Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Does Catholic celibacy contribute to child sex abuse?

 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8604800.stm
With the Roman Catholic Church facing a series of paedophilia scandals, 
some observers have begun to ask whether the tradition of celibacy in 
the priesthood has contributed to child abuse. The BBC's Paul Henley 
raises the question with Catholics in Cologne.
In Pope Benedict XVI's home country, Germany, the Catholic Church could 
have hoped for a better Easter in terms of public relations.
While the media deal, nearly daily, with fresh allegations of priests 
sexually abusing children, opinion polls published by Stern magazine 
suggest almost a fifth of German Catholics have considered leaving the 
Church because of the abuse scandal and only 17% of Germans now trust 
the Church as an institution.
Typical of the kind of comment Catholic leaders would have preferred not 
to have faced,was a contribution to a recent ZDF television discussion 
programme by Professor Klaus Beier, head of the Institute of Sexology 
and Sexual Medicine at Berlin's Charite Hospital.
"If you are already struggling with a conflicted sexuality, including 
paedophile tendencies, then it is attractive to become part of an 
institution that obliges you to be celibate," he said.
"I have seen many of these cases... and it is something the Catholic 
Church should be made aware of."
'Abnormal sexuality'
More surprising has been the contribution to the debate of senior 
figures from inside the Church, including Hamburg Auxiliary Bishop 
Hans-Jochen Jaschke, who seemed to add fuel to the fire of those making 
a connection between priestly celibacy and paedophilia.
He was quoted as saying that the "celibate lifestyle can attract people 
who have an abnormal sexuality and cannot integrate sexuality into their 
lives."
But even those outspoken Catholic rebels who have long called for a 
discussion about the future of celibacy - including Father Hans Kung, a 
contemporary of the Pope and well-known thorn in the side of the Vatican 
- have distanced themselves from any attempt to link paedophile offences 
and priestly vows of chastity.
Now another theologian, Manfred Luetz, psychiatrist, author and 
organiser of a 2003 Vatican congress about the abuse of children, has 
been defending the Church's stance, resisting any link between celibacy 
and paedophilia.
"I do not think that the Vatican is trying to prevent any debate about 
celibacy," he said, speaking in his office at Cologne's Alexianer 
Hospital, where he is director.
"Catholics are free to talk about it. Celibacy is no dogma. But I think 
when we have a discussion about abuse, then this is not the moment to 
discuss celibacy, because then we make the same strategies as the 
offenders do.
"The offenders always say 'we are not the guilty ones; society is 
guilty, the church is guilty, celibacy is the problem, not us'. And I do 
not want to be an accomplice to such escape strategies".
Modernisation?
Dr Luetz dismisses any suggestion of a scientific correlation between 
celibacy and abuse.
"The father of a family", he says, "is 36 times more likely to abuse 
than a celibate priest. So it is not good to discuss celibacy in this 
context.
"Instead, we have to discuss how to prevent other abuses, we have to 
speak about the victims and we have to speak about the way we approach 
these topics with transparency."
Dr Luetz says the Church has already been doing this for six years, 
noting that guidelines are now in place and praising a campaign in 
Germany for victims to come forward.
But he also notes that most of the cases now emerging date back to long 
before these measures were put in place.
"I know many think that reforming celibacy rules would be a 
modernisation, but what is modernising?" he asks.
"The Protestant Church doesn't have celibacy and the number of people 
leaving their clergy is higher than ours."
Worldly experience
Many German Catholics visiting Cologne's famous cathedral during Easter 
week do appear, however, to fix on priestly celibacy as one of the 
issues contributing to the church's current problems.
One woman in her 20s suggested marriage for priests would be a healthy 
step forward for the institution.
Former Jesuit priest says he left the priesthood because of celibacy rules
"If it would be allowed I think there wouldn't be so many problems and 
so many secrets that they have to keep," she said.
Another church-goer said she thought more worldly experience had to be a 
good thing among priests.
"The family and children - they should experience what they are talking 
about," she said.
A man visiting the cathedral with his wife and daughters agreed.
"It should be possible for priests to marry," he said.
"It would be a good face for the church, so people can see they make a 
first step to be more modern and to be actual."
Damian Sassin, who served as a Jesuit priest for 20 years before leaving 
the priesthood and getting married, is also among those who supports reform.
"The celibacy rule is a part of the current crisis of the Church. It's 
definitely not the only one but it plays a role in it," he said.
"It took me a while for me to... finally admit that I just couldn't live 
this [way] happily and healthily, knowing quite a few priests who 
obviously couldn't do that either, but kept doing it, and became more 
and more strange people."

  
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8604800.stm
Sarebbe davvero l'ora che la Chiesa mandasse in soffitta il celibato
per preti e suore. E' completamente contro natura ed è un ostacolo
alla comprensione dei problemi dei propri fedeli da parte dei
sacerdoti. Credo inoltre che la possibilità di avere una propria
famiglia ridurrebbe la pedofilia.

 famiglia ridurrebbe la pedofilia.
Ti informo che il maggior numero di casi di *ABUSI SESSUALI SU MINORI* (non
esiste un reato di "pedofilia" ne in Italia ne all'estero) avvengono proprio
in famiglia.
Ne segue che hai detto una ca***ta.
-Stefano

-Stefano
Se anche quelli avvenuti in famiglia dovessero rimanere costanti, si
ridurrebbero quelli compiuti fuori dalla famiglia.

 Se anche quelli avvenuti in famiglia dovessero rimanere costanti
Se vi fossero piu' famiglie e ***la percentuale di abusi restasse
costante*** allora si avrebbero un numero maggiore di bambini abusati.
Ne segue che hai detto l'ennesima ca***ta.
-Stefano

>>> Credo inoltre che la possibilit� di avere una propria


>Bah...
Idem come sopra.
-Stefano

l'universo mondo?
Mi era sembrata una richiesta polemica, ma forse non era così.
Per la grande maggioranza degli uomini e delle donne, vivere in una
famiglia (se non in una comunità) è una esigenza innata. Bisogna anche
considerare che siamo la specie che cura più a lungo i propri figli.
Se non avessimo una tendenza naturale a vivere in comunità (tribù,
famiglie) non ci occuperemmo tanto dei figli. Dato questo orizzonte
naturale per gli esseri umani, mi sembra del tutto ovvio che non si
dovrebbe proibire a qualcuno, sia esso prete o suora di avere una
propria famiglia.
Condividendo gli stessi problemi delle persone con famiglia, i
sacerdoti potrebbero vederli in un modo più adeguato.


 i sacerdoti potrebbero vederli in un modo più adeguato.
Cosa che gia' fanno, fino a prova contraria.
-Stefano