Fr. Peter Daly is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and has been pastor of St. John Vianney parish in Prince Frederick, Md., since 1994. For almost 20 years, Daly wrote a column for Catholic News Service that went to diocesan publications. He has also written for The Washington Post, Catholic Digest, Reader's Digest, the ABA Journal, and other local publications. He has a 20-pound cat named Russell.
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Fr. Peter Daly
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Column
Confronting causes of clericalism: original sin, institutional dynamics
Priestly Diary: The first step to tackling the clericalism born of our fallen nature is talking about it. If we don't talk about it, we cannot treat the problem.
Column
Tackle clericalism first when attempting priesthood reform
Priestly Diary: If the priesthood is to be reformed, we must tackle the disease of clericalism. It won't be easy. Clericalism is so deeply ingrained in our structures and way of thinking that we almost can't imagine how things could be otherwise.
Celibacy advances the priesthood's culture of compromised truths
Priestly Diary: If a sizable amount of Catholic clergy aren't celibate, that contributes to a culture of mendacity (lying). Priests and bishops are not going to expose others because they may be guilty themselves.
Column
The priesthood is being crucified on the cross of celibacy
Priestly Diary: We cannot bring about real reform of the Roman Catholic priesthood unless we do away with mandatory celibacy, which harms the church and damages the lives of most priests.