Should Catholic priests be allowed to marry?

Last week’s reports of the sex scandal that rocked the local Catholic diocese, culminating in the resignation of Bishop Valentine Seane, have prompted a debate around the utility of Catholic priests’ celibacy. Many people who followed details of the scandal on social media felt it was high time Catholic priests were allowed to marry. For decades this is the question that has been coming more often to the Catholic authority.

However, even with the sex scandals that happen all over the world, the Church maintains this is not an easy decision to make. The fact that one becomes a priest by choice knowing that they are not allowed to marry settles the argument. It is believed that these ordinances have kept the church, priests, and parishioners very strong for thousands of years. Meanwhile, there are mixed feelings about the issue.

Some members of the church, as well as outsiders, believe that priests need to experience and understand fully the challenges that families go through if they are to support them through life’s difficulties. However, many Catholic priests struggle with celibacy, which affects their ministry and spiritual growth. In February 2013, Pope Benedict shocked the Catholic Church members when he resigned from his position as Holy See.

The resignation was unexpected and the first thing to happen in the Catholic Church. Reports reveal that Pope’s resignation was prompted by the tough decisions he had to make as the leader of the church which included confirmation that there was a so-called “gay lobby” among senior Vatican clerics. As described by Benedict, this was more accurately a clique of up to five men who had their sexuality in common but worked together for their own ends rather than pushing the cause of gay believers.

Benedict managed to remove the group from power. But he often lacked decisiveness. Benedict has made only a handful of public appearances since he retired in 2013 saying he no longer has the strength of mind or body to carry on. A local Catholic priest explains that just like Pope Benedict did after resignation, going out to pray and listen to the Lord, Seane also is going through that moment of praying and listening to the Lord. On Sunday at Christ the King Cathedral in Gaborone, the newly appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Gaborone His Lordship Frank Nubuasah S.V.D. explained to the church that Seane is still a Bishop and he is now Bishop Emeritus.

He called on all members to pray for the church. “This is the time for us to seriously pray, it is our responsibility to pray for Bishop Seane,” said Nabuasah. After Seane’s resignation as the Bishop of the Diocese of Gaborone, which shocked members of the church, he was accused of having been involved in a sex scandal which resulted in the rape and abuse of the Sisters of Calvary, forcing some of them to commit abortion.

However, some members of the church have refused to buy into the sex-related accusations because for a long time, they have known Seane to live under pressure from an alleged plot to kill him, which they believe led to his decision to quit. The story within the church is that Seane was allegedly threatened by some priest who has for some time been eyeing his position.

The said priest is said to have connived with some rich people who are after the church land and view him as an obstacle towards acquiring it. Seane’s resignation came as a shock to the church members as it was the first time a Catholic Bishop in Botswana resigned.