At Slate, Michael Sean Winters argues that Father Alberto Cutié’s scandal—he was caught kissing a woman he later admitted was his girlfriend—doesn’t change the debate about clerical celibacy:
Curiously, Father Cutié has not joined the “end priestly celibacy” brigade. In fact, just the opposite. What was impressive about Cutié is that he actually defended celibacy when caught violating it. “I don’t want to be the anti-celibacy priest,” he told CBS News. “I believe that celibacy is good, that it’s a good commitment to God.” He acknowledged the pain the incident caused his fans and parishioners, discussed how he had struggled with celibacy, and spoke movingly about human weakness and the need to live one’s life authentically. “We want to do things right, but the truth is sometimes we fall short. I fell short.”
In fact, ending celibacy would bring on a different set of problems and issues. Priests earn very little money, making supporting a family, let alone sending a child to college, seem impossible. Would salaries go up, and are the people in the pews willing to pay for that? The first time a priest abandons his wife and children, people would be clamoring for the good old days when priests did not marry.
The best rationale for maintaining clerical celibacy is not so pedestrian. In our culture, sex is used to sell everything from hair-care products to movies. The idea that some people willingly choose not to follow that culture is a powerful Christian witness. Maintaining celibacy—even when priests fall short—nonetheless serves as a counter-cultural sign that reads in big letters, “Sex isn’t everything.” Even when no one is listening, the church has the obligation to speak this truth.
Read the full piece here.