Secret sex in the celibate system

(2010-04-28) --http://ncronline.org/blogs/examining-crisis/secret-sex-celibate-system
By A.W. Richard Sipe

Viewpoint

Sexual behavior has a long and well-documented history. Even the current problem of sexual abuse of minors is neither new nor limited to clerics. It is a practice that crosses ethnic, cultural, religious and economic strata and custom. Incest (familial contact) is the most common. However, the sexual abuse of minors by declared celibate clerics poses special issues. There are three factors that draw special attention to ... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

   March 12th - CNN to air abuse documentary

(2007-03-12) --CNN

On Monday evening, March 12th at 10 pm ET, CNN will dedicate the full hour of "Anderson Cooper 360°" to the story of CNN Headline News Anchor Thomas Roberts' personal account of the abuse he suffered at the hands of a Roman Catholic priest and Calvert Hall chaplain "Father Jeff" Toohey. In most places this will air at 10PM Monday but check your local listings to be sure. ... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

   Pilla To Step Down As Cleveland Bishop

(2006-04-27) --National Catholic Reporter
By Bill Frogameni

Bishop Anthony Pilla, once head of the U.S. bishops and a vocal advocate for peace and economic justice, will step down as leader of the Cleveland diocese. The Vatican accepted his early resignation April 4 and appointed as his successor Bishop Gerald Lennon, who previously served as interim bishop in Boston between the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law and the installation of Cardinal Sean O'Malley.

Pilla, soft-spoken and with a reput... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

   Vatican: No Change On Celibacy Policy

(2009-11-16) --http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/16/world/main2188861.shtml&title=TOP%20STORIES&catId=6
By www.cbsnews.com

The Vatican on Thursday reaffirmed the value of celibacy for priests after a summit led by Pope Benedict XVI that was spurred by a married African archbishop who has been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.

"The value of the choice of priestly celibacy, according to Catholic tradition, has been reaffirmed," the Vatican said in a brief statement summing up the three-hour meeting of senior Vatican prelates.

Pope Benedic... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

   Priests Who "Desert," Priests Who "Come Back" (Civilita Catolica)

(2007-11-11)
By GianPaolo Salvini, S.I.

The media talk about priests very often, but unfortunately they do so above all in order to divulge instances of scandal or to condemn the Church's attitudes, judged as being too harsh toward them. There is a good deal less talk about the personal care that the Church constantly exercises toward priests. [...]

What is the situation today of those who, after having abandoned the priesthood – something that usually happens amid great suffe... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

   Martini calls for Church reform

(2008-09-10) --El País
By Juan G. Bedoya

"The Church must have the courage to reform itself." This is the main idea of Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini (Turin, 1927), one of the great contemporary church leaders. With praise for the Protestant reformer Martin Luther, the Cardinal asks the Catholic Church to consider the possibility of ordaining viri probati (married men, but of proven faith), and women. It also calls for an encyclical to end the prohibitions of Humanae Vitae, issued by Paul... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

   Nashville priest calls for married clergy

(2008-09-10) --upi.com

NASHVILLE, May 25, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A Nashville, Tenn., priest is calling on the Catholic Church to allow married men into the clergy to cope with severe priest shortages. The Rev. Joseph Breen of St. Edward Catholic Church in Nashville is calling on the church hierarchy to allow married priests in the face of statistics showing that one in six U.S. parishes are going without priests and that their average age is rising rapidly, The (Nash... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

   Synod working document seeks creative response to hunger for Bible

(2008-09-10) --Catholic News Service
By John Thavis

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The working document for this fall's Synod of Bishops on the Bible called for a creative pastoral response to a growing hunger among Catholics for the word of God.

The document said the synod should help find ways for Catholics to better understand Scripture and relate it to their everyday lives, including works of justice and charity.

It strongly rejected a fundamentalist approach to the Bible and said a k... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE