Some Random Thoughts on New Priesthood Rules

The Washington Post reports that the Catholic Church is finishing new guidelines on who may enter the priesthood. Unlike earlier drafts of the rules, which banned gays from serving in the priesthood, the new draft permits gays to serve in the priesthood provided that they can prove that they have been celibate for three years. The new draft has been controversial, with many conservative Catholics upset that the rules allow gays to serve as priests. Many people believe that the child abuse scandals that rocked the church in the late 90's were directly the result of gays in the priesthood. Their reasoning is that because only boys were abused by the rogue priests, either all gays must be pedophiles, or gays are more likely to be pedophiles.

Unfortunately, this reasoning has some flaws. First, it does not take into account the children who were accessible to the priests. The majority of altar children are boys, and of those, the ones most likely to spend significant time with priests would be those who themselves had an interest in the priesthood. Thus, the vast majority of the potential targets for the pedophile priests were boys. Second, there are no good statistics on what percentage of priests have gay tendancies versus those who do not. Thus, based on the available information, it is impossible to determine the likelihood of an individual being a pedophile priest based on whether they are gay or straight.

What is the essence of celibacy? Is being straight having straight tendancies, or acting on them? Likewise, is being gay having homosexual thoughts, or acting on them? A person who is celibate should not be acting on any sexual tendancies, gay or straight. Instead, the celibacy of the priesthood is about the daily action of setting aside one's sexuality in the service of God's work.

I wonder why the new rules mandate that gay individuals have to prove that they have been celibate for three years, while not mandating the same requirement for straight individuals. Celibacy is not an easy thing for people to do, regardless of sexual orientation. A straight individual who has failed in remaining celibate is not necessarily a good candidate for the priesthood. True character is not based on a person's tempatations, but on the actions that they take.

I think the most significant issue for those in the priesthood with gay tendancies (and for those who do not) is whether they will be strong advocates for the teachings of the church. Will they condem homosexual behavior? Will they promote abstinence outside of marriage? Will they remain true to their vow of celibacy? Can they use their own daily struggles with temptation as a tool to teach others how to fight lustful desires and sinful behavior? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then obviously that person is not a good candidate for the priesthood.