Priests and their sexual preferences?

Question

there seem to be a large percentage of priests that abuse children!

Do you think that sexual restrictions contribute/cause this? or that people enter into prisethood with this intention?

Answer 1

Never trust a man no matter what the title.

Answer 2

Actually, it's not that large. It's just a self-selecting sample. How often do you think news reporters report: "Priest NOT molesting children"? Answer: never. Well, almost never. Before you jump to this conclusion, try and find an empirical study that shows that there is a higher incidence of pedophilia in priesthood than other populations. And, by lucky coincidence, these studies are likely to suggest the most likely reasons should such a difference be found.

Answer 3

I think that many priests might already have the perversion and that some do enter priesthood intentionally for that reason and the ones who don't found priesthood attractive because they could not form meaningful bonds with men or women of the appropriate age (because they are indeed pedophiles).

Answer 4

i don't think this enters their mind initially, but because of the urges that all healthy, well i guess, and unhealthy people have, it becomes a problem. The opportunity is there in the priesthood with kids. Its the accessibility. Which in my strong opinion they should be crucified for doing.

Answer 5

First off, "J" gives a sound and sensible reply ... that is, there really may not be a "large percentage" of priest that abuse relative to any other cohort (accountants, counselors, lawyers, parents, etc).  

Your question though got my attention and caused me to pause a bit and consider the implications that may surface because of "sexual restrictions" as well as the possibility that people with certain proclivities may be attracted to the priesthood or other such professions where sexuality is repressed.

If we begin by agreeing there are (generally) three distinct ways for humans to act on (be agents of) their sexuality, then we may be able to better understand if sexual restrictions facilitate or contribute to abuse as well as if certain professions (priesthood) somehow are a "magnet" for those who are sexually repressed.

The three ways to act on our sexual feelings are i) expression, ii) repression, and iii) suppression.

Priests -by nature of their calling- are required to cordon off (build a wall around) their sexuality.  It's reasonable to assert that this requirement is not only nearly impossible to do, it also goes against the most fundamental aspects of the human species.  As such, priests are being asked to wall off an integral part of human nature.

As I don't know the probability of the success rate for such a drastic and -I'd argue- rather inhumane sanction, I cannot say with confidence whether it is relatively easy or incredibly impossible to do (i.e., wall off sexual feelings).  However, based on the fact that our sexuality is a critical component to giving, sustaining, and tending to life, it then becomes quite reasonable to project that this "walling off" cannot be expected to have a beneficial outcome (for the individual as well as others).

Repressed feelings, be that sexual or others, tend to lead to pathologies (disorders) that get manifested in other ways -yes, quite possibly in child abuse.  And, although I do not have empirical data to support my statement, it seems likely that this "compartmentalization" occurs more commonly in males.  As such, the requirements, sanctions, and gender of the priesthood bring together a mixture of human traits that seem primed for behaviors that are deplorable to say nothing of the illegality of such behaviors.

Priests do not have an outlet for their sexuality, as such, to a large extent, their sexuality is put in a closet, hidden literally and figuratively from the priest, his colleagues, and his parishioners.  This separation of such a critical component (sexuality) allows for the walling off to be possible while simultaneously preventing the priest from integrating all critical components of life into his persona.  As such,  the sexual repression (as one example) eventually seeks release and, sadly so, for some it gets expressed in abuse of children.

Answer 6

In years past, if a catholic displayed sexual preferences that were not considered normal, they were encouraged to be priests.  The people encouraging them assumed that if they became priests, they wouldn't have s*x.  These preferences included pedophilia, homosexuality, and others.  Now, we have priests (although not all of them) with these urges.

Luckily, the church has since decided this is a bad policy.

Answer 7

I'm not sure on this one.