Catholic World News News Feature
Australian priests question celibacy rule September 29, 2004
A large majority of Catholic priests in Australia question the value of mandatory clerical celibacy, according to a report released by Online Catholics.
The Online Catholics report cites the results of a survey commissioned by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, but not yet made public. The report says that 55 percent of the Australian priests surveyed called for optional rather than mandatory celibacy, and 16 percent claimed that celibacy was a negative factor in any case. Thus 71 percent expressed a negative view of the current Church discipline.
Online Catholic said that the results of the survey had been presented to the Australian bishops' conference earlier this month. No public statement from the bishops has been forthcoming.
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