Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz, Germany has called for discussion of optional celibacy for priests. The abuse scandal in the Catholic Church shows that \u201cthe system is called into question,\u201d said the bishop.<\/p>\n
On the question of optional celibacy, Bishop Kohlgraf said, \u201cFor myself I would say that that it must not be a taboo topic that one may not discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vocation to the priesthood could attract people who, \u201cbecause of their personality structure, become perpetrators,\u201d he said. \u201cCertain conceptions of the church\u2019s moral teachings\u201d could hinder an open engagement with experiences and questions of human sexuality, he stated in a letter sent to all the parishes in his diocese.<\/p>\n
Bishop Kohlgraf was named bishop by Pope Francis in August, 2017. As of last year, the newly-named bishop had stated that no departure from celibacy would be part of the church\u2019s immediate future. \u201cIntentional renunciation of marriage belongs to the charism of the Catholic Church,\u201d he said at the time. The one who wishes to become a Catholic priest must \u201caffirm celibacy as a spiritual way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bishop Kohgraf also noted the secular courts are \u201cno help whatsoever\u201d in those many cases where clerical abuse happened before statutes of limitations. He suggested some type of church court for such cases which would enforce uniform standards for all of Germany.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As of last year, the newly-named bishop did not foresee a departure from celibacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":43331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3116,1081],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-new-ws","category-church-reform"],"yoast_head":"\n