Letter: Errant priests must face reality

Errant priests must face reality

Sir: The regime at Stroud for Catholic priests with personal problems described by an actively gay priest in the article "Behave or you'll be sent to Stroud" (27 August) seems very close to that freely chosen by many men and women who join a religious order or undertake a retreat.

Invasion or lack of privacy, restrictions on freedom of movement and an atmosphere that may seem oppressive and claustrophobic are not necessarily bad things. Indeed, religious vows are voluntarily taken precisely with the intention of giving up some of one's freedoms for "the sake of the kingdom".

Catholic priests or religious who refuse to accept restrictions on their freedoms are being unrealistic. There is a growing number of Catholics who believe that their priests should not be obliged to sacrifice their God-given right to intimacies of the type that marriage offers, but until the rules are changed it does not seem unreasonable for superiors to try to make their errant clergy face reality.

It certainly seems the very minimum that should be demanded of the small number of priests with a paedophile problem. Catholics should be grateful to the Servants of the Paraclete for providing this ministry in their name.

SIMON BRYDEN-BROOK

European Network Secretary

Church on the Move

London SW1