You assert this:
Never said celibacy = pedophilia. But the human animal was not meant to be celibate. It is denying too many physical and emotional needs for both men and women in the church.
But I do say that as one is attempting to remain celibate, people face difficult urges they cannot control, and because they tend to be round children, they are predisposed to act on those urges, and children end up victimized. I believe if priests were living a non-celibate life, their desires would be satisfied by their partner. There would still be abuse, and priests having affairs with others besides their partner. That is life.
...and then provide an example of a priest who ran off with another man's wife.
I know one priest in Pittsburgh that established a sexual relationship with one of his parishioners who was married. The woman ended up divorcing her husband and the diocese paid for all her legal fees, which were very expensive for the husband. It ruined his life in many ways, and the priest and adulterous wife broke up not long after the divorce. The church protected both the priest and the adulterer. IMHO, the church had no right squandering contributions from parishioners to pay for this rogue priest's unscrupulous behavior.
I seriously doubt that is the first time any member of the clergy has acted on the relatively normal temptation to engage in adultery or fornication with a woman in their flock, vow of celibacy or not. Entering into an adulterous relationship with a parishioner, especially one who is married, violates the spirit of the office, and more than just the vow of celibacy. Still that is relatively normal sexual behaviour (if she is married, she is an adult) despite the vow, and happens all too often among the members of the parish as it is.
That, however, is a different critter from having sexual urges toward children--something considered beyond the pale for
anyone, whether they have a vow of celibacy or not, and a preference which precludes having sex with someone older. Getting rid of celibacy is not going to cure that unnatural desire to have sex with children, nor does it stop lay people from acting on those unnatural desires.
The whole idea of celibacy is to be able to serve The Almighty by ministering to the flock without the divided loyalties inherent in marriage, unencumbered by the opinions, jealousies, likes, dislikes, and responsibilities of a family of their own. The idea is to remove those conflicts of interest to permit focusing on the worship of and instruction in the way of Jesus Christ.
For a "Father", as Priests are known, the entire congregation are his spiritual children--to be nurtured in the way of Christ, to be loved in that Christian context as an ordinary, normal, man would love and counsel his offspring--not molested.
Unfortunately, there are wolves among the flock, wearing the guise of the very shepherds.
But do not delude yourself. Don't succumb to the popular fiction that this is the only place this is happening, because such problems exist among other denominations and lay persons as well. In the instance of children being molested, that is a demon all its own. That the selfsame media we don't trust to tell the undistorted truth about the color of the sky at any given moment have definite motives to make the problem seem to only reside in one church has been explained.
And yes, the Church needs to investigate the incidents, verify that those which are true are true, and defrock the offending parties and remand them for prosecution to the civil authorities.
While all things are possible with Him, the risk of recidivism is too great, and the consequences too dire for the victims.
