The church was a place where wealthy families could “hide away” male children who were problematic.
They could literally pay for a position like being a bishop.
It’s worth keeping in mind that “problematic” could mean surviving to adulthood along with one of your elder brothers. Either way, this meant that it was quite possible to have people who were not on board with celibacy being required to be celibate through no real choice of their own. Or not, which is far more messy.
Just realized. That’s probably why there are so many pedophiles in church. They simply are the ones staying there.
The church was a place where wealthy families could “hide away” male children who were problematic.
They could literally pay for a position like being a bishop.
It’s worth keeping in mind that “problematic” could mean surviving to adulthood along with one of your elder brothers. Either way, this meant that it was quite possible to have people who were not on board with celibacy being required to be celibate through no real choice of their own. Or not, which is far more messy.