(Although this post was written before Archbishop Vigano's most recent testimony, the content of this post remains the same since it merely confirms what I have said.)
Vows. Do you have any? Have you ever taken a vow? If you have been baptized, you took a vow (even if it was through your parents). If you were confirmed, you took a vow. Married people take vows. And of course, as we all know, clergymen take vows when they are ordained. In case there is any confusion, that means that deacons, priests and bishops take vows. Ordinarily today, priestly vows include a vow of celibacy, which I (especially as a married priest) highly respect and consider to be a non-negotiable custom of the Church.
So, as we consider the vow of celibacy that priests take, I (sadly) feel the need to make them clear. A vow of celibacy is just that: a vow that the man will remain celibate (no sexual activity of any kind, with anyone, ever). No, I am not being insensitive to my brother priests who are celibate (ask those who know me best). A vow is a vow, and it must be held. My vows are to chastity, and theirs are also to chastity. Because I am married does not make my vows "easy" and theirs "difficult". A celibate man must maintain his vows in the manner he was called, and I must maintain my vows in the manner that I am called (cf. 1 Cor 7:17).
This leads me to my point. As I have said before, when a priest breaks his priestly vows (in any area) it makes it easier to break his vows in another. If he has broken the rules in the liturgy or in personal counsel, then he is more susceptible to the temptation to break his vows of celibacy as well. Thus, when a priest falls into sexual sin, we cannot limit the issue to saying that he is a "pedophile" or even a "sodomite" in his behavior. He is a vow-breaker; that is the real issue before God. He has shown himself to have broken his priestly vows and cannot be treated the same as the priest who sinned by being mean to a parishioner. He has broken one of the most specific aspects of his priestly ordination (whether he is married or celibate!).
I cannot be clear enough about how tired I am about hearing that people are concerned with sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults as though the breaking of ordination vows is small matter. Yes, that is a grave sin, and I do not deny that for a moment. Yet, these sins are a by-product of the actual thing that we should be concerned about. The root sin is a disrespect for and a violation of one's vows to God. If we do not show a greater concern for clergy keeping their vows, then we will find even worse "clergy abuse" that what we are experiencing now! I know this might seem insensitive coming from me, but the vows that a priest takes on that day of ordination, are the vows he is bound by. Whether it would be a married priest with someone other than his wife, or a celibate priest with anyone at all, we are all required to be chaste.
While not neglecting the importance of protecting children and vulnerable adults (or non-vulnerable adults for that matter), we need to begin to work harder at taking all vows seriously. How serious are you about the vows of your baptism and confirmation? We all know that marriage vows should be taken seriously, but how often are those vows worked on beyond just issues of sexual purity ("for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health...I plight thee my troth")? The very concept of vows has been treated lightly for far too long. Parents: show it to your children, teach it to your children, live it for your children. While we are praying for the victims of abuse, let us also pray for broken vows to be restored and for greater faithfulness to our vows (especially in our clergy).
