The reputation of the priesthood has been further marred, based on the allegations of sexual misconduct with young boys. While some reports of committed acts of sexual abuse may not be true, individuals have publicized these cases. This adversely impacted the number of men pursuing a priestly vocation in the Catholic Church. In addition, dramatic growth in third-world countries in vocations to the priesthood has overshadowed the number of candidates in the United States. Aimed to educate and spread the word of God to the unfortunate, priests in third-world countries have been inspiring other individuals to join the clergy. The United States has evolved into a materialistic society and has lost sight of spirituality. Over the last several decades, the effect of capitalism has had an enormous impact on materialism, causing society to forget about one’s …show more content…
The church should eliminate the requirement of celibacy and adopt s philosophy, similar to that of other Christian denominations. The philosophy of celibacy has truly become a deterrent. The church should allow priests, who have left the clergy to marry, to return. Pope Francis publicly addressed the idea of disposing this requirement. He “reportedly his plans to change important ‘archaic’ parts of the Catholic rules…the Pope intends to overturn the ‘centuries-old ban’ on Catholic priests from getting married…to eliminate the law of celibacy. He said it was not part of the doctrine of the church. It was started more than 1,000 years ago by a pope, and he considers it archaic, an antiquity which needs to be reconsidered.” In addition, the responsibilities of women should be increased in the Catholic Church. Pope Francis has pronounced that “women may ‘have the capacity’ to be priests, (but) ‘that cannot be done.” While Pope Francis strongly opposes the idea of admitting women to positions in the clergy, he perhaps could reconsider the topic. In Genesis 1:27, “…God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Women are just as competent as men to be priestly figures; arguably, they are more