The Scandals Continue

No doubt you've read (at least the headlines) of the unfolding scandals of sexual abuse by priests in Ireland and Germany, as well as new allegations in the United States. What lessons do we take from the seemingly unending revelations of the frail and flawed humanity which embodies the pastorate of the churches?

For many years, I and countless others more qualified than I - including bishops, priests, theologians and innumerable scholars - have held that the institution of priestly celibacy lies at the very heart of this sexually-dysfunctional clerical (clergy) infamy. Catholics everywhere marvel at the apparent blindness of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the face of what seems irrefutable evidence of at least two striking phenomena: first, that there is a direct correlation between preexisting sexual maladjustment of varying types and the inclination to enter the clerical life. Second, that the overwhelming burden of loneliness and the desire for intimate companionship quite naturally - and quite often - subverts the moral integrity, sexual maturity, and emotional equilibrium of very many priests, who, but for the lack of such companionship, might well thrive in their vocation.

It requires little reflection to conceive that the first instance will be inevitable and will submit only to the most vigorous screening of candidates for seminary studies, much less for advancement to priesthood. But the second instance will remain a needlessly damaging disgrace, both for the individuals involved and for the Church. And the tragic imposition of mandatory celibacy will generate untold grief - and victims - so long as it remains in place.

We must recognize that in our contemporary setting the pejorative label, "scandal," unfortunately conjures pedophilia. But only a tiny minority of priests (or of clergy of any denomination) seem afflicted by pedophilia - perhaps less than 1% of all priests, a number consonant with the incidence among the general population. This statistic nonetheless blurs the pronounced incidence of other occasions of perceived scandal, as when manditorily celibate priests engage in sexual affairs, whether hetero- or homosexual, or become involved with pornography, or find themselves sexually, even deviantly, obsessed even while refraining from overtly acting on this compulsion. And even that distinction leaves unremarked that countless number who, having sought out a religious vocation, are yet terribly maladjusted and fraught with sexual immaturity, scrupulous self-doubt, or unrelenting temptations to act out. What percentage of clerical celebates are thus affected? No one knows. But there is the haunting suspicion that they are legion.

As a priest, I know all too many individuals who chose this life as a sort of safe harbor - perhaps unconsciously or unreflectively, but all the same the Church seemed a refuge for them with their unspoken troubles. In my seminary, speculation was common as to who might one day land in scandal. Remarkably, we were just as often surprised to learn that unsuspected individuals had come aground with admissions of the worst sexual transgressions. This story is shared by nearly every priest I know, from every seminary.

And mind you, I hope we would never again include among the "unspoken troubles" those who have discovered their gay sexual identity, except possibly in the sense that, given the Church's culture, they might feel compelled to go underground, to be furtive or to deny their sexuality, which after all is gift of God. No, the "scandal" must never be equated with homosexual activity per se, but rather with patently immoral activity, such as affairs with married persons, or infidelity, or, worst of all, with minors.

This blog is not the place to provide the sort of scholarly treatment the subject deserves, but perhaps I can set the table for your own reflection (and research!). I would ask: Is it not reasonable to sugggest that, given natural human sexual desire, gay or straight, coupled with the natural desire for companionship, that when denied any healthy outlet for fulfillment of these natural inclinations, many individuals will often end up on the shoals of sexual misadventure?

In the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, we naturally insist upon the freedom of our clergy to be married, or to engage in significant, intimate, monogamous and healthy relationships. Most of our priests are married. Some are gay and though sadly they are prohibited by most State laws from marriage, nonetheless they are deeply committed in lasting, loving relationships - or they remain open to these. For us, in the ECC, this is morally and intellectually self-evident - it is the intended flourishing previewed in Genesis, in the creation of human partners. "God looked at everything God had made, and found it very good."

Every church of every denomination should allow its clergy to follow parallel paths of priestly vocation and of intimate relationship. Christ accompanies the walk on both, toward faithful pastoring and faithful partnering. To deny either pathway to any person authentically called to it is unnatural, and calamitous, and it is the ultimate scandal.