Understanding the Culture of Celibacy for the Treatment of Priests and Religious

Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity among Clergy: How Spiritual Directors can Help in the Context of Seminary Formation

“…While seminarians were taught that celibacy was a charism and gift as well as a requirement of the priesthood, they were often left to figure out on their own how to live the life-time commitment of celibacy or were guided in ways of avoiding and denying the temptation to act on their sexual drives. Not having had adequate spiritual direction addressing sexuality or academic courses on human sexuality, some priests may never have had the opportunity to explore their own sexuality and may not have learned in the seminary how to accept themselves as sexual beings or deal with sexual urges openly and appropriately (Gregoire & Jungers, 2003). Two incidents drove the church to reevaluate its seminary formation programs in the early 1990s.…”

The Role of Social Factors in the Sexual Misconduct of Roman Catholic Clergy: A Second Look at the John Jay Data

“…Finally, celibacy per se is not a predictive cause in the motivation for sexual involvement with a minor. In fact, the majority of sexual offenders are married men, not celibate priests (Gregoire & Jungers, 2003). Further, celibacy in other religions, such as Buddhism, has not resulted in the sexual abuse of minors.…”