In an exclusive interview with National Catholic Reporter on Jan. 24, Archbishop Charles Scicluna said: “One of my worries is that people are put in a situation where they are comfortable with a double life.”
“This is not to diminish the beauty of celibacy or the heroic commitment of people who have accepted celibacy as a gift and live it,” said the archbishop, speaking in an interview at the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith for NCR’s “The Vatican Briefing” podcast. “But I think it is good that we discuss it.” …
At the time, the archbishop was commenting on the lives of priests who have hidden relationships, which he said could be a “symptom” of priests “having to cope with” their celibacy requirement.
[Ahem. Has Archbishop Scicluna ever heard a confession from a married man? Because there’s no end of double lives among married men, and married women for that matter. Marriage is no better guarantor of continence than holy orders are. There may be good reasons for the Latin Rite to end the practice (not a doctrine!) of celibacy for its priests, but faithfulness is not among them. Also, I’d like to give a shout-out to Joshua, whom I got to know a little at the Vatican while covering the Synod and who was very gracious to me. — Ed]
Join the conversation as a VIP Member