Church execs urged to thoroughly screen wannabe priests

“Seminary formation must respond to this phenomenon and a strict standard for choosing candidates for ordination must be in place,” he said in an interview on Monday. (Pixabay Photo)

MANILA — An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the Catholic Church should be strict in accepting candidates for priesthood.

Fr. Jerome Secillano, CBCP-Public Affairs Committee (PAC) executive secretary, believes that a thorough process should be implemented in the formation of those applying to be part of the clergy.

“Seminary formation must respond to this phenomenon and a strict standard for choosing candidates for ordination must be in place,” he said in an interview on Monday.

“A constant monitoring of priests already in the ministry must be done too,” he added.

The Catholic priest noted that sexual abuse cases involving priests will not be solved by allowing them to marry.

“Allowing priests to marry is unfortunately not the solution to the problem of sexual misconduct in the church,” he said.

“The issue is not merely about homosexuality. It is about having sexual deviant personality that cannot be cured simply by allowing the perpetrators to marry,” Secillano added.

He said allowing priests to marry will not guarantee the occurrence of such cases.

“Even if we speak of ‘macho’ priests who are engaged in ‘consensual affairs’, marriage may not even guarantee faithfulness in the relationship,” he said.

“The solution offered by the president merely trivializes what is an otherwise complex problem,” Secillano added.

On Sunday, President Duterte said priests should be allowed to marry.