L’affaire Celibacy

TO his floundering flock, the fact that the Bishop of Argyll and Isles was missing from his bed was not as important as the realisation that he was frequenting an already occupied one. Though considerably weakening dearly-held spiritual beliefs, the incident reinforced a more cynical conviction: that nobody, not even those on the highest rungs of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, is high enough to elude some very basic instincts. The reverend’s liaison with a divorcee mother-of-three has established that while even 2,000 years after Christ, the Way of the Cross is as tough as ever, digressions from it have increasing print value. Central to the controversy is celibacy—an issue which having crawled out of the closet, has begun making covers instead of hiding between them.

Now, as Britain is reeling under the episode of the runaway reverend, the ripples are being felt by the Roman Catholic Church in India. The possibility of priests walking down the altar and up the aisle has assumed very earthly dimensions. Questions are being raised with a fearful fold trying hard to keep their spiritual shepherds from going astray. But is succumbing to temptation the only means to fight it? Apparently not. "Taking the vows of chastity for an entire life is like biting off more than you can chew," asserts Dr Lionel Fernandes.

A professor of Political Science at Bombay University, Dr Fernandes was formerly an ordained Jesuit priest before he threw in the robe to settle down for the sacrament of holy matrimony. "One would need extraordinary spiritual strength to make a life-long commitment to celibacy. If it becomes a burden that chains a priest, it has no evangelical value whatsoever. This kind of package-deal celibacy is bound to lead to scandals and affairs that would leave the Church gasping for sound explanations."

Assembly-line celibacy is beginning to come under attack and officials from the Archbishop’s House in Bombay agree that the issue is "of a sensitive nature". But bound by the diktat of Rome, there is little that can be done to alleviate the problem besides brushing any signs of lust under the carpet. Ironically, vocations to the priesthood have been on the upswing in the metros. The difference now is that the men enlisting are older, wiser and have done with the sowing of wild oats. "Educational qualifications, the minimum being a graduate degree, is now a must. It is a countrywide policy ratified by the Church only in recent years, but has been paying rich dividends," says a Jesuit priest speaking on the condition of anonymity. 

The concept of celibacy had taken root in the 12th century to ward off property disputes and the distribution of assets. Over the centuries it came to be given a spiritual significance finally weaving itself into the core of the predominant Latin Church fabric. Interestingly, Greek Orthodox priests—are permitted marriage and there has been no incompatibility between being a priest and having a family. "Diocesan priests have to accept the vow of celibacy under the Latin rite. But for the religious, adherence to this human law is not an imposition. It arises out of free choice," says  Fr Lancy Pereira, a scientist who has been a Jesuit priest for the last 34 years.

 "A common reason cited in defence of celibacy is the single status of Christ. But then Peter, one of the prominent disciples and founder of the Church was a married man. In fact, the Gospel relates the story of Christ curing his ailing mother-in-law," comments a Church historian. Sociologists are also trying to push the Asian model of holy life as ideally suited to human nature. "Monks in Thailand wear saffron robes and lead celibate lives for a specific period. They are officially allowed to opt out later on. The Hindu way of life also demarcates a phase in the life of an individual as a householder, following which he moves into the sanyasi stage. Human nature has to go through the usual grind of emotions—carnal included—and the Church should recognise this. If former priests want to help the Church by virtue of their training and experience, the condition of celibacy may deter them from a renewal of vows," says a Church official.

Clerical scalps being at a premium as spouses, unofficial statistics reveal that a little less than half of potential priests drop out along the way. Most of the casualties are in their 40s and 50s, priests who finished with their training and having exhausted their energies in pastoral work are coming to terms with themselves. In place of a harmonious integration of sexuality and the self, emerges doubt. "To be honest, I think there is not a single person who has not had a struggle with his celibacy. People may think that there isn’t any and we ourselves may like to give the impression that it is no problem at all. Only when some shocking incident happens, everybody seems to realise that there is perhaps a much bigger problem than they thought," adds Fr Pereira. 

"Celibacy made sense during the missionary movements to spread the Good News worldwide. It saved a lot of family heartache during impossible transfers. The movement now should be towards the traditional Jewish community system rather than the existing hierarchical system. It would make the clergy a part of us rather than apart from us," notes Tony Netto, social worker and member of the Association of Concerned Catholics (ACC). The fallout could probably be an altered position for Catholic missionaries. The revised good news is that options are being thrown up and are accompanied with healthy debate. At one end of the spiritual spectrum lies the appointment of married men as deacons and ministers of the Word and at the other, the ordination of women.

 However, priests who so far have been living on pittance and a prayer may find that dropping the celibacy clause may cause fresh problems. "It is alright as an idea abroad where wives of pastors most often earn more than the pastors themselves. In India, if the women are financially dependent on spouses engaged in Church work, priests would find maintaining a balance between catering to the material needs of a family and the    spiritual needs of society a tough act indeed, observes a priest. Some feel that the sense of deprivation from a choice could lead to discrepancies and rumblings of discontent for those in the winter of their vocations. And others opine that the lay people would never be able to accept married priests. 

"The idea can work both ways. It is better to have married clergy who are content rather than celibates who are struggling with themselves. As professors, counsellors, scientists, most priests are self-supporting," argues Dr Fernandes who suggests an annual renewal of the vows of celibacy. "Besides, what is natural and normal for the majority should be the norm in an organisation. The motivation to be celibate should be out of choice rather than compulsion."

 As Church heads all over the world develop their own flexible formulae to deal with the crisis, the Church in Rome continues to maintain a rigid stand. Likening priesthood to marriage, Fr Daniel Ferrando, Spanish Jesuit priest for 46 years, 30 of which were spent training priests at Bombay’s St Pius Seminary College, sums up the feeling: "Yes, it is the discipline of the Church in the Latin rite to ordain priests among those who have the vocation to lead a celibate life. But I connect the vow of celibacy with the fidelity of marriage. The difference is very little. A married man renounces all the women of the world for one woman; a priest renounces everything for the love of the Church and the people. Just because a few are unfaithful, you cannot destroy the value of celibacy. Where the Church could open the door is by extending the ministry to include married people." 

On the conservative hand, there is hope that one dark shepherd won’t blacken all the others. On the liberal hand, there is despair that a few good men will be lost for having sacrificed perfectly legitimate desires at the altar. And on the tip of every tongue is Bishop Roderick Wright’s plea for forgiveness from Pope John Paul II: "I am physically and spiritually unable to sustain the responsibilities of a diocesan bishop and ask to be released of my office." At the heart of the matter is one simple truth. That the calling to serve may be heavenly. But priests can be all too human.