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Caution: Peter the Apostle is called the first Pope in this article. This is an error. The word Pope is not is the bible and Peter did not have anything to do with the papacy.
Catholic Church leadership on trial
Thursday, 28 March 2013 14:32 By Ian Katusiime
Vatican is watching how Archbishop Lwanga deals with the Fr.
Musaala saga
“It is a good point for
reflection but it will not change the fundamentals of the church.” That is how
one practicing Catholic assessed the impact of recent revelations by renowned
celebrity Catholic priest, Father Anthony Musaala of sexual impropriety in the
church. That belief in theinvincibility of the old Catholic Church
might be similar to the Biblical house built on quick sand, without a
foundation.
What one hears in
conversations on the street and in the media across the country is that Fr.
Musaala’s letter has sparked unprecedented public debate of what some have
called the “double standards and hypocrisy’ of the Catholic Church that the
letter points out.
A stocky man, with a
disarming smile and unusual aggressiveness for a clergyman, the 60-year old
Archbishop has in the past shown he is not one to shirk the sometimes tough
calling of his office. He has spoken out firmly against bad governance, child
sacrifice and corruption.
Few were surprised when
within days of Musaala’s letter going public, Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga, who is
the head of the church, suspended him from all priestly duty.
Critics have said it is
unlikely that the highest ranked priest in the Catholic Church in Uganda, the
mild Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala who has not commented on the Musaala saga yet,
would act so swiftly.
Archbishop Cyprian
Lwanga, like his predecessors, has eyes set on being ordained cardinal. That
process has been almost automatic. Depending on how he handles this saga and
how his performance is judged by his superiors in the Vatican, his fate and that of the
Catholic Church could shift.
Part of the problem is
that since Father Musaala on March 12 released a letter addressed to bishops,
priests, and laity, the Catholic community can no longer shrug off tales
of priests in Uganda fondling penitents in the confessional, bishops molesting
young women, paying for abortions, and fathering children.
Fr. Mussala describes
in the letter how, as a 16-year old boy, he had his first sexual encounter with
a `brother’; one of the hierarchies of priests in the Catholic Church vowed to
celibacy. He describes how many other boys in his school were similarly
molested in a practice called `jaboo’.
In the letter entitled,
“The Failure of celibate chastity among diocesan priests”, Father Musaala
described the Catholic Church in Uganda as a “sick system which has
lost its integrity in this one area but won’t admit it.”
“A campaign for
optional married priesthood in the catholic church is now required,” he writes,
“This campaign is primarily a form of education and purification. It is not to
be construed as a rebellion against established doctrine but a reading of the
signs of the times.”
Archbishop Lwanga will
not make the allegations disappear by suspending Fr. Musaala and banning
priests from discussing them. He needs to do more.
Fr. Musaala’s letter is
perfectly timed to coincide with the weeklong Easter season that ends on March
31 when Christians mark their belief in the ultimate sacrifice in the
crucifixion and resurrection of the founder of their religion, the Biblical figure,
Jesus Christ.
Although over 90% of
Ugandans profess to be Christians, many of them rarely visit churches and some
attend mass only twice a year; on Easter and Christmas. Musaala’s campaign is
likely to be the topic in conversation around, if not inside, the churches.
Christians across the country will be seeking guidance from their priests.
Silence cannot be the answer.
It also appears
significant that the letter, published just a day before the Vatican announced
Pope Francis I as its new leader, is likely to get maximum attention in Rome.
In the letter, Musaala
says he has engaged a human rights lawyer and warns of pending lawsuits against
the clergy and church. He also announced that, with support from groups in America and Europe,
he is setting up a Victims Support Group.
“Join me in this
exciting challenge to bring fundamental change to the Catholic Church,” he
ended.
Facts about
Catholic Priests and Marriage
- In the Catholic Church a few married men, converted ministers from other faiths, have been ordained to the priesthood.
- Catholic priests are believed to serve in the place of Christ and therefore, their ministry specially configures them to Christ who was not married. By remaining celibate, they are expected to devote themselves to the service of the Church at St. Paul makes clear (1 Cor 7:32–35). He recommends celibacy to all (1 Cor 7:7).
- Catholic Priests cannot marry if they belong to religious orders that take vows of celibacy or make a promise of celibacy.
- Once a Catholic priest is ordained,he cannot validly marry even if he leaves the Church.
Married
priests
Although the Musaala
saga has shed light in a dark chapter of the church, the clergy and laity in
interviews with The Independent says what he is talking about is “nothing new”.
Many Ugandans do not
know that the Catholic Church allows married people to serve as priests in some
places such as Ukraine.
