Dysfunctional church system demands mandatory celibacy: Extracts from a letter to The Tablet (Aug 4. '01)   
 

Alan Phillip's vision for the priesthood of the future (The Tablet, 14 July, 2001) sees both married and celibate clergy: those called to celibacy alongside "anyone who doesn't feel called to it, but who is still called to the priesthood"...the problem is mandatory celibacy on the one side and men called to priesthood but not celibacy on the other side.

Twenty years ago, I would have agreed with him. His thinking was common then among the 125000 resigned and married priests...As we have looked at priesthood in the Church, we have realized that merely to make celibacy optional and ordain married men will diminish the shortage and reduce the present exhausting load on active clergy, but it will not provide a real solution.

In a linear model of priesthood, when a priest had a problem it was seen as either "Punch or Judy", the bottle or a woman. The problen resided in him alone. Change him either by treatment for alcohol abuse or a new assignment away from the woman and he was ready for ministry again...the notion that they lacked something in their character which led to their resignation has survived. It comes out again in Fr. Phillip's insinuation that the call to celibacy was not present in the first place. Once again, the priest is the sole bearer of the problem...If you can't change him, then change the rules and all will be better. Unfortunately, life does not work that way and in 20 years' time, we will be examining why married men and celibate men are still resigning from the priesthood... why making celibacy optional did not make priestly life function well.

Men are ordained into a system which is badly in need of repair. Every breath and movement is indicated by law and mandate... written in law and chancery directives...Differences are suspect and may be dangerous...If he stays and resists, his punishment is severe. If he stays and survives, he must adopt the behaviour patterns and thoughts of the system. This adoption moves the priest into a state of addiction (i.e.) "any substance or process that has taken over our lives and over which we are powerless." such that over a period of time the impact of the grace and call of celibacy becomes peripheral... The systemic problem that brought about the shortage of clergy has also contributed to ethical deterioration.

I have worked with priests in transition from clerical life for the past 30 years. I am a clinical therapist and have helped them both as a friend and as a professional. Don't get me wrong. Celibacy must become optional to help the Church grow and heal. But to say that it is the cause of the problem is to miss the truth and revictimize those who did resign and marry.
 
 

Alan Phillip has written "The Truth About Priests" in The Tablet, July 14. '01. It is worth reading and contains many good points. Dubay's criticism makes the telling point, however, that Phillip's vision does not address a renewed priesthood nor a renewed church when he says that "A positive hope-filled vision can help the people in authority find the courage to face necessary changes." Phillip quotes John Paul ll speaking to the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church: "The world is rapidly changing. What was unthinkable yesterday is within reach today." Of course, John Paul was not talking about reform in the priesthood nor the church either.

Chris Diamond