CELIBACY remains a great gift to the Catholic Church but is “not for everyone”, says Bathurst Bishop Michael McKenna.
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Bishop McKenna was responding to a report from the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council that named obligatory celibacy as possible contributor to the sexual abuse of children by priests.
The council was established by the Catholic Church to guide its response to damning findings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
While Bishop McKenna defended celibacy as choice for Church leaders, he conceded there was room for discussion about its practice in future.
“The Catholic Church already ordains married men,” Bishop McKenna said.
“This is not currently common in the Roman rite, but is routine in some of the Eastern Churches. It is reasonable to consider and discuss the pros and cons of extending this practice.
“Celibacy, when chosen with eyes open to what it demands, and faithfully practised, has always been and will continue to be a great gift to the Church, as shown in the fruitful lives of so many good women and men.
“But it is not for everyone.”
Bishop McKenna admitted the Royal Commission made it clear that many past cases of sexual abuse had been poorly handled by the Church but said ending the vow of celibacy was not a “quick fix”.
“Given the fact that most perpetrators of child sexual abuse are married men, it would seem clear that abolishing celibacy would not be a quick fix to this tragic problem,” he said.
“The Royal Commission is looking at how institutions have handled complaints of sexual abuse of minors. In some cases, as we were well aware, Church leaders dealt very poorly with them and that has been humbly acknowledged.
“In other cases, there is evidence of improved attitudes and processes over the past two decades.”
Bishop McKenna acknowledged that the Royal Commission findings had challenged the faith of many priests and their parishioners – but said the greatest concern should be reserved for the victims of abuse.
“Good Catholics and their priests, here in Bathurst and elsewhere, have suffered a lot from these revelations, but not as much as those who were actually abused,” he said.
“Even if none of this were public, the damage to the Church in the life and faith of her most vulnerable members has been real.
“For a person of faith, healing this demands our own best efforts but also reliance on the healing that only comes from God.”