Despite accusations of inappropriate activity by more than 130 people, Father Geoghan was never ejected from the priesthood. Instead, he was shuffled from diocese to diocese, always one step ahead of the next allegation. Under the glare of the national media, this and other scandals involving priests have caused many Catholics at Tufts and around the nation to pose previously unasked questions. Most importantly among them: should priests be allowed to marry?
"Obviously this is very, very shocking," Vice President of the Catholic Community at Tufts (CCT) junior Maria Robertson said. "Just the fact that this is happening in Boston, [in] a predominantly Catholic [city], is amazing."
Grappling with these disturbing occurrences, some Catholics have begun to question the doctrine of celibacy.
According to Tufts' Catholic chaplain, Father David O'Leary, the question of marriage for priests is deeply complex. O'Leary explained that while some people think that allowing marriage would alleviate the problem, there are married people who engage in acts of pedophilia. Eliminating the law of celibacy wouldn't necessarily prevent pedophiles from entering the priesthood. Still, O'Leary says he would support allowing priests to marry.
"I would welcome marriage," he said. "It is, after all, a man-made law that could change. I'm not holding my breath, though." Students remain undecided as to whether the doctrine of celibacy for priests needs to be reevaluated.
"I think that priests should be able to marry," freshman Devin Clarke said. "I don't think its such a big deal that [marriage] should be outlawed."
But there are those who believe marriage is not the cure, especially when the celibacy of priests has always been an important tenet of the religion.
"It's easy for an outsider to simply say that priests should be able to marry," sophomore Jess Grasso said. "Yet for Catholics, this contradicts everything the Church has stood for and preached for hundreds of years." Grasso believes that changing traditional doctrine in this manner might not lead to any positive results.
"I'd like to think that if they were allowed to marry that these incidents would stop," Grasso said. "However, I just don't know if that's realistic."
Other Catholic students think the problem needs an immediate solution, and waiting for the granting of marriage rights or other actions by the Roman Church will not ameliorate the current situation.
"The Church cannot shy away from the law as it has in the past and I think if we wait for Rome to change we will be waiting for much longer than the situation deserves," freshman Lauren Ungerleider said. "Some sort of resolution should be found and carried out, even if the actions are only temporary, until Rome decides what to do about the situation."
O'Leary expressed regret in response to the Pope's acknowledgment of recent scandals within various Catholic dioceses.
"It's a sad reality when any priest goes against the oath that he's promised," he said. O'Leary fears that a backlash against Catholicism may result from the allegations. "There's always been an anti-Catholic sentiment; this is just bringing it up more," he said, adding that he is critical of the Cardinal Law's treatment of many priests. "These priests are [considered] guilty until proven innocent." And according to O'Leary, few prosecutors want to prosecute priests, further complicating their fate.
"Priests' careers are over [because of] a case that is never going to be brought to court," he said, adding that he forgives the occasional mismanagement of allegations within the Church. "Most bishops are not trained to respond to this properly, so everyone's learning as they go," he said. "Cardinal Law's main concern is the children."
O'Leary is hopeful that the scandals will not have an adverse affect on the Catholic community on campus. In the past few weeks, attendance numbers have been on the upswing, with an average of 300 people attending 10 p.m. mass, and many students frequenting the Catholic Center.
"My faith is not shaken," Robertson said. "From what I've seen we're still strong. A lot of people come to mass, a testament to our faith."
