Celibacy Redux, Part 1

A reader of this blog e-mailed me to suggest some topics for me to consider.  Surprisingly, most were topics I had already written on at some length, but the reader had not realized they were available in the archives of past months.  With some revisions and editing I will reprise some past issues, beginning with Celibacy.

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I am more than a little fed up with the current attitude that celibacy is the root cause of the sexual abuse crisis and the majority of the other ills of the Catholic Church.  Over the next few days (or weeks) I would like to look at the issue and offer my own reflections.

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“We commonly speak of the sex 'drive', as if it, like hunger, must be satisfied, or a person will die. Yet there is no evidence that celibacy is in any way damaging to one's health, and it is clear that many celibates lead long, happy lives. Celibacy should be recognized as a valid alternative sexual lifestyle, although probably not everyone is suited to it.”

-J. S. Hyde, Understanding Human Sexuality, 1986

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Abuse of trust, inappropriate sexual behavior, by ministers is a problem that knows no denominational boundaries. The majority of resources agree with this premise. Furthermore, one finds that an average of just over 20% of Protestant pastors, which encourage the married state, may be involved in some sort of sexually inappropriate behavior.  In Clergy Misconduct: Not Only a Catholic Problem, J. C. Samuelson presents statistics that certainly points to a cultural problem that goes beyond the scope of the Catholic Church or celibacy.

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1. The Nature and Scope of the Problem of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States, conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. This study found that roughly 4% of Catholic priests from 1950 – 2002 were sexual abusers.  [If it was discovered that 4% of the students in your child’s class cheated on tests, would you also punish the 96% who didn’t cheat, and brand the whole school as cheaters?  If 15% of wives and 25% of husbands, according to some statistics, cheat in marriage, do we condemn all married persons and label marriage as a whole as morally evil?]

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2. Pedophiles and Priests : Anatomy of a Contemporary Crisis by Dr. Philip Jenkins. Dr. Jenkins estimates that approximately 2% of priests are sexually abusive. Also addresses the problem in other denominations.

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3. Sex, Priests, and Power: Anatomy of a Crisis by A.W. Richard Sipe. Mr. Sipes focuses on the controversy from the aspect of the Catholic doctrine of celibacy and how it affects men in the priesthood. He estimates that up to 50% of allegedly celibate priests are sexually active, and 8% to 10% of priests may well be an accurate count of those who are sexually abusive.

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4. Clergy Misconduct: Sexual Abuse in the Ministerial Relationship, 1991 by a group from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA . Only available offline as part of a collection located in the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library. This survey of primarily Protestant ministers found that 10% of them had been sexually active with a parishioner.

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5. How Common is Pastoral Indiscretion? In 1988, the research department of Christianity Today, Inc. conducted a poll of nearly 1000 pastors, 30% of whom responded. In response to the question, ‘Since you've been in local church ministry, have you ever done anything with someone (not your spouse) that you feel was sexually inappropriate’ 23% of pastors answered affirmatively. In response to the question, ‘Have you ever had sexual intercourse with someone other than your spouse since you've been in local church ministry’ 12% of pastors answered affirmatively.

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6. Research published in a winter 1993 edition of the Journal of Pastoral Care found that 6.1% of Southern Baptist pastors admitted to having sexual contact with current or former congregants. In addition, 70% of respondents claimed to know other pastors who had engaged in similar activities with congregants.

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7. Nearly 42% of respondents to a 1990 study conducted by the United Methodist Church reported unwanted sexual behavior by a colleague or pastor, while 17% reported having been harassed by their own pastor.

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It is clearly neither a Catholic nor a Celibacy problem … nor is it unique to our time and culture.  It has most likely existed since the dawn of time.  Perhaps the sexual freedom of the past 40 years has contributed to the pressures and expectations of ministers.  Perhaps the prevalence of instant media has made us more aware than ever before in human history.

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In the next part I’ll talk about the reason the Catholic Church has made celibacy an obligatory practice for its priests and bishops since the Twelfth Century, and some of the practical theology that supports celibacy.  But we need to remember that celibacy is a reformable rule of the Church and not a dogma, and that the door to change was opened a crack already under Pope Paul VI in the 1970’s.

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Comments

[Ed Snowdon]

Today, mandatory celibacy and church riches are the primary power bases of our homosexual priesthood. Gay sex in the priesthood is not only against the promise/vow of celibacy and sexual continence, it has made the gay priesthood vulnerable to blackmail and extortion by manipulative sexual predators. An example: Father Perp molests multiple children. He is found out and the police are in pursuit. Father Perp goes to gay bishop and threatens to tell the world that he and Father Ted went on a gay cruise together last fall. Bishop pulls out all the stops to defend Father Perp because he is really defending himself and his cozy gay lifestyle. The focus on celibacy strengthens the power of the sexually active gay priesthood. A clear focus on the majority gay lifestyle of the priesthood will bring significant change, because Catholics won't give money to support a well-sexed out of control gay priesthood. The gay clergy will never allow a significant married priesthood since their lifestyle and special arrangements will be exposed by the married priest couples. Discussing celibacy without taking into serious account that the priesthood is a gay profession is a waste of good intellectual and political energy. Journalists are already working on this reality. First we heard about sex abuse - which the gay priesthood was more than willing to live with for decades without reporting it to the police - they didn't want the exposure. Financial improprieties are beginning to be reported i.e. Father Jude Fay in Lori's diocese. We'll be hearing all about the sexually active gay priesthood in short time. Regretfully, many Catholics will likely find a rationalization for that as well. They have been trained to crave their communion and their insurance policy to get to heaven no matter what happens to their children. Celibacy and homosexuality are at the root of the sex abuse atrocity that has been uncovered and continues to happen - today's child victims will emerge in about 10 to 15 years. Ed

[Ed Snowdon]

Another celibacy perspective from a familiar angle: Priests who leave the corporate priesthood do so to get married. They are heaped with aspersions, labeled as quitters, losers, Judas priests. Notice that the priests who leave marry women. They don't leave to partner with other men. The gay priests stay because they have reworked the institution of the priesthood so they are in control, well-funded, with plenty of opportunities for exciting sexual encounters with other men. The straight priests who leave are not sexually out of control as they are portrayed by the gay priesthood, they have fled the majority gay culture of the priesthood for a normal married life. Think about it. I think married priests are the safe and effective alternative to the mess we have now. The priesthood has been so degraded and shamed by gay sexual excess and its consequences that a return to the early church's married priesthood that was closest to the person of Jesus is what we need to get back on track and regain our Roman Catholic respect and credibility. Ed

[Denis McKeown]

I believe the required act of celibacy is one of simple heresy. No man or woman has the right under God to abdicate their sexuality for a career in the church. One's sexuality is both a powerful gift from God and an enormous responsibility in society.