Father Hans Zollner, a German priest and an expert in the fight against sexual abuse in the Church, said in a Sept. 26 interview with Infovaticana that celibacy is not a direct cause of this evil.
The psychologist, who also holds a doctorate in theology, said that “celibacy is not a direct cause of abuse; what can become a risk factor is a ministry poorly lived and not fully accepted.”
“All scientific reports, including those commissioned by non-Church institutions, conclude that celibacy in itself does not lead to abuse. Therefore, it is wrong to say that with the abolition of celibacy there would no longer be cases of abuse in the Catholic Church,” he emphasized.
The former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, from which he resigned in March, said that “sexual abuse arises above all from an abuse of power that someone takes advantage of.”
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