BY MICHAEL HAYNE

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

While many could care very little about the new pope and his views given the Catholic Church's continuous support of outmoded philosophies particularly when it comes to modern-day social issues, the new pope appears to at least be making attempts to reform some of the more obsolete rules.

Regarding the ancient and totally unrealistic rules of celibacy, Pope Francis believes that the rules requiring all priests to abstain from sex "can be changed." The new pope has already proven that he may not be just another irrelevant, outmoded fossil in Lady Gaga's wardrobe.

Unlike the ostentatious popes of the past and their sanctimonious obsession with opulence (think Liz Taylor in an Holy robe), Pope Bergoglio (or Francis as his Vatican peeps call him) appears to have lived a very humble existence. Choosing to take public transportation, live in a simple apartment and apparently cook his own meals, and focus heavily on alleviating worldwide poverty. Although he still strongly disapproves of homosexuality and gay marriage as well as gay adoptions, Pope Francis appears to be showing flashes of enlightenment on celibacy - a key issue that has rocked the church with sexual abuse scandal after scandal.

Based on his own personal experiences, the new pope opened up about celibacy:

"I was surprised by her beauty, her intellectual brilliance ... and, well, I was bowled over for quite a while. I kept thinking and thinking about her. When I returned to the seminary after the wedding, I could not pray for over a week because when I tried to do so, the girl appeared in my head. I had to rethink what I was doing." (IBTTimes)

The pope would go on to commend the priests of the Byzantine, Greek and Russian Catholic faith who are all allowed to marry.

"They are very good priests," he noted. "If, hypothetically, Western Catholicism were to review the issue of celibacy, I think it would do so for cultural reasons [as in the East], not so much as a universal option." (IBTTimes)

Psychotherapist and former Benedictine priest Richard Sipe conducted a study of celibate and sexual behaviour among Catholic clerics in the United States from 1960 to 1985. What he found was that half of all priests and Catholic brothers were sexually active at any particular time. Moreoerv, masturbation was the most frequent sexual activity, followed by affairs with women, sex with male companions, and Internet pornography. He also believes that these numbers have not changed much today.

"Sex is really very close to an addiction. It's a drive that doesn't go away," Sipe told the New York Times. "If you're going to live without it, you can't live like a normal person. You can't just say one day, 'I'm celibate.' Celibacy is a process." (IBTTimes)

This data is considerably important since it really demonstrates how the rigors of celibacy have lead to clergy engaging in despicable acts of pedophilia It's almost like a prison complex: if you put a bunch of heterosexual guys in one place and bar them from seeing other women, they're probably going to have sex with one another since, after all, they're dudes and have urges like every second of the day. New Jersey priests have had their fair share of sexual abuse scandals, so hopefully this new found belief does more than just remain a theory.