Pope affirms celibacy for priests, urges personal integrity

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday told a gathering of about 400 international clergy that bishops must remain celibate for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Leo added that church leaders must have chaste hearts and conduct to appropriately represent the church. The bishops and cardinals gathered this week in Rome for clerical Holy Year celebrations. Leo on Tuesday addressed young seminarians, encouraging them to be brave, joyful, and truthful as they serve the church.

What else did the Pope say? He called on bishops to take firm and decisive action to deal with situations that could cause scandal, including cases of abuse. Weeks before he became pope, the activist group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests filed a complaint against the then-Cardinal Robert Prevost and other church leaders. The group, which uses the acronym SNAP, claimed he mishandled two cases involving priests accused of sexual abuse, one in Chicago in 2000, and another in Peru in 2022. They alleged he failed to open an investigation, did not properly inform civil prosecutors, and did not appropriately restrict the priests accused of abuse.

Other survivors and victims of abuse have defended the Pope’s record, according to the National Catholic Reporter. 

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report about Pope Leo reaffirming traditional marriage and the dignity of unborn children.