Catholic Priesthood

I consider myself relatively well versed in religion and theology. I have read much and have “traveled” through many phases of understanding. 

And yet, there is always something to learn.

Gary Wills has been a source of many aspects of my travels through religion and theology (cf. “Gary Wills” on my blog). His article today in the Washington Post represents an a novel approach where he focuses on the priesthood by zooming past all the current problems of the Catholic Church associated with sex abuse to conclude that there is no basis for the priesthood in the first place. 

I am amazed that this never occurred to me before. As he indicates, there was no priesthood in the first couple of centuries. The recurring gatherings to rememberJesus was not led by a male “priest”. Admittedly, there were “elders”, people who obtained leadership roles by virtue to their skills, that led communities. There was nothing about an ordained person being the leader. And the “Eucharist” was indeed a method of sharing memories and experiences.

Like so much in life, we spend so much time undoing our ignorance. Surely, I have undergone many versions of “truth” in my effort to be aligned with reality. I hated the thought that my ignorance would deprive me of experiencing life to its fullest. It is hard to believe how much I would have missed if I had not left the priesthood to be married. I would have missed so much because I did not want to admit ignorance or failure.  

The clerical sex abuse crisis (now apparently relevant to some women religious) is admittedly a problem for the Catholic Church. But, if Gary Wills is correct, the solution is not aligned with the pope and episcopal leaders’ approach that involves changing clerical behavior. 

The most effective solution is devolving the priesthood as an institution. Admittedly, this would not easily be done, but there is no good reason to believe that the hierarchy’s approach will achieve the desired goal.

(1) http://edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dynamic_article_popover.aspx?artguid=4a869de3-4a0a-4ae0-ae9f-9d2bb2f04571&appid=1165