Scandal could boost vocations

Father Stephen Rossetti, a psychologist, is president of St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Md., which specializes in the treatment of priests with addictions and psychological problems. Writing recently in America, a national Catholic magazine, he dispelled some myths surrounding this issue. For one thing, he noted that compulsive pedophiles are "the rare exception" among priests and others who molest children. Other offenders can be treated, he said, contrary to myths about untreatable abusers.

He also refuted the myth that celibacy leads priests to be child molesters. "Researchers and clinicians have generally accepted the fact that celibacy does not cause child sexual abuse," he wrote. "In fact, the sexual difficulties and inner psychological problems that give rise to child sexual abuse are largely in place long before a person enters" the seminary.

Another myth holds that priests are more likely than other men to abuse children. Actually, Father Rossetti said, the percentage of priests who abuse children may be lower than that of the general adult male population.

We believe yet another myth is in the air: the notion that the scandal will decrease candidates to the priesthood. Indeed, the opposite may be the case. A crisis often draws people to make commitments, rather than avoid them. For example, the Sept. 11 attacks didn't decrease patriotism. Shocked Americans didn't say, "I give up"; they said, "I stand stronger." Similarly, the strike on Pearl Harbor in 1941 didn't lead to fewer soldiers; rather, Americans by the thousands lined up at recruiting centers the next day.

At first thought, many Catholics might wonder why any man would want to be a priest right now. The answer might be that many men may see in the current scandal an opportunity to serve, a chance to reform the Church or an opening to apply their talents to an institution in need.

As The Evangelist went to press this week, the Vatican and America's cardinals were discussing the scandal and how to resolve it. One unforeseen solution may show up in a few years: additional men -- mature in their sexuality, confident in their skills and summoned by the Holy Spirit -- who offer themselves to the Church as part of the vanguard of a revitalized priesthood.

(04-25-02)