Robert Sullivan, 61, on ‘personal leave’ after Heather Jones, now 33, brought allegations, sexual in nature, to diocese
A Roman Catholic priest in Alabama is under investigation, church officials say – and he abruptly announced he is taking “personal leave” – after a woman alleged to his superiors that he traded financial support for “private companionship” including sex, beginning when she was 17.
The accuser, Heather Jones, has also alleged that the clergyman, Robert Sullivan, recently paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars to remain silent about it, a claim she supported with bank records, an email and a copy of a legal agreement.
Just let priests get married and fuck, holy shit. Raised Catholic, constantly unsurprised by all these stories. It really is an epidemic. I’m expecting the diocese and the Vatican organization that deals with sexual abuse to do nothing or even actively discredit her.
I guess for most of history they were allowed to have mistresses. An arrangement I’m sure was also rife with abuse.
The original idea as far as I understand it, was to prevent dynasties emerging within the church. Making the church a thing that “rose above nations”, not just another country with a pointy hat for a crown.
But yes, I agree. Let the priests fuck (consenting adults) already.
That’s also something you could prevent by not allowing children of clergy to become priests.
Come to think of it, that may be a good idea for politicians as well. Children of politicians often get internships and opportunities through their parents, which gives them a massive networking advantage if they eventually want to hold office themselves.
The original reason for it is not even valid anymore (church losing land due to the priests’ children inheriting it).
I’ve never heard that being a reason; I’ve always heard that they were following the single-minded devotion of John the Baptist and Jesus.
Basically nothing in the catholic church (and mostly christianity in general) is actually based in Faith. It is all about protecting the business/feudal powers of catholicism.
Basically everything is, at best, stolen from the religions they were trying to conquer (Think about why The Savior was apparently born just in time for Yule celebrations…) or were all about building up sales for businesses that catholicism had money in.
You think they’re not gonna take advantage of women and children if they’re allowed to marry? I doubt it, because the big issue is the power dynamic, not his inability to get married. If he wanted to fuck he can go ahead and find an escort or leave the church and get married.
The church attracts abusers and creeps, and many people who want to be celibate because they know they’re pedos. Letting them marry isn’t going to stop the church attracting abusers
Of course abuse is still going to happen, it happens outside of the priesthood too. Putting words in my mouth is just dumb.
There are tons of pedos who are/were married, this argument is completely idiotic. Positions of authority will always attract abusers, that doesn’t mean that having to be celibate and unmarried isn’t a large part of why priests molest others and then try to cover it up.