It seems that in the past, too many extremely young men (sexually immature) entered into the seminaries. This may have contributed to the pedophile/homosexual priest scandal.
A better policy might be to wait until a person is sexually mature before entering into a vocation requiring celibacy so that that individual knows full well whether or not he can keep his or her religious vows of celibacy.
I also happen to think the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s dramatically lowered the bar and standards. Many priests were ordained who had no business anywhere near the Church. Liberation Theology as well as the sexual revolution and the counterculture as well came into being all around the same time as Vatican II.
The coming together of all of this created a perfect storm which created an environment which permitted depraved individuals to think the Church could somehow become a safe harbor for their depraved behavior.
My Maronite pastor was ordained 9 years ago at the age of 35. He is bi-ritual, physically hard working (when the roof of our church was damaged in a hail storm, he was on the roof at 1am to seal the holes and back up the next day to temporarily seal it with fresh tar). When the insurance came through to repair the church, he personally ripped down walls, used a cement saw to cut through cinder block ... well, you get the picture. He also volunteers to assist the RC diocese and has an excellent read on the clergy. He distances himslef from certain area priests and has befriended the more senior ones.
The coming together of all of this created a perfect storm which created an environment which permitted depraved individuals to think the Church could somehow become a safe harbor for their depraved behavior.
Definitely describes several dioceses in NY. Have you ever read this?
If by "sexually immature" you mean "homosexual", then yes.
Unfortunately, mandatory celibacy was used and abused by homosexuals looking to hide from a society that frowned on their disorder. This was enough to force them into hiding their sexual preference in the priesthood. They made bad priests and worse, their disorder was the root of this great scandal. It will take a long long time for this scar to heal. Much prayer and fasting, and I feel suffering, is necessary before we see healing.
Mother Church needs to be very careful in selecting whom she deems fit for ordaining. Having known many new “Good” candidates, and the horror stories they have shared, issues with homosexuality that still exists in our seminaries, I think we still have a ways to go before we see an end to this problem.
True. Also many upstanding, spiritual called men were turned away due to an agenda (in two particular orders as a fact, they weren’t open-minded enough).
I have over twenty friends in the priesthood and know of many who left heartbroken, due to reporting unseemly goings on; They were seen as the problem.
Pray for our priests.