The Catholic Church and the
Sex Abuse Crisis
by Dr Pravin Thevathasan
All booklets are published thanks to the generous support of the members of the Catholic Truth Society
CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY PUBLISHERS TO THE HOLY SEE
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Contents Context and scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Sexual abuse: a psychiatric perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 The serious harm caused by sexual abuse . . . . . . . . . .12 The profile of the offender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Church teaching regarding the abuse of minors . . . . . .20 Clerical sex abuse in the United States . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Clerical sex abuse in Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 The crisis in the rest of Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 The response to the crisis by the Church . . . . . . . . . . .35 Why do some priests abuse minors? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 The therapeutic culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Is homosexuality to blame? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Is celibacy the problem? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 A problem in other denominations and religions? . . . .49 Is there an anti-Catholic agenda? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Is there a case against Pope Benedict? . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 The Church and the protection of children . . . . . . . . . .62 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Glossary of terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
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Context and scope In his Pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland, Pope Benedict XVI has this to say to priests who are guilty of sexual abuse: “You betrayed the trust that was placed in you by innocent young people and their parents, and you must answer for it before Almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals. You have forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and brought shame and dishonour upon your confreres... Together with the immense harm done to victims, great damage has been done to the Church...” He also addresses the bishops who failed to protect victims: “It cannot be denied that some of you and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the longestablished norms of canon law to the crime of sexual abuse. Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations.” The problem of sex abuse In this work, no excuses will be offered in order to justify the appalling crime of sexual abuse perpetrated by a small number of Catholic priests – about 2 to 4% credible accusations in the United States and less than this in the
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United Kingdom in the last forty years – nor for the pastoral negligence of some bishops. To quote Pope Benedict, sexual abuse has “profoundly wounded people in their childhood, damaging them for a whole lifetime.” The Pope has also said that the crimes of priests, while reprehensible, should be seen in the context of the times in which these events took place. Citing the rise of child pornography and sexual tourism, he concludes that moral standards in society at large have broken down. I will therefore begin by an examination of the problem of sexual abuse in the wider society. I will argue that the incidence of sexual abuse is significant and that, until relatively recently, many psychiatrists and psychologists believed that they could cure these offenders by means of therapy. It is important to recognise that this common belief was held during the time when bishops were transferring abusive priests from one parish to another, often following psychological evaluation.
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Sexual abuse: a psychiatric perspective There is a need to begin by defining our terms with care and precision. According to a work entitled Sexual Deviance, written by international experts and published in 2008, paedophilia may be defined as a persistent sexual interest in prepubescent children manifested in thought, fantasy and sexual behaviour. In contrast, it is said that men who seek sexual contact with post-pubertal adolescents below the legal age of consent are engaging in criminal behaviour but are unlikely to be paedophiles. In other words, they have a different psychopathology from classic paedophiles. The term ephebophilia is used sometimes to describe the sexual attraction of an adult towards a post-pubertal minor and hebephilia is used to describe the sexual attraction of an adult towards a minor about the age of puberty. Treatment outcomes There is a higher prevalence of male abusers than female in the general population, and the majority of child victims are female. However, the authors of Sexual Deviance argue that it is important to identify homosexual offenders, as they are twice as likely to reoffend as heterosexual offenders. The authors note that
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studies have shown high levels of other psychopathology among sexual offenders, including anxiety, depression and personality problems. One might assume that treating these conditions could prove curative in the management of offenders. However, after examining various treatment methods, it has been concluded that treatment outcomes are generally poor. What really matters is the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable children. Compare this conclusion to the somewhat optimistic evaluation of noted psychiatrist Anthony Storr: “The adult who makes a sexual assault upon a child requires medical and psychiatric investigation rather than punishment.” This claim is found in the 1974 edition of his book Sexual Deviation. This is evidence that, until relatively recently, respected psychiatrists were of the opinion that paedophilia may be a treatable condition. Remarkably enough, Storr also writes: “Most people assume that [paedophilia] is harmful. But various authorities who have examined children who have been seduced have concluded that the emotional as opposed to the physical damage which is done to children is more the result of adult horror than anything intrinsically dreadful in the sexual contact itself... In some instances in which there has been repeated sexual contact between the child and adult, the child has been eager to continue the association until discovered and reprimanded.”
