Pope Leo XIV Upholds Priest Celibacy and Calls for Strong Measures Against Sex Abuse in the Church

ROME — Pope Leo XIV reiterated on Wednesday that priests are required to remain celibate and emphasized that bishops must take strong and definitive measures to address sex abuse cases. He delivered these instructions to the global Catholic leaders during a gathering.

The meeting took place at St. Peter’s Basilica, where approximately 400 bishops and cardinals from 38 countries had assembled for a special Holy Year celebration dedicated to clergy members. Following a message of hope directed at young seminarians on the previous day, Leo provided a detailed directive to bishops on how they should guide their communities.

This topic is not new to the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, who served as the prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops. From 2023 until his election in May, the Chicago-born Prevost was responsible for screening potential bishops for Pope Francis, seeking leaders who would embody Francis’ vision of an inclusive church governed through open dialogue.

History’s first American pope reaffirmed Wednesday that the primary role of bishops is to forge unity in his diocese among clergy and to be close to his flock in word and deed. Bishops must live in poverty and simplicity, generously opening their homes to all and acting as a father figure and brother to his priests, Leo said.

“In his personal life, he must be detached from the pursuit of wealth and from forms of favoritism based on money or power,” he said.

Bishops must remain celibate “and present to all the authentic image of the church, holy and chaste in her members as in her head,” he said.

The video in the player above is from a related report.

Referring to cases of abuse, he said bishops “must be firm and decisive in dealing with situations that can cause scandal and with every case of abuse, especially involving minors, and fully respect the legislation currently in force.”

It was the second time in a week that Leo has commented publicly on the abuse scandal. On Friday night, in a written statement to a crusading Peruvian journalist who documented gross abuses in a Peruvian Catholic movement, Leo said there should be no tolerance in the Catholic Church for any type of abuse. He identified sexual and spiritual abuses, as well as abuses of authority and power in calling for “transparent processes” to create a culture of prevention across the church.

Francis, who in many ways placed Leo in position to succeed him, had also reaffirmed celibacy for Latin rite priests while acknowledging it was a discipline of the church, not doctrine, and therefore could change. But he refused appeals from Amazonian bishops to allow married priests to address the priest shortage in the region.

Prevost spent two decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru and would know well those arguments. But on Wednesday he reaffirmed the celibate priesthood as the “authentic image” of the church.

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