What Happens When A Catholic Priest Fathers A Child?

The Catholic church has been riddled with scandal since time immemorial.

From the time before the Borgia popes, in their reign, through the centuries, to the modern-day scandals of pedophilia, child sex abuse, rape, among others, you cannot separate the church from infamy.

What infuriates me the most about the transgressions in the Catholic church is that it credits itself as an institution that is mandated to provide guidelines and lead the way on morality, justice, and goodness yet it is the same institution that is the hotbed of sin. To add salt to injury, the injustices committed by members of the clergy are treated with secrecy, and the victims rarely get the justice they deserve because of this.

Oaths

Catholic priests swear an oath to dedicate their lives to serving the church and its community and to forsake their earthly desires to better fulfill their commitments. Such vows are celibacy and material vows.

But as they are human, some of them fall, break their vows, end up having affairs, and even sire children.

Most children of priests live a life surrounded by secrecy, stigma, shame, and abandonment. They have many questions and receive few or no answers at all to their questions. They are also in the dark as to whom to direct these questions to. As their father is ordained, he may not be able to provide the paternal love, guidance, and other duties that come along with fathering a child. And as their mother may not wish to or maybe barred from fully disclosing all the information, the child may be left in limbo.

It is sad as these children are the innocent and completely blameless party in all these and may end up being the ones that suffer the most.

Even though some may acknowledge their children, their vows and their fear of scandal prevent the priests from being a father to their children. Others however want nothing to do with the children they sire.

There is an old saying that says that a Catholic priest is the only person whom everybody calls “father” but whose children call him “uncle”.

Coping International is a charity organization started by Vincent Doyle to help children of priests after he discovered that the man he had known all his life as his godfather was actually his biological father. Even though he was the best father figure for him, and even though everyone in his locality must have known of the paternity, it could never be revealed to the poor child that the priest he loved and adored was his actual father. He knew this years after his father had died.

According to Doyle, the organization has over 10,000 members in 175 countries. That shows the extent of the situation.

Church guidelines

The church provides guidelines on how to handle such a situation. It refers to these children as “Children of the ordained.” And even though the guidelines ask that the priest leaves the priesthood to take up his responsibilities as a father, many priests never do so. The church is also not in a position to enforce this and therefore does not ensure that they do so.

These guidelines are also said to be an internal document, and all its contents are not available to the public. The Irish Catholic church, however, has made its guidelines public.

Unofficially though, and in secrecy, many priests support their children while still serving the church.

I know of a priest that has bought land and build a home for his children. All this is an open secret. I do not know what his children feel about the whole situation, but I would imagine that they wouldn’t want their conception or lives to be a scandal.

Should priests be allowed to marry?

Swearing an oath does not eliminate the humanness of a person. It does not take away their bodily desires, carnal cravings, and inherent wants to have them fulfilled.

Members of the clergy of other denominations also make some vows but continue to faithfully and impactfully serve their communities even when married.

Could the catholic church be riddled with sex-related scandals because they try to go around nature?

Allowing catholic priests to marry and to sire children would reduce cases of abuse. It would eliminate the need for secrecy and would legitimize the children born in such unions. This would remove the enormous burden and stigma that these innocent children have to bare which would, in turn, improve their overall mental health and well-being.

Legitimize

Publicly acknowledging the children of priests from the highest levels and by making legal, enforceable and publicly available guidelines pertaining to the situation will help all parties involved.

The church will be riddled with less scandal, the children will live healthier lives, and the priests will be better fathers.

Alimony should also be provided for these children. The children conceived out of rape should receive the church’s full support in obtaining justice for those wronged.

Enough with the scandals in the Catholic church!

Sources