Sunday, May 02, 2010

Cardinal Blames Celibacy for Clergy Sex Abuse

In what may well trigger an interesting dust up in light of the Catholic Church hierarchy's extreme efforts to defend the celibacy requirement of the Roman rite part of the Church, Cardinal Levada has blamed celibacy for the ever growing sex abuse scandal sweeping the Church. Personally, I do not suspect that celibacy per se is the cause of the problem. Rather, several things have caused it. First, there is the Church's bizarre obsession with all things sexual, and the "dirty" nature of women. Second, historically, priests have been recruited in junior high school, thereby stunting their psycho-sexual development. Third, there is the sanctuary the celibacy requirement has provided for psychologically/sexually dysfunctional individuals who hide their problems by hiding within the priesthood. Huffington Post looks at Cardinal Levada's statements which no doubt will cause Benedict XVI to have hissy fits. Here are some highlights:
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Given the numerous times that representatives of the Catholic Church hierarchy have denounced efforts to link compulsory celibacy to the terrible history of clergy sex abuse and cover-up, it was astonishing to hear Cardinal William Levada, head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which handles abuse allegations, on the PBS Newshour last week do just that.
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Responding to a visiting Margaret Warner's questions about the clergy sex abuse scandal, Levada at one point said: "I think the causes we will see go back to changes in society that the church and priests were not prepared for, particularly changes involving how to be a celibate person in a time of the sexual revolution."
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That is a stunning and extremely noteworthy admission, for several reasons. It meant, if we take Levada at his word and go the next step, that as a result of the sexual revolution, there were Catholic priests who became involved in all kinds of sexual acting out, from pedophilia (though that is a psychiatric condition with its own etiology) to sex with minors to the sexual exploitation of young -- and not so young -- vulnerable adults.
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But the real way that celibacy caused this crisis is that it led the hierarchy to go to outrageous lengths to hide the truth: its failure to maintain a pristine celibate priesthood. Indeed, a celibate Catholic priesthood has long been a myth rather than a reality. In his research, psychotherapist and former Catholic monk Richard Sipe found that an estimated half of all priests were involved in some kind of sexual activity at any one time. Of those, 15 percent were involved with men, 30 percent with women, and 6 percent with minors.
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Despite the level of sexual activity that has existed among Catholic priests, charges Sipe, the Church has blatantly and belligerently refused to deal seriously with breaches in celibacy. "The inherent duplicity between the stated norm, belief and practice thrives on the denial of sexual reality," Sipe has said of the Church and celibacy. "This communal dishonesty sets the stage for sexual corruption and abuse."
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In other words, by forbidding priests who choose to be sexual in mature ways that include commitment, responsibility and respect, and by protecting them from the costs of their sexual exploits, the church has effectively condoned a clerical sexual free-for-all.
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So Levada is right. The challenge of compulsory celibacy in a sexually charged world has been a major contributor to the Church's clergy sex abuse scandal. Compulsory celibacy cloaked in a mantel of sexual superiority is very dangerous. No compulsory celibacy means no hypocrisy, less duplicity

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