S/o Celibacy in Buddhist Monastic Life

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"In the other [Buddhism], it doesn't quite work like that."

No it doesn't. Buddhists seem to deny any concept of sin or forgiveness. Bad conduct is attributed to ignorance that calls for enlightenment. So, no need to involve any third parties at all.

I must have seen hundreds of child acolytes at the temples we visited. Those kids didn’t just visit the temple for services or attend school there then go home ike Catholic children. They lived there for months or years and any pedophile monk would have had access to them. Does that mean that a celibate Buddhist monk could molest a child acolyte and feel his conscience was clear because he was simply ignorant?

No. He would generate some pretty awful karma that would have major ramifications in his next life.

Is it only possible to clear past bad acts in the next life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But celibacy amongst the Catholic clergy creates a culture of secrecy where child abusers can thrive. One priest may be abusing children, another priest is having an affair with a woman (or a man) and they each look the other way because they don't want to be exposed.

And the abolition of celibacy would somehow eradicate this presumed "mutual assured destruction " environment? Because married clergy (business executives, teachers, neighbors, etc.) never have affairs and/or "cover" for each other?

Even in this supposed example, it would not be celibacy creating a "cover for each other" situation, but non-celibacy. Practicing celibates have nothing to cover for.

As for alleged sexual misconduct being confined to Catholic priests, as PP's have observed, we just learned of s huge problem at the Episcopal Cathedral, the Baptist's were in the news a while back, there have been problems with the Boy Scouts, and let's not forget the rabbi with the cameras in the mikva. Nor, as a PP pointed out, have the Buddhists been spared.

As for blaming sexual misconduct on the availability of "weekly" confession (only a tiny minority of very devoted people go weekly), or the Christian belief in forgiveness, the power of evil, or human imperfection (all of which beliefs other than sacramental confession are common throughout Christianity, not just in Catholicism), it is a fundamental component of confession that the penitent must demonstrate true sorrow and a firm purpose of amendment before sins can be forgiven. Human frailty and demonic influence are not "get out of jail free" cards in any version of Christianity. They can be viewed as mitigating culpability, but the sinner must turn sincerely back to God; mere "words" are not enough.

Obviously, this stuff happens everywhere. No one has claimed otherwise. However, it doesn't make sense to compare the Catholicism to other faiths in this regard. The Catholic Church is an incredibly wealthy global institution that has not only resisted investigation by secular authorities but has also utilized its vast resources to shield pedophile priests from investigation and prosecution.

Corruption in the Catholic religious hierarchy is worse because the Church is comparatively much more organized, larger, wealthier. Like any other powerful institution, it actively works to protect itself and its members. I don't think there's an organization of comparable scale and resources in the other Christian sects and definitely not in Buddhism.

Also, I do think the abolition for celibacy for priests would absolutely alleviate the environment of "mutually assured destruction." Would it prevent everything? Of course not, people are people. But it would help immensely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But celibacy amongst the Catholic clergy creates a culture of secrecy where child abusers can thrive. One priest may be abusing children, another priest is having an affair with a woman (or a man) and they each look the other way because they don't want to be exposed.

And the abolition of celibacy would somehow eradicate this presumed "mutual assured destruction " environment? Because married clergy (business executives, teachers, neighbors, etc.) never have affairs and/or "cover" for each other?

Even in this supposed example, it would not be celibacy creating a "cover for each other" situation, but non-celibacy. Practicing celibates have nothing to cover for.

As for alleged sexual misconduct being confined to Catholic priests, as PP's have observed, we just learned of s huge problem at the Episcopal Cathedral, the Baptist's were in the news a while back, there have been problems with the Boy Scouts, and let's not forget the rabbi with the cameras in the mikva. Nor, as a PP pointed out, have the Buddhists been spared.

As for blaming sexual misconduct on the availability of "weekly" confession (only a tiny minority of very devoted people go weekly), or the Christian belief in forgiveness, the power of evil, or human imperfection (all of which beliefs other than sacramental confession are common throughout Christianity, not just in Catholicism), it is a fundamental component of confession that the penitent must demonstrate true sorrow and a firm purpose of amendment before sins can be forgiven. Human frailty and demonic influence are not "get out of jail free" cards in any version of Christianity. They can be viewed as mitigating culpability, but the sinner must turn sincerely back to God; mere "words" are not enough.

Obviously, this stuff happens everywhere. No one has claimed otherwise. However, it doesn't make sense to compare the Catholicism to other faiths in this regard. The Catholic Church is an incredibly wealthy global institution that has not only resisted investigation by secular authorities but has also utilized its vast resources to shield pedophile priests from investigation and prosecution.

Corruption in the Catholic religious hierarchy is worse because the Church is comparatively much more organized, larger, wealthier. Like any other powerful institution, it actively works to protect itself and its members. I don't think there's an organization of comparable scale and resources in the other Christian sects and definitely not in Buddhism.

Also, I do think the abolition for celibacy for priests would absolutely alleviate the environment of "mutually assured destruction." Would it prevent everything? Of course not, people are people. But it would help immensely.

Mutually assured destruction only works if the crimes are of the same magnitude. You might be willing to protect a fellow coworker who is also taking off twenty minutes early every day, but would you protect the one that is storing a dead body in the server room?