Celibacy May Be Linked to Sexual Abuse, Catholic Church Concedes
By Julie Power
Obligatory celibacy may have contributed to sexual abuse in some circumstances, an advisory group to the leaders of the Australian Catholic Church has conceded in a report recommending that priests be given "psychosexual training". It also says the abuse of priests' powers over others - called "clericalism" - may also have contributed to the way the church responded to claims of abuse, including its tendency to disbelieve or turn a blind eye to allegations of abuse. "Church institutions and their leaders, over many decades, seemed to turn a blind eye, either instinctively or deliberately, to the abuse happening within their diocese or religious order, protecting the institution rather than caring for the child," the report said. The progress report by the Truth, Justice and Healing Council of the Catholic Church is at direct odds with a report by the Catholic Church in the United States that denied any link between child abuse and celibacy. Formed to advise the church on Royal Commission matters and to run its dealings with the Commission, the Council's views do not necessarily reflect those of senior clergy. Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart defended celibacy when he was directly asked about this at the Royal Commission's recent Melbourne hearing. Francis Sullivan, chief executive officer of the Truth Justice and Healing Council, backed calls for all priests to undergo psycho-sexual development to learn how to better control their sexual needs and passions.said most priests led full and satisfied lives. He said it was important that they were given the skills and ongoing support to do that, especially when many were "dealing with people in intimate ways". He told ABC News Radio that "psychosexual training" was "understanding how you grow as a sexual being, understanding how you relate passionately but not in a sexual way". Mr Sullivan said the whole history of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church was shocking, and it was about power and the way men were relating to children. He said the report flagged that the church had to look at the culture of "clericalism", a term that meant the abuse of a priest's power over children and others. Mr Sullivan said that, unless the church was willing to be open and honest and prepared to do more than just talk, it probably had "no chance of restoring trust". The paper was about kick-starting that process. "We are not going to shy away from controversial issues, " he said on ABC. "We are not going to spin away from this." Mr Sullivan said the report demonstrated how far the church leadership had come over the past two years. "When the [child sex abuse royal] commission was announced towards the end of 2012, most people expected the Catholic Church would be a major focus of its work. "What has transpired over the past two years has shocked, certainly most Catholics, and gone beyond even the worst expectations of many. "The public hearings have exposed the failings within the church to understand the extent of the crisis and, certainly in the early years, to put in place a pathway for survivors of abuse to be heard and to access justice. "What we have seen, however, over the past two years, and what is recorded in this report, is the willingness of the church leadership to tackle the emerging issues head-on, to understand the need for change and for a new approach to the survivors." The Catholic Church's Truth Justice and Healing Council was established in early 2013 to lead the church's engagement with the child sex abuse royal commission and to develop its reform agenda. For more on the Truth Justice and Healing Council:
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