NCR Exclusive: Vatican’s abuse expert says ending priestly celibacy could prevent a ‘double life’

by JOSHUA J. MCELWEE

One of the Catholic Church’s leading doctrinal officials has reiterated his unusual call for the global institution to consider ending its millennia-long requirement that priests remain celibate, saying that allowing priestly marriage could be a means of preventing clerics from living dangerous double lives.

In an exclusive interview with National Catholic Reporter on Jan. 24, Archbishop Charles Scicluna said: “One of my worries is that people are put in a situation where they are comfortable with a double life.”

“This is not to diminish the beauty of celibacy or the heroic commitment of people who have accepted celibacy as a gift and live it,” said the archbishop, speaking in an interview at the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith for NCR’s

The Vatican Briefing

podcast. “But I think it is good that we discuss it.”

Earlier this month, Scicluna — who serves as both the Archbishop of Malta and an adjunct secretary of the Vatican dicastery — 

made headlines 

when he said he believes it is time to revisit the church’s long-standing ban on allowing marriage for most of its clerics.

At the time, the archbishop was commenting on the lives of priests who have hidden relationships, which he said could be a “symptom” of priests “having to cope with” their celibacy requirement. 

Link to full article:

https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/exclusive-vaticans-abuse-expert-says-ending-priestly-celibacy-could-prevent?utm_source=NCR+List&utm_campaign=61d6512f98-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_01_30_01_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6981ecb02e-61d6512f98-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

“I think that if the church is not accountable, it’s not synodal.”

— Archbishop Charles Scicluna

Similar Posts

  • When we vote in referendums we legislate for all citizens not just members of a church

    Blog
    25 Comments

    Iggy O Donovan offered his thoughts on the upcoming referendum in The Irish Times.
    “The arguments crowd in on us from both sides. Much of life today is like that and we cannot off-load our troubled consciences on others, whether in church or State. We have to make our own decisions for ourselves.”

  • To Keep People safe in Church

    Blog
    0 Comments

    Two articles that remind us of the huge responsibility there is on all church members to ensure they are not risking life or health when re-opening after lockdowns.

    An Irish Times story about a Dublin church being forced to close after ignoring regulations also covers the comment by Archbishop Martin of Dublin about the need to respect the sacrifices made by so many.
    “The current public health policy has required sacrifice on the part of all of us. People have accepted that. I think of those who have had to bury a loved one without the normal process of grieving, with funeral rites limited to a bare minimum. We must show respect for those whose sacrifice has been greatest.
    Public health policy will only work when its proposals and sequencing are fully respected by all. There is no room for self-dispensation from or self-interpretation of the norms. Jumping the queue by individuals or communities puts everyone at risk”
    In another article

    Michael J. O’Loughlin of americamagazine.org interviews a man we have become familiar with on our TV news programmes, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
    ““There have been situations in multiple countries where the source of the cluster was a church service,” he said. “That’s the reason why we gotta be so careful about that.”
    As a result, even if churches are open, the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions should consider staying home, “because they really are at high risk,” he said. “It would be so tragic for someone who just comes to a place of worship, gets sick themselves, or gets infected and brings it home to an elderly person who might have a compromising comorbidity, and the person gets seriously ill and dies.”

Join the Discussion

Keep the following in mind when writing a comment

  • Your comment must include your full name, and email. (email will not be published). You may be contacted by email, and it is possible you might be requested to supply your postal address to verify your identity.
  • Be respectful. Do not attack the writer. Take on the idea, not the messenger. Comments containing vulgarities, personalised insults, slanders or accusations shall be deleted.
  • Keep to the point. Deliberate digressions don't aid the discussion.
  • Including multiple links or coding in your comment will increase the chances of it being automati cally marked as spam.
  • Posts that are merely links to other sites or lengthy quotes may not be published.
  • Brevity. Like homilies keep you comments as short as possible; continued repetitions of a point over various threads will not be published.
  • The decision to publish or not publish a comment is made by the site editor. It will not be possible to reply individually to those whose comments are not published.