Is there a link between the celibacy required of Catholic clerics and the sexual violence committed by some of them? Despite the Vatican’s repeated rejection of supporters of the ordination of married priests, the debate resurfaces after each revelation. “The crisis of sexual violence raises again the question of celibacy, no longer through the prism of the demands of priestly movements as in the years 1960-1970, nor through the prism of the “lack of priests” that It then prevailed in many regions of the world. the world. “Sex scandals now contribute to lifting the veil on the sexuality of priests, something that Catholics had not thought about for a long time, and to disenchant the vision of celibacy.”summarizes the sociologist Céline Béraud, author of French Catholicism tested by sex scandals (Threshold, 2021).
The last case, perhaps the most notorious, is a new illustration of this. The revelations about Henri Grouès, known as “Abbé Pierre”, ordained a priest in 1938, were once again accompanied by an avalanche of criticism against this requirement that the other major Christian confessions in the world reject. “When will there be any action? (…) After the desecration of the man in the beret (…)Will those responsible finally ask themselves about (…) The relaxation of the last iron rule of celibacy? »asks Michel Bellin, a former priest, in a forum on World published on September 13, denouncing “an authoritarian ecclesiastical system that, as in the old (pre-Freudian) times, persists in confiscating, devaluing and padlocking the sexuality of its members, condemning them to the sabbatical yoke of the law of celibacy”.
Even actor Lambert Wilson, who plays his character in Winter 54, Abbot Pierre (by Denis Amar, 1989), made his contribution to this centenary debate, on September 10, in the program “C à vous”, on France 5: “To me, he was someone who was definitely struggling with being single. He said it: he respected the Church, but celibacy was complicated, and he expressed it that way. »
Celibacy “is not the issue”
In response, as always, voices are raised to reject any connection with sexual violence. “Challenging the Church and priestly celibacy is not on par with what the sexual assaults committed by Abbé Pierre still force us to see”whispered Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French Bishops’ Conference, at a forum in World published on September 16, asking the company to “questioning what it shows about sexuality to younger generations.”
You have 88.4% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
