) and hebephilic (younger adolescents). This is important because those perpetrators largely go with their normal sexual preference.

As far as the rape/grooming of those adolescents, you are correct that it has a strong power component.

 

[CTBcin]

I don’t understand why people are so afraid of ending RC priest celibacy.

So many other religions, including churches and rites in full communion with Rome , have married priests. Somehow they are able to avoid all the obstacles that people say come with married priests. Certainly, people aren’t saying that the Latin Rite is superior to her equal sister rites because our priests are celibate.

I can only chalk it up to fear of change.

I’m not afraid of ending priestly celibacy. But it does annoy me when priestly celibacy comes up in these discussions, as if priestly celibacy is the cause of pedophilia or married priests are the solution. Those things simply aren’t true, as explained time and again on this forum.

We can certainly have a logical argument on the pros/cons of married priests, but the sex abuse scandal should be a non-factor in that argument.

 

[elohimrules]

I think this is Pope Francis opportunity and he must do a big change within the church. People are tired of apologies they want change. Something has to change either priest be allowed to have wives or involve women in the vatican more in decision making, but something has to change. The time is now. I am praying for the beloved Pope as this is the pivotal time in his papacy.

 

[on_the_hill]

Fair enough.

 

[TheOldColonel]

You can’t always blame Satan for all your problems.

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[Brendan_64]

By not allowing Catholic priests to marry, the Church discourages family men who have a control on their libidos. Instead, too many are warped by sexual frustration and begin molesting children.

The notion that a normal man, who in other circumstances would have married, would abuse and even rape children because he is sexually frustrated does not make sense. Men who do this are depraved, they are not normal.

If it was a case of priests having affairs with adult females then you might have a point, but the notion that a man who would normally be sexually attracted to adult women would start sexually abusing children instead just doesn’t make sense.

Normal men do not sexually abuse children.

 

[MRS24]

I am new to this site. I understand your frustration but would like you to consider a few things.

1. Most cases reported were priests sexually abusing males, marriage would not solve this issue.
2. Divorce is out of the question in the Catholic church. Protestant preachers have almost the same divorce rate as the national percent.
3. What happens if a priest does separate or get divorced? He can’t take communion, so he should not be able to offer it to others. I have a huge problem with this. Plus, would the church be transparent over such a thing? Is it fair to priests to disclose such a intimate detail of their life?
4. Could they be effective spouse’s and father’s, while also lead a parish successfully? And I am talking with having a " large family"since birth control is out of the question.

I worry about some of the “what ifs”, if the celibacy practice is changed without great consideration to how certain things would be managed and handled.

 

[Elf01]

What happens if a priest does separate or get divorced? He can’t take communion, so he should not be able to offer it to others. I have a huge problem with this. Plus, would the church be transparent over such a thing? Is it fair to priests to disclose such a intimate detail of their life?

That’s not true. A person who is divorced may receive Holy Communion provided they are not in a new relationship. They could even enter a new relationship if the marriage was investigated and found null.

 

[on_the_hill]

1. What happens if a priest does separate or get divorced? He can’t take communion, so he should not be able to offer it to others. I have a huge problem with this. Plus, would the church be transparent over such a thing? Is it fair to priests to disclose such a intimate detail of their life?

Divorces are legally public information because they’re court decisions. They’re listed in the newspapers in the classifieds/legal notices sections.

 

[vz71]

Will there be any end to this corruption and sickness that has gripped God’s Holy Church? In this poster’s opinion, it is time (it’s been time) to end the rule of celibacy within the Church.

Indeed.
If only these priests had a wife at home to abuse, they wouldn’t be doing these acts elsewhere.

 

[Augustinian]

Divorces are legally public information because they’re court decisions. They’re listed in the newspapers in the classifieds/legal notices sections.

That’s a “yes” and a “no”. Here in Pennsylvania, at least a few years ago, a lot of city people were being steered to file their divorces in Cameron County- a thinly populated county in northern PA for quicker service. Those divorces might be published in the Emporium Gazette, but you’d never see them in a Pittsburgh paper.

Similarly, someone can get married out of state- certain towns in West Virginia had no waiting period for those in a hurry.

 

[Bon_Croix]

Good questions.

Remember, we’re talking accusations here; not convicted criminals. And, why did it take so long for these ‘victims’ to say something?

Did the devil put it in their heads that they were molested by priests?

Regardless, the cases that are being discussed in the national media, from what I understand, are not new cases. The ‘story’ is about the alleged cover-up; hence, the grand jury indictment.

And as far as this whistleblower archbishop… Does he know everything that took place at the Vatican? Surely, he is lower in the hierarchy than the Pope, whom he accuses.

 

[JimG]

With respect to married priests, it is important to keep in mind that even in the Eastern Catholic Churches, while married men can be ordained, priests can not marry.

Once ordained, a priest may not marry. If a married priest becomes widowed, he may not remarry. And if he is unmarried at ordination, he may not marry after ordination.

 

[on_the_hill]

True. The law probably reads something like, “publish in a newspaper of general circulation.” Which could be the Phila Inquirer or the Daily Press in St. Marys.