Italian Women Ask Pope to Drop Celibacy Rule
A group of Italian women has posted an open letter to the pope on an Internet forum, asking Benedict XVI to reconsider the Catholic Church's celibacy requirement for clergy members, claiming that they (continued).
A group of Italian women has posted an open letter to the pope on an Internet forum, asking Benedict XVI to reconsider the Catholic Church’s celibacy requirement for clergy members, claiming that they have had close relationships, some of them sexual, with Catholic priests. They apparently aren’t holding their breath, however, in terms of expecting a response from the Vatican. –KA
Your support is crucial...CNN:
The women decided to write the letter after hearing the pope restate the church’s position on celibacy in March, she said.
“We decided that it was (time) to make our reality known,” Salomone told CNN. “We wanted to tell everybody that we exist and that we are no longer willing to always be silent about it.”
The issue of priestly celibacy is not much debated in Italy, she said, but she said that’s precisely the problem.
A priest is “just a man like everyone else. This is a good thing. And he should not be deprived of his right to a relationship.”
As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.
Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality behind the headlines — without compromise.
Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.