Sir, - I think that we have to beware of some of the brutally bruising and mindlessly alienating criticism of Catholic Church and clergy today. Instead, we need to acknowledge our common humanity and its propensity for wrong doing as well as for good. Understanding requires sensitivity.
People in the caring professions are very vulnerable. Others come to them to share very intimate pain and misunderstanding. There are tears and misery. The "Helper" needs to have come to terms with him/herself, and be strong and skilled as a counsellor if he is to avoid the temptation to put his arms around the person who is crying out for comfort. He himself may be a needy and vulnerable person.
When a priest reaches out to a woman in a physical way, his defences can be easily breached. Priests are particularly vulnerable because their expected orientation in life, their presumed goodness, can make them so attractive to women. Let's try to empathise before we attribute blame.
People say that celibacy is the problem. Perhaps it has a lot to do with less than adequate training for celibate life, and inadequate understanding of sexuality in general. Marriage is not to be seen as a cure for concupiscence.
I do not go along with the practice of compulsory celibacy.
Where the ideal can be integrated peacefully into an individual's life, it can be fruitful and significant. However, quite clearly, not many fully maintain the ideal and nibbling at temptation. Trying to justify it is compromising the women involved, as well as damaging the integrity of those who have taken vows of celibacy.
Heads have been buried in the sand for too long. The situation must be faced with compassion and realism, and it needs to be faced soon. Too many are being irreparably hurt. - Yours, etc.,
Eden Road, Greystones, Co Wicklow.