is celibacy related to sexual abuse?

[tcsenter]

Celibacy has nothing whatsoever to do with sexual abuse or pedophilia. If it did, I would be casing the elementary schools about right now...but that isn't happening. The celibacy issue has become politicized and people are seizing this opportunity to attack it.

Pedophiles are drawn like magnets to positions of implicit trust where they are afforded access to children (clergy, teachers, scout leaders, summer camp staff, day care, etc.). The difference between the Catholic church and any other church is the Catholic church has for a half century or more willfully and knowingly created a safe haven for pedophiles. Most other churches aren't going to tolerate pedophiles, but the Catholic church as gone well past 'tolerating' them - facilitating, aiding, abetting, and protecting.

I'm not sure that there aren't other churches doing the same thing, but it seems unlikely it is happening nearly to the extent found in the Catholic church.

 

[Stark]

<< 1 Corinthians 7:1-9
1 Now about the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to live a celibate life. 2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. 3 The husband should not deprive his wife of sexual intimacy, which is her right as a married woman, nor should the wife deprive her husband. 4 The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband also gives authority over his body to his wife. 5 So do not deprive each other of sexual relations. The only exception to this rule would be the agreement of both husband and wife to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time, so they can give themselves more completely to prayer. Afterward they should come together again so that Satan won't be able to tempt them because of their lack of self-control. 6 This is only my suggestion. It's not meant to be an absolute rule. 7 I wish everyone could get along without marrying, just as I do. But we are not all the same. God gives some the gift of marriage, and to others he gives the gift of singleness. >>



Until the Catholic church figures out that requiring celibacy of all priests is neither healthy nor practical, they will have these problems. Occasionally people can live a celibate life, but this not the norm. Forcing the life on people who wish to serve in the church is asking for trouble. Just as Paul warned, it looks like Satan has been able to tempt many priests who lack self-control while the Rome has turned a blink eye and shuffled the molesters from state to state. Now they're facing million dollar lawsuits and they're finally cleaning up their act.

 

[dullard]

Many people who feel gay tendancies have migrated to the church - probably to help them understand what they feel as something wrong. Many homosexuals start off thinking that they are straight and then meet confusion when they feel gay tendancies. The church often helps these people with love and kindness.

These people then see that society is often against gays (even often against those who don't marry). Becoming a member of the clergy is a great escape from the problems with society: you don't need to marry since you must be celibate. So I understand that priests may have a higher than average level of homosexual tendancies.

Unfortunately some people cannot suppress their urges - they are called criminals. All professions will have some criminals, so the church will also have criminals. Duh. Celibacy doesn't create criminals - it just helps move some gay people into church positions. A small minority of these gay priests/nuns/monks will be criminals. If these gay criminals were allowed to releave their urges like most of the rest of us do (sexual relations with adults) then their sexual urges won't be pent up. They fight and fight, but some will fail in this battle. Thus the outlet of these urges often tends to be homosexual acts on children.

The church doesn't cause these crimes. However their policies tend to accumulate a higher percent of horny homosexual criminals near trusting children than many other professions. Thus statistically I'd expect more of these terrible occurances. It makes sense to me that they occur - now you tell me why the church has sheltered them, hired lawers for them, doesn't report them, etc.

 

[wfbberzerker]

what is celibacy? (i have no clue - im jewish)

 

[gunf1ghter]

celibacy == no sex