Many Ugandans also do
not know that the requirement for Roman Catholic priests not to marry is
relatively new, from 1123 when the First Lateran Council introduced it. Since
1980, the Catholic Church has allowed married priests from the Anglican Church
who joined to stay with their wives.
Father Stephen Msele,
the head of the Jesuits in Uganda,
says the issues Fr. Musaala points out are pertinent and that a priest found to
be with children should be ex-communicated.
On the issue of priests
marrying, he takes a completely different view.
“It has to be an order
from the Pope but still then that means we have to send a delegation to Rome to have clear
deliberations about the subject,” he says.
Pope Francis has been
quoted in international media saying the celibacy rule could change although he
stated that he would still vouch for it on a personal note. That view is based
on an interview the Pope gave when he was still Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien,
the highest ranking Catholic prelate in England, recently resigned over
tremendous pressure about sex related accusations. Cardinal O’Brien had expressed
empathy and was circumspect about the issue of celibacy in the church. He felt
for the many priests whom he had related with that expressed desires to have
normal lives living as married people with children.
Perhaps O’Brien’s views
represent a shift taking shape in the once extremely conservative organisation
that the Catholic Church has always been known for.
History of
celibacy in the Catholic Church
First Century
Peter, the first pope,
and the apostles that Jesus chose were, for the most part, married men.
Fourth Century
306-Council of Elvira, Spain,
decree #43: A priest who sleeps with his wife the night before Mass will lose
his job.
325-Council of Nicea:
Decreed that after ordination a priest could not marry. Proclaimed the Nicene
Creed.
385: Pope Siricius left
his wife in order to become pope. Decreed that priests may no longer sleep with
their wives.
Fifth Century
401: St. Augustine wrote, “Nothing is so powerful
in drawing the spirit of a man downwards as the caresses of a woman.”
Sixth Century
567-2nd Council of Tours: Any cleric found in
bed with his wife would be excommunicated for a year and reduced to the lay
state.
580-Pope Pelagius II:
His policy was not to bother married priests as long as they did not hand over
church property to wives or children.
590-604: Pope Gregory
“the Great” said that all sexual desire is sinful.
Seventh Century
France: documents show that the majority of priest were married.
Eighth Century
St. Boniface reported
to the pope that in Germany
almost no bishop or priest was celibate.
Ninth Century
836: Council of Aix-la-Chapelle openly admitted that abortions and
infanticide took place in convents and monasteries to cover up activities of
non-celibate clerics.
St. Ulrich, a holy
bishop, argued from scripture and common sense that the only way to purify the
church from the worst excesses of celibacy was to permit priests to marry.
Eleventh
Century
1045- Benedict IX
dispensed himself from celibacy and resigned in order to marry.
1074-Pope Gregory VII
said anyone to be ordained must first pledge celibacy.
1095-Pope Urban II had
priests’ wives sold into slavery, children were abandoned.
Twelfth Century
1123-Pope Calistus II:
First Lateran Council decreed that clerical marriages were invalid.
Sixteenth
Century
1545-63-Council of Trent states that celibacy
and virginity are superior to marriage.
Twentieth
Century
1930-Pope Pius XI: Sex
can be good and holy.
1951-Pope Pius XII:
Married Lutheran pastor ordained catholic priest in Germany.
1962-Pope John XXIII:
Vatican Council II; vernacular; marriage is equal to virginity.
1966-Pope Paul VI: Celibacy dispensations.
1978-Pope John Paul II:
Puts a freeze on dispensations.
1980: Married
Anglican/Episcopal pastors are ordained as catholic priests in the U.S.; also in Canada
and England
in 1994.
Archbishop
Lwanga criticised
Archbishop Lwanga has
banned priests from discussing this subject but the Canon law of the Catholic
Church on which Archbishop Lwanga based his suspension of Fr. Musaala has also
come under scrutiny. According to knowledgeable interpretation, it is not clear
about the issue of clergy speaking out and raising issues within the church.
Archbishop Lwanga who
said Fr. Musaala’s allegations “tarnish the image of the church and threaten to
derail believers from their spiritual journey” has been criticised for his
speedy action. Tough action from the Catholic Church is not unheard of in Uganda. The
Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Fr. Simon Lokodo, was ex- communicated from
the Catholic Church by the former Pope Benedicto XVI when he joined politics.
Fr. Musaala’s letter
has also sparked public debate of the “double standards and hypocrisy’ of the
Catholic Church that the letter points out.
Grace Agabamagara, a
former seminarian, says whether priests should be allowed to marry and have
children has been mooted before the highest organs of the church.
