Good Gift, Bad Rule

THE USES & ABUSES OF CELIBACY

John Garvey May 17, 2010 - 9:19am

There has been a lot of loose talk about the current crisis facing the Catholic Church and the Vatican in particular. Some conservative writers have suggested that the liberalization of the Second Vatican Council led to an atmosphere that encouraged clerical sexual abuse, and have gone on to say that the American bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI at the recommendation of Archbishop Jean Jadot did little or nothing to discourage it. On the left, some blame celibacy itself for the crisis. As...

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Topics: 
Bishops
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope John Paul II
Priesthood
Religious Life
Sexuality
U.S. Catholicism
Vatican II
Columnists

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About the Author

John Garvey is an Orthodox priest and columnist for Commonweal. His most recent book is Seeds of the Word: Orthodox Thinking on Other Religions.

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