There have been too many reports about sex crimes involving the clergy.
Maybe it’s about time that the Vatican change the rules about priesthood. Doing away with celibacy might solve the problem. Men are men. They are as human as anyone can be, possessing primal urges that are not easy to control.
In many seminaries around the world, the students are fed with papaya during breakfast. The intention is to bring down their testosterone levels.
Or, the more drastic solution is to castrate would-be priests and convert them into eunuchs, just like the Harem keepers of old. But that will scare the wits of religious aspirants and further reduce the dwindling enrolment in seminaries.
Here in Sydney, there are unconfirmed reports that at least one Filipino priest was sent back to the Philippines because he had fathered a child. Another who wears the garb is also rumoured to have a girlfriend.
It was in the news not too long ago that a Catholic priest in Liverpool was arrested for paedophilia. He was lured via internet dating by a cop who posed as a minor. At the appointed time and place, he was arrested. He was sent by the bishop to the Central Coast for a respite.
According to a recent report in Reuters, the Pope should be held accountable for “doing nothing” about an American priest who was accused of sexually molesting some 200 boys in a school for the deaf.
Spiritual Rehabilitation
Some leaders of the Catholic faith have suggested spiritual rehabilitation for those who have engaged in sins of lust or sins of the flesh. But is that really the answer? Sins against the 7th and the 10th commandments, commonly referred to as “Sins of Lust” are very different from the others.
They leave a very strong impression on the mind that serves as a constant temptation, even for the person or priest who took a vow of chastity. These images often overpower even the very strong-willed person. What therefore is the solution to this ever-increasing problem that haunts the clergy?
Jesus Christ is the only solution
I was born a Catholic, educated in what has been regarded as the best Catholic and Jesuit institution of learning in the Philippines. I will remain a Catholic for the remaining years of my life in this planet. I strongly believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only solution to combat this sex-saturated society.
Jesus said: “Everything and anything is possible to anyone who has faith.” (Mark 9:22-23) When the apostles could not cast out the demon, they asked Jesus why this was so. Jesus answered: “This kind can only be cast out by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:28-29). – DMC