In every diocese in Ireland you have interesting insertions in the clergy section of diocesan websites saying things like:
On sabbatical.
C/O Bishops House.
On further studies.
These statements have often come to be used by Irish bishops to be covers for problem priests.
Priests being investigated by the police, priests accused of sexual and financial misbehaviour and any number of other clerical problems.
Behind this is the plain fact that bishops want to hide the truth about these situations – in fact, to lie.
Clerical abuse and misconduct is in itself a horrific reality.
But bishops lying and covering this abuse and misconduct compounds the wrong and adds abuse and misconduct to abuse and misconduct.
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MIA’s.
1. Paedophile priests
Of course it is absolutely clear that when a priest is accused of the abuse of a minor he should immediately step aside for an investigation to be undertaken. While that is happening the accused priest must be regarded as “innocent until proven guilty,”.
While many priests have been found guilty and sentenced there have been other cases of priests being wrongly accused.
2. Priests sexually misbehaving.
We’ve always had cases of priests getting into trouble sexually. In the past a lot of priests had mistresses and made women pregnant. In many of those cases the priests were moved to other parishes and the women treated terribly by bishops.
THE GAY PRIEST PHENOMENON
More recently, as the Roman Catholic Priesthood evolves into a GAY PROFESSION, many of the sexual scandals that have emerged are gay sex scandals.
We’ve had the 2016 Maynooth Gay Scandal with many gay seminarians not proceeding to priesthood.
We’ve had the Kildorrey Gay Altar Sex Scandal involving a now deceased priest and a seminarian.
We’ve had Chris Derwin in Dublin.
We’ve had the Rory, McCamley and McVeigh scandals in Armagh and the Armagh seminarians scandal.
AND there are other serious Armagh scandals in the pipeline.
We’ve had other such scandals in Down and Connor, Derry, Raphoe, killaloe, Cloyne etc.
We’ve had the SILVERSTREAM, MOUNT MELLERARY, ROSCREA AND GLENSTAL scandals – the greatest of which was Abbot Richard Purcell’s attendance at the Boilerhouse Sauna.
CELIBACY AND CHASTITY:
At the centre if the sex scandals, including the gay one, is the RCC’s teachings and rules about celibacy and chastity for monks.
They ORDAIN you – only on the promise that you will be celibate and chaste and never have sex.
Technically you are not really allowed to have sex with yourself.
You take a public promise never to have sex.
If you do you are breaking your solemn promise.
And that means you are being a hypocrite.
Until the RCC rules change, it would be more authentic for a man who intends having sex not to seek to be a priest or a monk.
And if you find you can’t keep your intended promises – then you should do the honourable thing and leave.
If you lead a double life you cannot be spiritually authentic, either within or without.
And you are accepting all the privileges and benefits if office on the basis if a lie.
AND, it is very likely that you will be caught out, exposed and shamed.
And that will be hurtful not only to you, but to your family, your friends and the people you leadership as pastor.
And you will be at the epicentre if a distressing public scandal.
BISHOP PAT BUCKLEY 