“I don’t see the reason
for all the fuss caused by Fr Musaala’s letter. The whole issue has been blown
out of proportion; the problem in Uganda is that when you try to
break with tradition, you meet a lot of resistance especially when your ideas
are reformative.”
Agabamagara agrees with
Fr Musaala’s views and cites the example of married Anglican priests who are
allowed to maintain their status even after they join the Catholic shade.
“People who serve in
the church are as human as anybody else. They have their own views and
perceptions and many of them would have loved to say what Fr Musaala said but
perhaps out of fear, they contained themselves.”
According to a person
familiar with the Catholic Church’s practices, the vows of celibacy are
arranged in such a way that clergy that find difficulty in keeping them, can
opt out.
“Catholic priests and
nuns first sign contracts of five years and renew them only if they want to.
Those who don’t want to continue leave and some of them get married,” the
source of the information said, “That is what Fr. Musaala should have done if
he wants to get married.”
Fr. Musaala, who was
ordained after the age of 30 in England,
has said he has no interest to marry.
“The only reason Father
Musaala is attracting attention is because he is a celebrity,” one observer
noted, “Martin Luther did the same thing in the 16th century but the
church did not change. That is how the protestant church started.”
It is undeniable that
Father Musaala’s letter became public at a time of tempest for the Catholic
Church in Uganda.
Popes who were
married
St.
Peter, Apostle
St. Felix III 483-492
(2 children)
St. Hormidas 514-523 (1
son)
St. Silverus (Antonia)
536-537
Hadrian II 867-872 (1
daughter)
Clement IV 1265-1268 (2
daughters)
Felix V 1439-1449 (1
son)
Popes who had
illegitimate children after 1139
Innocent VIII
(1484-1492): Several children
Alexander VI (
1492-1503): Several children
Julius (1503-1513): 3
daughters
Paul III
(1534-1549): 3 sons, 1 daughter
Pius IV(
1559-1565): 3 sons
Gregory XIII
(1572-1585): 1 son
Source: The
Internet
Break-away
Catholics
Two years ago, in 2009,
a breakaway faction calling itself the Catholic Apostolic
National Church
broke away and started ordaining married priests. Prominent among them is
Rev. Fr. William Obonyo. The faction is allied to the Brazilian Catholic of
former Roman Catholic Bishop Dom Carlos Duarte Costa of Botucato.
Fr. Musaala is a man no
stranger to controversy. He has said publicly that he was twice expelled from
school and consistently faced criticism from his peers for hobnobbing with
secular artistes at the peak of his gospel music career.
When Fr. Musaala hit
the limelight more than eight years ago, the Ugandan music scene was greeted by
an unconventional, cheery and free spirited priest who did not feel inhibited
to share the stage with secular artistes. He became a celebrity with songs such
as endongo ya Yesu, Tuli mu lugendo receiving massive airplay. In 2009 he
faced a major setback when allegations of sodomy were levelled against him with
reports circulating that he was hosting gay parties at his residence.
Although he was cleared
by the ensuing investigation, the public started to see a new image of Fr
Musaala that had been kept in the dark. According to informed sources at
Rubaga Cathedral, the seat of the Catholic Church, Fr. Musaala who had developed
a habit of engaging his superiors in open debates on ecclesiastical matters
ceased to engage them. He reportedly realised that his sessions with his
superiors would change little in the church’s ways.
That is perhaps why he
opted to put his view formally in writing. In interviews, however, he has said
he did not intend for his letter to be public. He wanted, instead, that it
forms a basis for reform in the church.
Fr Musaala: Catholic priests’ celibacy is a fallacy
Friday, 22 March 2013 00:12
On March 12, the celebrity Catholic priest
Anthony Musaala wrote an open letter to bishops and the laity, in which, among
other things, he calls for the abolition of celibacy.
Musaala’s major thesis is that celibacy is not
working anyway, as the men of the robe are involved in affairs and fathering
children. The church has responded by suspending Musaala, but the priest
insists his concerns should be addressed.
The issue has raised impassioned debate with many
faithful apparently torn between facing an unpleasant reality and trying to
preserve the dignity of their religion.
Here we reproduce Musaala’s letter.
It is an open secret that many Catholic priests and some bishops, in Uganda and elsewhere, no longer live celibate chastity. From the numerous cases on the ground one might be forgiven for saying that most diocesan priests either don’t believe in celibacy anymore, or if they do, have long since given up the struggle to be chaste.
In any case it still seems important for priests
to vow even a woefully imperfect celibacy, if only for the sake of the hallowed
‘priestly image’. The church, however, still maintains the fable that most
Catholic priests persevere in celibate chastity fairly well, which fiction begs
belief.
