Catholic Priests and the Matter of Sex

'Pope Francis' courage in challenging clericalism marked the beginning of a change. Yet it was still necessary to undertake an interdisciplinary, intercontinental and pluralistic analysis of such a systemic phenomenon. This volume brings together leading academic voices who freely put forward hypotheses and solutions. It opens up promising avenues for research. It inspires action.' Philippe Bordeyne, President of the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute, Rome
'This book on clericalism is essential reading to ensure we do not forget Pope Francis' message on the impact of clericalism on the life of the Church. But it is also important to ensure that a central issue in the debate on the forms of ministry in the Church today, sexuality, is not left to journalistic scandalism and courtroom logic.' Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Villanova University
'This is an exceptional book. The title alone signals its importance, naming as it does that perpetual conundrum at the heart of Catholic life and thought: the centrality of the ministerial priesthood to the ordered communion of our ecclesial life, the unresolved both-and relationship Catholicism has with sexuality and celibacy, and that complex phenomenon that is clericalism with which every attempt at ministry, mission, and theological formation has to grapple. Alongside a nuanced definition of clericalism as 'the assertion of assumption of undue prerogatives', it offers diverse, global, theological, and interdisciplinary lenses into the causes, manifestations, and potential ways forward and out of this multiform conundrum affecting the Church, and it does so with care, charity, and insightful analyses. I found creative and innovative ideas for addressing issues that the formation team I work with discusses regularly. It will be an invaluable resource for seminary formators for the foreseeable future.' Maeve Louise Heaney VDMF GAICD, Xavier Chair for Theological Formation, Australian Catholic University
'This is a rich, uncomfortable, challenging book which explores what it means to live an ordained or consecrated life with authenticity and integrity. To be a cleric is to be a teacher but with an extra expectation of authority and knowledge; and this in turn presumes a docile student, one who is there to learn. A problem quickly arises because, for the Christian, we have 'only one teacher' (Matt. 23:8). Enter clericalism. But before the smile stretches comfortably on our lips this is not a Right or Left issue because 'bossiness' (a key characteristic of the clerical) is present across the spectrum of the spiritual life; and the top seat at the table can be coveted by someone vested before the altar of an Old Rite Mass as much as someone tattooed at a lectern for a seminar on women's ordination.' Sir Stephen Hough CBE, International pianist, composer, author
''Truth will out' is a medicinal saying. This rich and varied collection of essays offers necessary diagnoses and prescriptions for the male clericalism that has so damaged the Catholic Church's world mission. The perspectives presented here offer historical, theological and sociological lessons to help priests and lay people fulfil their callings more faithfully.' Diarmaid MacCulloch Kt FBA, Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church, University of Oxford
'This book is an important and valuable contribution to understanding a culture of clericalism as a distorted power structure in the Church, how that culture is established and fed, and its consequences for priests personally and for the broader community. It focuses especially on the effects of clericalism on priests, examining the ways in which a clericalist culture makes it more difficult for priests to discuss and integrate their sexuality in a healthy way. In particular, it examines clericalism's perverse contribution to enabling sexual abuse by clergy, and to encouraging failures by Church leaders in acknowledging and responding to that abuse. The contributors are carefully selected and bring a wide range of regional perspectives. Each one brings valuable and distinctive insights to these critical and ongoing issues.' Shane Mackinlay, Archbishop of Brisbane, Australia
'Clericalism is the main plague of Catholicism today. The central merit of this remarkable and courageous book is its in-depth analysis of a disease that is often mentioned but rarely analysed. The book offers a unique examination of 'clericalism' across a range of disciplinary perspectives, cultural and geographical contexts, and in relation to sexuality and sexual abuse. The result is a detailed conceptual and empirical map that will be essential for comprehending the main issue that concerns the Catholic Church today. Anyone interested in studying or reforming the Church should read it.' Marco Marzano, Professor of Sociology, University of Bergamo, author of Sexuality and the Catholic Priesthood: The 'Chaste' Caste
'For as long as the Latin rite Catholic Church clings to an outdated imperial model of a male, celibate priesthood in which are embedded notions of entitlement, misogyny, homophobia, superiority, top-down control and bottom-up obedience, the phenomenon of clericalism will continue to poison from within. To understand the damage clericalism inflicts and its entanglements with human sexuality, just read this fascinating collection of essays. Written from many academic perspectives by a cohort of expert Church analysts, this book is a loud wake-up call to a slumbering Magisterium and quiescent laity.' Mary McAleese, Eighth President of Ireland
'These impressively interdisciplinary contributions open up, in helpfully plural ways, questions of clericalism, priesthood and power, and the formation and deformation of basic human relationships. They offer a considered, constructive response to the recent global cry of Catholics to foster a whole People of God theology in which all flourish in a common, differentiated service, and in a mode of deep Christian friendship.' Anna Rowlands, St Hilda Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Practice, Durham University
'Pope Francis often railed against the 'disease' of clericalism that he believed prevented the Church – and the priesthood, in particular – from living out its mission of service to the world around it. This landmark new volume is essential reading for understanding what continues to ail the Church as it seeks a very necessary renewal in the 21st century.' Christopher White, Senior Fellow, Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University; former Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, author of Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy
'The struggle to respond to the sexual abuse crisis requires a profound interdisciplinary study on clericalism and sexuality. By using a polyhedral approach, this volume presents profound, fresh and innovative theoretical insights and opens vital paths for scholarly inquiry. This rigorous collection deserves widespread attention and serious academic engagement.' Myriam Wijlens, Professor of Canon Law, University of Erfurt; member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (2018–2022), Consultor to the General Secretariat of the Synod on Synodality (2021–2026)
'Catholic Priests and the Matter of Sex addresses sensitive and debated topics within the Church, offering a fresh lens and provocative perspectives on the intersection of clerical identity and sexuality. The chapters in the book cover a wide range of approaches and positions. Engaging with these contentious propositions offers a scholarly pathway toward engaging institutional ontologies with the complex, lived realities of clerical sexuality.' Hans Zollner SJ, Director of the Institute of Anthropology, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome