Catholic Church concedes celibacy may lead to child sex abuse
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Sydney (dpa) - The vow of celibacy could lead clergy to commit child sex abuse, the Catholic Church in Australia said in a report Friday.
A council set up by the Australian branch of the Catholic Church to respond to a public inquiry into decades of child sex abuse by priests and others released a report concluding priests needed training on how to deal with celibacy.
The report by the Catholic Church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council said the church had turned a "blind eye" to abuse for decades and that in the past some of the church's leaders did not understand that abusing a child was a crime.
"Church institutions and their leaders, over many decades, seemed to turn a blind eye, either instinctively or deliberately, to the abuse happening within their diocese or religious order, protecting the institution rather than caring for the child," the report said.
"Obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse in some circumstances," it said.
The council was set up by the Catholic Church to assist the church respond to the ongoing public Royal Commission into how institutions such as the church handled complaints of child sexual abuse.