All is not well
All is definitely not well with what I call
‘administrative celibacy’, in the Catholic church. It is a celibacy which
is more forced than consented to, and its effects are anything but good.
I suggest that now more than at any other time,
we must begin an open and frank dialogue about catholic priests becoming
happily married men, rather than being miserable and single, either before or
after ordination.
Although this may be quite a shock to many but
the alternative may be far worse. What do you think happens when lapses and
scandals by priests, sisters, brothers and bishops continue unabated , whether
hidden or not?
My forecast is that we will have a few more years
of catholic self-deception; perhaps ten, telling ourselves and the world that
everything is Ok, nothing serious. Then more scandals will surface.
As people become more enlightened (as in Europe)
there will be a crisis of faith, perhaps a sudden collapse, with many leaving
the church, either to join other churches (whose pastors may be no better, but
who appear to be less hypocritical about it), or to become agnostics,
especially the middle classes.
One must remember that there are other challenges
facing the church, such as general weakening of faith, loss of sacramental
life, low incomes, dull liturgies, and the challenges of the media. Many of the
youth ( not the children) are already alienated from Catholicism and are easy
prey to proselytizing groups.
Naked truth
The number of catholic priests and bishops who
are sexually active in Uganda is unknown, but almost everywhere unedifying
stories of priests ‘sexploits’, are not hard to come by. These stories are told
in counseling or as anecdotes or by the media. They are told within the
parishes and beyond. They are told at home in families, in taxis, in hair
salons and in the markets.
What is talked about? Priests’ secret and not so secret liaisons with girls and women, coerced sex with house-maids, with students, with relatives; priests ‘wives’ set up in well established homes; priests involved with a parishioner’s wife; of priests romantically involved with religious Sisters; priests offering money for sex, and so on…
If you add to this, a fair number of priests’ and
bishops’ children scattered around the nation, who are carefully hidden from
view (and not so carefully!), not to mention children who are aborted at
priests’ behest, we begin to get the true picture of human weakness, whose
consequences are nothing less than catastrophic both for the priest and his
partners, and which cannot be concealed by taking a vow of celibacy, or by
retreats and more prayers.
Lessons from America
While in Europe and the States, the scandal of
numerous pedophile priests, whose victims are rightly suing the
catholic church is widely reported in the media, very little by contrast is
heard about priests and bishops in Africa who continue sexually abusing female
minors (or vulnerable women) with no legal action taken.
Obviously time has come for serious measures to
be undertaken, similar to those in Europe and America. Apart from legal action in
civil and ecclesiastical courts against offenders, strict ‘child
protection’ codes and practices, must be enforced, by the state which for
instance should prohibit young or vulnerable females from residing in parish
houses, where some of the abuses occur.
Deception, silence
Thus the unnecessary and unpalatable deception
about celibate priests, that they are chaste when they are not is clearly
contradicted by what is on the ground. The deception is of course not tenable
for much longer. Surely we must first tell ourselves the truth as a church,
that is to say, that celibacy has failed or is failing us, and then also tell
the world which we have been deceiving the naked truth, before we are
completely overtaken by events.
Unfortunately there is an ominous unhealthy
conspiracy of silence about these matters among the Ugandan clergy and faithful
alike, probably because priestly celibacy might be seen to be a hollow shell,
which it mostly is nowadays.
The laity for all their good will, are also
co-opted into this unwholesome silence, sometimes for lack of information,
sometimes because they believe that they have some ‘moral’ duty to be loyal to
an imperfect church. In truth their silence shores up the sins of priests and
the destroys many lives.
Wrong reasons
When I ask lay people whether catholic priests
should have the option to marry the answer is always NO; since they say, that
would make catholic priests like Anglican reverends! As if that was the worst
possible fate, yet Anglican clergy who are married certainly do not have the
same levels and same kinds of sexual lapses as their catholic counterparts..
Most lay people in Uganda would not like their priests
to have the option of marriage, yet it is their very own children, sisters,
wives who are being used and abused by the clergy!
The campaign
A campaign for optional married priesthood in the
catholic church is now required. This campaign is primarily a form of education
and purification. It is not be construed as a rebellion against established
doctrine but a reading of the signs of the times
Since there are no fundamental theological
arguments against a married priesthood (there are already some married priests
in the UK and Uniate Catholic Churches) but only arguments from tradition and
church discipline, I believe that it is a matter of time before common sense
prevails and marriage for the clergy in the Latin rite (i.e.
catholic) church is accepted..
I am aware that there is a big struggle
ahead. Unfortunately celibacy also serves certain vested interests in
the power structure of the church, and of course celibate priests are cheaper
and easier to deal with, even to manipulate, by ecclesiastical authority, but I
believe that in time we will be freed from this unnecessary yoke,
unhelpful as it is, which is all the more severe in Africa where family and
family ties are so crucial to one’s psychological equilibrium..
Personal interest
One factor which has prompted me to take up this
campaign is my own biography. I am one of a handful of several priests who had
the misfortune of appearing in the press for supposed sexual trespasses In my
case, which was 2009, it was cited that I must be a homosexual, because I had
homosexual friends and went to homosexual gatherings. Not that I cared much
whether or not someone thinks that I am homosexual. Certainly I have been
called worse things than that.
In my defence I tried to point out that
I didn’t actually recall having had homosexual relations with any of
my rabid accusers, neither did they; which meant that hearsay alone became the
evidence . What I found troubling is what followed. Apart from all the pain and
scandal caused to all concerned, I found that even though all the allegations
were based on hearsay, I was being treated, by my superiors as the biggest
sinner in Nineveh.
Up till now judgments are being made
against me by ecclesiastical authority in the light of those events, which I
suppose is to be expected. I wondered about this and came to the conclusion
that priests who ‘get caught.’ like me, have to pay for the sins of all those
who don’t get caught. In other words failed celibacy requires scapegoats.
Some clergy are able to get away with the
grossest behaviour because of their age, position, influence or even
because of financial inducements.
So while I appear to have little moral authority
to talk about celibacy as a priestly virtue because of what may or may not have
happened to me in 2009, nevertheless I can point out the systemic immorality of
the institutionalized hypocrisy called celibate diocesan priesthood,
which severely punishes lapses when they appear, but condones the secret crimes
of many more.
I believe that there must be a new openness at
whatever it takes. The point is not that diocesan priests should leave the
priesthood and get married, but compel the church to offer the option of a
married priesthood. This will put an end to the double lives so many priests
are forced to live.
Cases heard:
I spoke with a 21 year old young man last week.
He is one of seven children of a catholic priest who happens to still be
serving within the Province of the Archdiocese of Kampala. The young man, who
is willing to testify, lived in a parish house with his father priest, even
serving on the altar with him, but having to pretend to be a visiting nephew.
At times he was assisted by his father to go to
school, but was later abandoned. On one occasion he drank poison in order to
end his life, due to the trauma, but was taken to hospital before he died.
Case one
Another is a personal friend. He was fathered by
a missionary priest of the White Fathers 58 years ago but is still suffering
the trauma of no real identity or home.
Although he has since received some minimum
compensation from the White fathers , he still feels that there was an
injustice to his mother who is still alive , who was sexually assaulted by the
said White father priest in his office when she was only sixteen. He wishes to
sue.
Case three
Another case is of a priest who seduced a member
of my youth group who happened to be in need of school fees, at Old Kampala,
She soon became pregnant by the said priest, disappeared from church activities
and from her home to be established in a ‘home’.
Case four
Another lady tells of how she went to confession,
only to be sexually molested by the priest, who fondled her breasts during
confession
Case five
When I was at secondary school, it was common
knowledge that various Brothers were having sexual activity with the boys. It
was called ‘jaboo’. As a pubescent teenager, my first sexual encounter was
actually with one of the brothers who invited me to his room on the pretext of
doing some extra chemistry equations. I was sixteen at the time. Later
I heard that several others had been through the
same thing..with the same Brother and with other ones..Some are still alive to
this day.
Action required
I do not believe either that these cases are just
a few ‘bad apples’ in the barrel, but rather they are symptomatic of a sick
system which has lost its integrity in this one area, but won’t admit it. Some
of these cases are clearly criminal in nature, especially those of sex with
children. They should be dealt with in a normal fashion and legal action taken
in civil courts either against the church, or against those priests who offend.
I am therefore compiling cases from all over Uganda.
I believe that if the all the victims of clergy molestations were to
come out and sue the church in civil courts, such abuses would sharply
decrease. I am also helping to set up a Victims Support Group, independent of
the church for obvious reasons, with guidance and help from similar groups in Europe and the States.
I have also engaged a human rights lawyer to
advise on the wider implications of clergy abuse on the basic human rights of
individuals, especially women.
Join me in this exciting challenge to bring fundamental change and renewal to the Catholic Church.
Join me in this exciting challenge to bring fundamental change and renewal to the Catholic Church.
Happy Easter.
FR. ANTHONY MUSAALA
