During the abuse scandals, the late pontiff Pope John Paul II called for a review of how celibacy is taught in the 229 U.S. seminaries. That review is now under way.

But one of the leading experts on the lives of American priests wonders how honest the Vatican is being in perpetuating a commitment to celibacy.

Celibacy is a wonderful way to channel one's energies but terribly difficult to achieve, said Richard Sipe, a psychologist at Santa Clara University in California.

Sipe has reached this conclusion after counseling and interviewing 1,500 clerics over more than 25 years. A former priest, Sipe is now a psychologist and author who has written about the abuse crisis as well as sexuality and the priesthood. He called attention to a Catholic sexual abuse crisis long before the Catholic hierarchy acknowledged there was a crisis.

His studies of celibacy suggest that 50 percent of priests are sexually active at any given time. Typically, they are active with adult women or men.

To pretend that sex with minors is "the most frequent violation of celibacy by Catholic priests and bishops is a fiction of the fifth magnitude," Sipe said.

He believes priests have sex more often with adult women than adult men. In his view, the Vatican's recent call for an end to gay candidates for the priesthood is wrongheaded and misses the overall problem with celibacy.

And it makes him question why the church hierarchy is not talking seriously about a married clergy. For most of the church's history, he said, Catholic priests have married.

Thomas G. Plante, chair of the psychology department of Santa Clara University and a consultant on the training of priests, respects Sipe's research but believes sexual activity among priests is far below 50 percent.

"Celibacy seems to be better addressed in seminary training today than in the past," he wrote in an e-mail. "Obviously it isn't a lifestyle suitable for all, but it seems suitable for many."

As rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary, Monsignor Robert Coleman says his faculty is committed to teaching the importance of celibacy and living out that commitment.

"We help men understand that there's a real fulfillment in being a priest," he said. "If God is calling a man to a vocation, He will provide the grace to accept a celibate life."

Contact Gary Soulsman at 324-2893 or gsoulsman@delawareonline.com.