A lot of them aren't. (Often it's an ordinary affair with an adult woman, who is at least in a stronger position than a helpless child.) I probably should have used a different word, because I didn't mean that they are celibate, but that it's a requirement - a demand I believe many people simply can't live up to, nor should have to. If sex were allowed to be a natural accepted part of a priest's life there would be far less perversion, far less shame and far less hypocrisy than has been the case. (Please note: by "perversion" I mean an adult imposing him/herself on a child REGARDLESS of the combination of genders.)

But the celibacy thing is only part of the issue, and not the main part at that. The real driving engine behind it is the power and control the Church had over Irish society until recently. Power, with no checks and balances, corrupts. And it did.