Should Pedophile Priests Be Given New Parishes?

Question

Or should they be thrown out of the Priesthood?

Answer 1

They should be defrocked. They aren't fit to serve.

Answer 2

I don't think they have to be thrown out of the priesthood, but they certainly should not be in positions where they're going to come in contact with potential victims.

It should be remembered that pedophilia is a mental illness. Pedophiles need treatment. The sad thing is the form that thier illness takes - preying on children. So we also have a legal thing going on here. The 100% legal approach does not address the real problem. Putting these people in jail for "x" amount of time and then having them register as sex offenders doesn't help one bit. It's not justice. It's just plain vengeance, which seems to be at the heart of our so-called legal justice system.

Answer 3

They should be stripped of their ordination and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. No pedophile or any person who is an otherwise sexual abuser should be allowed to hold a position of power, particularly one that comes with so much implied power as the priesthood. This runs across all denominational lines as well, as this phenomenon does not exist solely in the Catholic church.

Answer 4

They should absolutely not be able to represent God in any manner! They are going against the direct guidelines of the Bible and they should know that.

“That is why God gave them up to disgraceful sexual appetites, for both their females changed the natural use of themselves into one contrary to nature; and likewise even the males left the natural use of the female and became violently inflamed in their lust toward one another, males with males, working what is obscene and receiving in themselves the full recompense, which was due for their error. And just as they did not approve of holding God in accurate knowledge, God gave them up to a disapproved mental state, to do the things not fitting.”—Romans 1:26-28.

Obviously God does not approve, in fact he vehemently disapproves and is repulsed!
However he does not make a mystery of what he has in store:

Psalms 37: 10,11 And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more;
And you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, And they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.

Psams 37:29 " But as for the offspring of the wicked ones, they will indeed be cut off.  The righteous themselves will possess the earth,
And they will reside forever upon it."

2 Thessalonians 1:9 "These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength"

Answer 5

Absolutely not. Not only should they be out of the priesthood but they should be turned over to the local law and made to stand trial. If found guilty then the punishment should fit the crime.

Answer 6

No. Pedophilia is a psychological condition. It must be treated, like any other abnormal psychological condition.
It is also illegal and is a criminal offense that particularly captures the public imagination, and it is the scandal of priests being arrested that most frightened the church leadership. Then there is the lawsuit factor.
There are different types of pedophiles. Homopedophiles, who go after members of the same sex; hetereopedophiles, who go after the opposite sex; and bipeds, who go after both sexes. Very few of the priests I have ever heard of being arrested were heteropeds or bipeds; most were homopeds.

Answer 7

They should be thrown out of the priesthood and straight into prison.

Answer 8

It pleases me that so many have agreed with what the Catholic church is doing to pedophile priests. They are being removed when found and prosecuted. Not only is the Church doing these things but also pays those who have accused priests of this action. Unfortunately, many of these priests being innocent of the charges and are not allowed to defend themselves.

So, this is a twofold tradgedy. Some have been harmed egregiously by predator priests and innocent priests have been harmed by the accusations of pedophilia. May we all pray for healing and have charity for all of those harmed by this tradgedy.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph

Answer 9

Neither.

I don't believe ANY member of the clergy can minister to others while dealing with such a profound problem to deal with. A pedophile isn't in a position to counsel parents, adolescents, or people dealing with sexual or relationship issues. My belief in this applies to clergy from any faith: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, or any others.

I don't believe clergy should be thrown out, though, either. They have taken on a job, a calling, and that calling doesn't end simply because they're unworthy and unable to practice their vocation on a parish or similar group. They're required to better themselves as much as possible, and serve as best they can.

If various religions were to hold pedophiliac clergy to their vows, I think the pedophiles would actually attempt to leave on their own. You see, religions can make a great deal of use of these people. I would do the following:

1. Require them to serve the larger community by participating in psychological study in order to learn more about pedophilia and pedophiliacs.

2. Require them to serve the community by having them work with prisons, the way priests with leprosy ministered to leper colonies.

3. Require them to serve the parish by remaining available to their victims for anything their victims' therapists deem necessary.

4. Require them to write a complete memoir for educational use in the future.

Any parent knows the way to punish children isn't to let them out of all their work and obligations. The way to punish is to leave them with ONLY their work and obligations, and to require them to make amends for their wrongs.

***Of course, this is in conjunction with any legal consequences of a pedophile's actions. I fail to see why an incarcerated priest shouldn't still be required to honor his religious commitments.

Answer 10

Thrown in the cell in isolation for all eternity.

But then again Pedos will be in jail, and he just might like his new calling.


None of the above.

Answer 11

The only thing any pedophile should be given is a jail cell.