The Vatican has accepted the resignation of an Argentine bishop who was caught cavorting with a blonde, bikini-clad woman on a Mexican beach…Bishop Fernando Bargallo, 57, was forced to hand in his resignation after photographs emerged this month showing him frolicking and embracing the woman at a luxury resort in Mexico.
Bargallo, who led the Argentine diocese of Merlo-Moreno outside Buenos Aires since May 1997, has reportedly admitted to having “amorous ties” with the woman he is seen embracing in the water, thought to be a divorced restaurant owner…
Pope Benedict XVI has vigorously denied claims that abstention may have contributed to sex abuse scandals, insisting repeatedly that celibacy is central to the priesthood…In April, he issued a rare condemnation of errant priests, slamming in particular an “appeal to religious disobedience” launched by a group of Austrian clerics in 2011, which argued for an end to priestly celibacy.
Celibacy has been a papal law since the 11th Century – and that’s all it is. A law. Not doctrine. Any Pope with a modern brain and some kind of understanding of how human beings function can end this valueless rule.
Is it possible that the self destructive behavior by the leaders of that religion might end up being self destructive to that religion?
Better that then a pedophile
survivingsurvivalism.com
Celibacy has nothing to do with pedophilia. There are a lot of religious institutions where celibacy is required and there isn’t a case of pedophilia.
Maybe it’s the West that needs to control its sexual urges. Maybe it’s men that know that Universal Church demands celibacy from its priest but the latter — some of them — can’t deal with that fact.
You want to be with a woman and still be a priest? Hey, go join a Protestant denomination.
The main problem with priests marrying (from the church point of view) and having kids is that any property they have will go to the kids, not back to the church.
It’s an inheritance thing.
Although Garrison Keillor one time talked about the fictional Pastor Inqvuist up in the pulpit giving a sermon about forgiveness, etc and right there in the front pew was his wife with whom he had many fights, including one that wasn’t quite over with yet.
Direct refutation of your idea is practice of Orthodox Church, not fundamentally much different from the Catholic Church: Different profession within priesthood have different requirements. For the position equivalent of the Pastor (running local church,…) – marriage is actually encouraged. So, majority can marry – your argument goes through the window. Also, it is important to know who is not supposed to get married: people who want to primarily serve Church itself (equivalent of Bishops and higher positions within Church structure) and people who want to serve God as directly as they can (monks,…). These are deeper levels of service where celibacy (theoretically at least) should help them achieve their goals.
Look at the amount of land holdings that the Catholic Church has acquired over the last couple millennium and compare that to the land holdings of the Orthodox church. Yes – the Orthodox church made a choice to allow certain members to marry, that doesn’t make my argument that the Catholic Church’s choice of enforcing celibacy helped it become rich.
(Okay granted – the Orthodox church lost quite a bit of land in Russia in 1917.)
I’m thinking of your stereotypical parish priest in the middle ages when almost everyone tithed to the church and the priest was able to draw a salary.
My point is that a priest that accumulates even a small estate will have something to leave the church.
If that priest has a family, then he has to make a choice about whether to leave his estate to his family or the church. Over the millennium, these small choices add up. And the church that forbids marriage/children will accumulate more wealth than a church that allows it.
It’s an old idea that needs to go away in today’s world as the Catholic church has more than enough lands/wealth to serve it’s dwindling parishioners. But it won’t because it’s tradition and everyone would be shocked if Rome actually did something that even went halfway towards the reforms that the other church’s have implemented.
He’s been reinstated!
It was an alter boy in a cleverly disguised costume.
He apologized to the vatican – claiming “she looked twelve”
Bishops should be married with families.
Should bishops be married with families? No. but it should be allowed. “Institutions” should mirror the societies they serve as much as possible otherwise needless friction arises.
The implication here is that all property of a Priest reverts to the Church on the death of the Priest?
Really?
A Priest can’t will his estate as he pleases? A priest even has an estate???? I think I see a more basic error on the part of Catholics should that be an animating concern of theirs.
Ha, ha. Silly Hoomans….. but what do you expect?
What happens in Mexico should stay in Mexico.
Who ratted out this poor fellow? His underling who is in line for the post?
Must be slow on the blog traffic. Trotting out a religion item for the mongrels to chew on. Shall we expect a gun-related post soon? Perhaps something to do with abortion?
Pfft.
May I has a post regarding an abortion gained by brandishing a gun please? The Bill of Rights implications would be worth posting the comments in reverse chronological order!
Yea, verily – and pass the ammo in an extended clip.
How about the legality of the Slide Fire stock.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ks5idq69MN4
That is a clever twist. Thanks for linking.
I thought this was going to be about Lance Henrickson. 🙁
Bishops need love too.
I’m getting a sense of deja vu here — didn’t something like this (including pics of frolicking and kissing on the beach) hit the tabloids a year or two ago? (Except perhaps it was a popular priest, not a bishop.)
It’s so tempting, I’m not going to even mention the number of priests who are pederasts that the church didn’t fire immediately.
Ah, yes. Father Alberto Cutié, after the photos appeared, left the Catholic Church, joined the Episcopal church, married the woman in the photos and now has a daughter with her.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Cuti%C3%A9
Good for him.
Adult celibacy and virginity should be illegal. It’s not healthy. If Obamacare was really about health it would mandate sex.
I’m sure Eideard would be all supportive of the Catholic Church if they adopted this reform.