Where the Rubber Hits the Road

Married and Ordained. The Minor Leagues of the Catholic Clergy

An explanation of celibacy in a nice, succinct and to the point article!  New Oxford Review

George Weigel addresses celibacy issue in Newsweek. CLICK HERE to read the article . He also wrote the Philadelphia article previously posted below.  George is 'hitting them out of the park' in the 'spiritual contest' in which the prize is not a trophy, but the souls of many. Spread the word if you believe in the RC Church! It's easy and it would be very much appreciated by all my friends. Thank you! Fr. Tim

If you take a bunch of men and women at the peak of their sexual powers, tell them they must remain celibate, and then tell them they talk to God or are married to God you're going to end up with some bent individuals. What else would you expect? It's in defiance of nature, and to paraphrase Francis Bacon, 'nature is more forceful in the return...', however it may find expression. Immaturity finds many ways of expression, and believing a child is a playmate, and forgetting you're an adult is just one of them. ----------------------------------- robertbj: I think you are selling we celibates short (grin). Have you considered that a man does not take vows of celibacy until he hits 25 yrs of age (the normative age for ordination to the priesthood according to Church law)?  If he has been through any of the normal experiences of life (with all its stages of psycho/sexual development), by the time he comes to makes this commitment he should be solid in his cap...

A person going by the handle "John T Hutt" posted the following in the threads of the Antigonish story on the CBC website: TM4321 wrote: "....who is to say that foregoing an active sexual life is "abnormal", or that it is "abnormal" to control one's passions." Tim, you have unintentionally hit the nail on the head. The entire problem has been caused by culture of sexual libertarianism that exists in the priesthood. For the most part, secular society controls the expression of "abnormal" passions. In fact most people in the wider world perform some sort of self-diagnosis and seek help if their passions are harmful to themselves or others. The problem with the Catholic Church is that the relatively normal passions of homosexuality have for cultural reasons bled over into the profoundly abnormal passions of child abuse. I am trying to understand what he is saying. Any opinions?