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	Let's Talk about Sex: Archbishop The Age March 13, 2010 http://www.theage.com.au/world/lets-talk-about-sex-archbishop-20100312-q47z.html The Vatican faces growing calls to tackle the previously taboo subject of clerical celibacy as a way of preventing future sex abuse scandals involving priests. The head of the Catholic Church in Austria said the possible reasons behind sex abuse crises in Austria, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands in recent weeks should be subjected to ''unflinching examination''. A number of theologians and lay organisations have called for celibacy to be abolished on the grounds that it allows no outlet for priests' sexual urges, but it is rare for a senior figure within the church to call for a debate. In an article for the in-house Thema Kirche magazine, the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schoenborn, called for a debate on celibacy. He said it was time to examine ''the issue of priest celibacy and the issue of personality development. It requires a great deal of honesty, both on the part of the church and of society as a whole.'' His office later issued a ''clarification'' - reportedly under pressure from the Holy See - saying the archbishop was ''in no way seeking to question the Catholic Church's celibacy rule''. But the Vatican insisted that the principle of celibacy was not open to negotiation. ''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,'' said Brazilian cardinal Claudio Hummes, who heads the Vatican's department concerned with the priesthood. Archbishop Schoenborn's remarks followed further revelations of abuse in Europe, with new incidents emerging in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, and followed claims by an Italian academic that a greater presence of women in the Vatican might have prevented clerical sexual abuse. Lucetta Scaraffia said women might have helped remove the ''veil of secrecy'' surrounding the abuse.
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