During today’s Mass signifying the close for the Year for Priests, as expected, Pope Benedict XVI touched on the recent outbreak of news detailing years of sexual misconduct and abuse by Catholic priests. In the homily, the Holy Father begged for God’s forgiveness  and forgiveness by those who have been affected by clerical abuse over the years. He has vowed to protect the Church from these kinds of failings in the future, by beginning with young men discerning the priesthood of Jesus Christ. “We will do everything we can to weigh the authenticity of [seminarians' vocations] and make every effort to accompany priests along their journey, so that the Lord will protect them and watch over them in troubled situations and amid life’s dangers.” Below is the full text of the Pope’s homily.

Pope Benedict arriving at the prayer vigil for the close of the Year for Priests | Source: AP

Dear Brothers in the Priestly Ministry,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Year for Priests which we have celebrated on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the death of the holy Curè of Ars, the model of priestly ministry in our world, is now coming to an end. We have let the Curé of Ars guide us to a renewed appreciation of the grandeur and beauty of the priestly ministry. The priest is not a mere office-holder, like those which every society needs in order to carry out certain functions. Instead, he does something which no human being can do of his own power: in Christ’s name he speaks the words which absolve us of our sins and in this way he changes, starting with God, our entire life. Over the offerings of bread and wine he speaks Christ’s words of thanksgiving, which are words of transubstantiation – words which make Christ himself present, the Risen One, his Body and Blood – words which thus transform the elements of the world, which open the world to God and unite it to him. The priesthood, then, is not simply “office” but sacrament: God makes use of us poor men in order to be, through us, present to all

This morning, the Miami Herald printed a story about a priest sexual abuse case from the Archdiocese of Denver. On the very day officials at the Archdiocese received claims of abuse, the priest accused was immediately removed. In an effort to make the handling of these cases more transparent, the “action against the priest was swift and public.”

The action against the priest was swift and public.

Within five days of receiving a decades-old child sex abuse allegation against the Rev. Melvin Thompson, Denver’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese investigated, alerted law enforcement and announced his suspension to parishioners and the public.

The archdiocese says Thompson, 74, maintains his innocence. Some parishioners have complained the process was unfair and too fast. However Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput called prompt action “painful but necessary.”

The episode highlights the challenges American Catholic Church leaders face as they follow through on a promise to be more transparent in dealing with priests accused of abuse, while respecting the rights of both victims and the accused.

The case comes amid a worsening global clergy abuse scandal focused on how Pope Benedict XVI has dealt with problem priests in his past church roles.

For years, some U.S. church officials kept mum about abuse allegations and shuffled problem priests from parish to parish – practices first exposed in the 1980s and then on a larger scale in the early 1990s.

Denver’s handling of the Thompson case is the latest example of American Catholic leaders shifting from secrecy to greater openness, an attitude church leaders elsewhere in the world have been slower to adopt.

This week, the Vatican for the first time made it clear that bishops and clerics worldwide should report such crimes to police if they are required to by law, matching a policy worked out by U.S. bishops after an explosion of sex abuse cases in 2002.

Over the last several weeks, as has been covered here, there have been allegations that Diocesan and Vatican officials have neglected victims of clerical sexual abuse by allowing priests who have been accused of such atrocities to remain in pastoral ministry. Many people have been calling for the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI for his reported handling of such cases when he was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). Earlier today, the Vatican released the following guidelines that are applicable in all cases of allegations of sexual abuse.

Guide to Understanding Basic CDF Procedures concerning Sexual Abuse Allegations

The applicable law is the Motu Proprio “Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela” (MP SST) of 30 April 2001 together with the 1983 Code of Canon Law. This is an introductory guide which may be helpful to lay persons and non-canonists.

A: Preliminary Procedures

The local diocese investigates every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric.

If the allegation has a semblance of truth the case is referred to the CDF. The local bishop transmits all the necessary information to the CDF and expresses his opinion on the procedures to be followed and the measures to be adopted in the short and long term.

Civil law concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always be followed.

A very good morning to all of you! The Triduum arrives tonight with the celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper where we will witness the institution of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ.

As we have seen over recent days and weeks, the priesthood is taking a beating by the media as a result of the news of the sexual abuse scandals. As you go about your day, please remember those priests who have touched your life. Thank the Lord for their “yes” to serving His people. If you have the chance, thank those priests personally and let them know how much they have touched your life. Because of recent weeks, that thank you could mean something so much more than usual.

Also, please remember to pray for all the bishops of the Catholic Church who have been given the task of shepherding  the Church through these difficult days. In a special way, pray for Pope Benedict who needs more prayers than usual these days.

This afternoon, I turned on the television to a story on CNN regarding the recent news of the sexual abuse scandals and the concept of priestly celibacy. The person being interviewed said that the requirement for celibacy should be lifted because it would end the issue of sexual abuse by clergy and the number of homosexual priests that are in active ministry. The last claim is totally unfounded–there were no sources for the numbers they were reporting. So I decided that I would go on to Rick Sanchez’s blog (CNN anchor at the time) and leave a comment describing what celibacy is, in the view of someone discerning the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Here is the full extent of my comments:

As someone discerning the priesthood of Jesus Christ, I view celibacy not as a sacrifice; rather, I view celibacy as a gift. Celibacy is a way to make the Kingdom of God present here on earth. If you read Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, you will see that those who choose celibacy for the kingdom share the same vocations to love as those who marry, but manifest this same vocation in a different manner. Furthermore, celibacy is not a rejection of sexuality, but a living out of the deepest meaning of sexuality–union with Christ and his Church (Ephesians 5:31-32).

Celibacy is not the reason for the abuse scandals that have occurred in the Catholic Church over the years. If it was, why do cases of pedophilia and other sexual acts of misconduct occur in churches where celibacy is not a requirement for pastoral ministry?

Over the last few decades, major changes have been made to the application process of becoming a seminarian to discern the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Now, ALL candidates must take an intense psychological evaluation. After an extensive interview process, then members of the diocesan vocations committee decide on either accepting or denying the candidate.