Credibility Requires Accountability: Monitoring Priests’ Cellphones

&quot;Celibacy is thus a highly credible signal about the priest’s own beliefs, because giving up sex—whether straight or gay—is sufficiently difficult that only those who honestly believe in the prospect of salvation or damnation will do so.&quot;<p>I don&#x27;t follow the logic of this sentence. Celibacy is not required for salvation.

wat? It might be possible to take this article seriously if it were written 20 years ago. In 2021, knowing that priests are having sex with other <i>consenting adults</i> is actually beneficial for the Church&#x27;s image.<p>Everyone&#x27;s got their own path and intellectual needs, but there are serious reasons why religiousness is at an all time low. I&#x27;m sure Christianity and Catholicism were fantastically positive revolutionary movements when they first came about. But over time, every structure ossifies and ends up attracting those who focus on the power and prescriptivism rather than the enlightenment.

At this point bodycams might be more appropriate.

If they are worried about their priests having children, why don&#x27;t they use technology? Separate the fertility problem from sexual desire and the need for intimacy. A young priest could have a vasectomy before taking over his own church. Then he could establish a healthy relationship without having to hide his needs.