Press TV
March 11, 2010
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120609§ionid=351020605
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| An undated photograph shows Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican. |
As allegations of sexual abuse of child pupils by Catholic clerics pile up in Europe, the Vatican has moved to defend the practice of priestly celibacy.
"Priestly celibacy is a gift of the Holy Spirit which must be understood and experienced with a fullness of feeling and joy, in a total relationship with the Lord," Cardinal Claudio Hummes was quoted as saying by Italy's ANSA news agency.
Hummes, the head of the Congregation for the Clergy, added that "this unique and privileged relationship with God" was an essential requisite for becoming "an authentic witness of a singular spiritual paternity."
As most of the earliest Christian leaders were married, it is believed that the celibacy rule for priests was first introduced in the Middle Ages.
The remarks on Thursday came after Austria's most senior Catholic, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, called for a reexamination of the policy, stressing that it could be linked to pedophilia scandals that have rocked the Church.
Schoenborn, who is widely seen as a protege of Pope Benedict XVI and a future candidate for the papacy, became the highest-ranking Catholic figure to highlight the connection.
Meanwhile, a leading Catholic bishop in the Netherlands called for an independent probe into the sexual abuse of children by priests after help services were stormed by 200 calls from alleged victims last week.
Dutch political parties have echoed the calls for an investigation.
While Catholic institutions in Ireland, Austria, and the Netherlands have been hit by the allegations, the scandal has been particularly damaging in the Pope's homeland, Germany.
The head of the German bishops' conference, Robert Zollitsch, is set to meet Pope Benedict XVI on Friday to discuss the growing crisis over clerical sex abuse.
Zollitsch has also called for an inquiry to specifically focus on sadistic and sexual abuse at a boarding school where the Pope's brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, served as a choir-master.
Ratzinger has admitted that he had slapped students as punishment but has insisted that he was unaware of the sexual abuse.
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