Priests

Tonight in the season final of You Can't Ask That, Priests will address questions on such questions as:

"How can you preach what's right and wrong when the organisation you represent has hurt so many people?"

"Nobody should become a priest because they think it's going to be enjoyable, or fun, or the pay is good, or it's going to be fulfilling", answers Perth Anglican Vicar, Chris Bedding, when asked why he became a priest — "You should only do it because there is an unshakable sense that you're called to it". Yet despite the calling, years of ministry and devotion to his vocation, Chris explains he is not entirely unquestioning in his beliefs, "I doubt every single detail of the Christian faith. I sometimes wonder if I still believe. I think doubt is really helpful. If your life is marked by certainty, there's no way that you are going to be able to be open to people or listen to people."

Asked if he has a sex life Assistant Catholic Priest, Father Marcus Goulding, laughs, "I am a celibate, so the ideal is no". The 25-year-old, who entered the Catholic seminary directly after finishing high school, lives a life very different to most his age. Ordained a year ago, he explains the vow of celibacy is about:

"Giving our hearts to God himself and to God alone, and that includes the body. There is this belief that to be happy you have to have sex — that can bring a lot of happiness but you can live an integral human life in other ways. There are always temptations there but, for me, the thing that sustains my celibacy is prayer — if I spend an hour a day praying I find that I live celibacy easily."

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PS. You Can't Ask That will return in 2019.