The Catholic laity, clerical sexual abuse, and married priesthood: A sociological analysis of Vatican II’s lay empowerment

Abstract

This article argues that the renewed teaching on lay empowerment of the Roman Catholic Church’s Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) only involved an enlargement of lay apostolic task in the Church, but not participation in ecclesial governance, which can enable lay Catholics to formally sanction clerical sexual abuse. Applying sociological theoretical insights on power, empowerment, and social bonding, and citing some church documents and secondary literature on empowerment and clerical sexual abuse, it contends that a real and meaningful lay empowerment needs a notable transfer of ecclesial power from the Catholic hierarchy to lay leaders, requiring an amendment on the celibacy rule and the adoption of a married priesthood to allow lay leaders to participate in official church governance to address clerical sexual misconduct. Married priesthood allows diocesan priests to experience a more intimate social bonding and stronger direct and indirect social controls, lacking in the current diocesan clerical life, which can inhibit clerical sexual deviance. Ultimately, this article views lay participation in official church administration and the adoption of a married priesthood as key factors missing in the Vatican II’s decree on lay empowerment, which can greatly strengthen the checks and balances system of the Church against clerical sexual abuse.

Keywords

• lay empowerment
• vatican ii
• clerical sexual abuse
• celibacy
• sociology of power
• social bonding theory
• social control
• married priesthood