Half of ex-priests left for love, sex

Christian Century, April 5, 2003

About half of all Catholic priests who leave the priesthood do so because they are in love with a woman or can no longer live a celibate life, says Dean Hoge, a leading sociologist at Catholic University.

Hoge found that between 20 percent and 30 percent of priests left because they fell in love with a woman. An additional 20 percent to 30 percent left because they felt "lonely and unappreciated" and could no longer abide by mandatory celibacy. His findings were published recently in his book The First Five Years of the Priesthood.

Between 30 percent and 40 percent of priests left because they were disillusioned with their fellow priests or the church hierarchy. And between 5 percent and 15 percent left because they wanted an "open, long-term relationship" with another man. The number of gay priests is not known, but some experts say it could be as high as 50 percent.

Hoge found that between 5 percent and 10 percent of departing priests left for reasons that do not fit into one of the other categories.--RNS