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This expert opinion was given during a time when many bishops dealt poorly with abusive priests. Often bishops and religious superiors listened to the advice of psychiatrists and placed abusive priests into therapy and then reassigned them in the mistaken belief that they were no longer a threat to children. Abusers were regarded as sick people who needed therapy rather than punishment. Interestingly, the scientist cited by Storr to justify his opinion was the notorious Alfred Kinsey, whose theories are discussed below. Variety of opinion It might be argued that the views expressed by Storr were unusual even then, but unfortunately this would appear not to be the case. DJ West wrote in his classic work Homosexuality around the same time: “Sexual fondling of children is not in itself harmful... many of the children who fell victim to sexual offences have laid themselves open to advances by their coy, provocative behaviour. Dr. Trevor Gibbens found that in a behaviour sample, two thirds of the child victims had participated in indecencies on more than one occasion... In a California study of sexual offences against children, two thirds were considered to have been actively participating victims... The essentially non violent nature (of offences against children or minors) has emerged in all systematic sex offender surveys, including the
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Cambridge study, the California study and the Indiana Institute study... The long term effects of sexual molestation upon children are probably much less serious than generally supposed.” Nor was this optimistic opinion limited to experts. Writing in a letter to the Guardian more recently in 1997, Peter Tatchell, a homosexual rights campaigner, defended an academic book on “boy love”: “The positive nature of some child-adult sexual relationships is not confined to non-western culture. Several of my friends- gay and straight, male and femalehad sex with adults from the age of nine to thirteen. None feel that they were abused... while it may be impossible to condone paedophilia, it is time society acknowledged the truth that not all sex involving children is unwanted, abusive and harmful.” In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins writes that he was not psychologically affected after being sexually molested by a teacher, “an embarrassing but otherwise harmless experience.” A degree of tolerance Writing in the Irish Independent (March 20, 2010) Patricia Casey, a Professor of Psychiatry, discusses the work of Alfred Kinsey, who had carried out a series of sexual experiments on children. Kinsey’s conclusion was
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that sexual relationships between children and adults were not necessarily harmful. Casey then discusses the work of academic Judith Reismann, who after attending a 1977 conference organised by the British Psychological Association (in which one of the speakers was the head of a paedophile organization) set out to critique the work of Kinsey. Her conclusion is that Kinsey’s work was methodologically flawed and highly questionable from an ethical perspective. Casey also examines a number of text-books of psychiatry written in the 1970s and 1980s that reveal very little information on paedophilia and sexual abuse, indicating that these were not subjects of major academic importance as they are now. Casey notes that it was clear from the Murphy Report on clergy sex abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese that mental health professionals were involved in the treatment of abusers. Some priests were returned to active ministry after having been assessed by professionals. In light of this, Casey asks a series of questions: what treatment methods were available at the time? Was there objective evidence that the treatment was effective? When information was found that the level of abuse was greater than suspected, was this conveyed to the authorities or was patient confidentiality a wall that could not be penetrated? Not surprisingly, Casey’s article is entitled: “Psychiatrists must take share of blame on abuse.”
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Casey concludes her article: “Sexual abuse continues to be a huge problem although the focus is now less on clerical and more on familial and non familial abuse... one in five women and one in six men have reported sexual abuse before the age of seventeen.” A degree of tolerance It would appear, then, that, until relatively recently, the sexual abuse of minors was sometimes poorly managed by professionals. There also seems to be little evidence that the treatments then on offer, such as aversion therapy, were effective. Writing in the Homiletic and Pastoral Review (May 2005), Brian W Clowes and David Sonnier have noted that the American Psychiatric Association has sponsored a symposium in which participants discussed the removal of paedophilia from an upcoming edition of the group’s psychiatric manual of mental disorders. The Archives of Sexual Behaviour published a special edition in December 2002 discussing whether paedophilia ought to remain a mental disorder. As early as 1988, a leading psychological journal, Behaviour Today, claimed that “paedophilia may be a sexual orientation rather than a sexual deviation. This raises the question whether paedophiles may have rights.” So, until relatively recently, there was a degree of tolerance towards paedophilia, at least in some circles.
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The organization Paedophile Information Exchange, for example, was founded in Britain in 1974 and disbanded only in 1984. The last of its members was arrested on child pornography charges. The North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is another paedophile organization which works to abolish the age of consent and to demand the release of all men in jail for sexual contact with minors provided no coercion was involved. In 1995, detectives discovered that there were 1,100 members involved. Although founded in 1977, it was only in 1994 that it was finally expelled from the International Lesbian and Gay Association. Fr Paul Shanley, one of the most notorious priest abusers in the Archdiocese of Boston, was a frequent speaker at NAMBLA events.
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The serious harm caused by sexual abuse The sexual abuse of children and minors may lead to very serious psychological and psychiatric consequences. The severity of symptoms is dependent on a variety of factors including the type of abuse, which may vary from molestation to rape, the frequency of abuse and the premorbid personality of the victim .The abused person may suffer more if he or she already has a psychiatric disorder. Persons with a learning disability are likely to be more affected because they may have problems communicating their distress. Victim trauma The psychiatric presentations include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Personality Disorder, Eating Disorders, substance misuse, depression and suicide attempts. The victims often feel guilty and may come to believe that they themselves were to blame for the abuse. Some victims enter a state of denial and this may help explain why early studies on sexual abuse showed little evidence of psychological trauma following the abuse. Most offenders are already known to their victims. 30% of abusers are relatives, 60% are friends or acquaintances of the family and only 10% are strangers.
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This pattern is replicated in the case of priest offenders who are often well known to the family, which helps them to groom the victim over a period of time. This grooming may involve giving gifts or taking the victim out on special occasions. The offending behaviour typically takes place at the home of either the victim or the abuser or during social occasions like sporting activities. The following cases illustrate some cases of sexual abuse. For reasons of medical confidentiality, the details have been modified: (a) Jenny was abused as a child. She is now an adult and she wakes up at night with panic attacks. She has nightmares and flashbacks and other classic symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (b) Anne is an adult who is regularly admitted to hospital after cutting herself. She was abused as an adolescent by her mother’s partner. She has been on antidepressant medication for eight years. (c) Mary is described as a “difficult patient” by hospital staff and social workers. She comes from a dysfunctional family and has been diagnosed with Personality Disorder. She regularly takes overdoses and is abusive and angry towards hospital staff. She was abused as child by a member of her family. (d) John is addicted to drugs. Although described as intelligent and capable, he cannot hold down a job.
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He has frequent outbursts of anger and has also been treated for depression. He was abused as an adolescent by someone he trusted and looked up to. (e) A woman wants to see a Catholic psychiatrist. She describes herself as a devout Catholic, although she has bouts of profound hostility towards the Church. She is frequently in tears and there have been significant marital problems. While attending a Catholic school she was abused by a member of the teaching staff. Forms and levels of abuse As I am writing with the general public in mind, I have chosen not to go into great detail about the types of abuse. They are frequently harrowing. Suffice it to say that they vary from inappropriate touch to rape. All forms of abuse have a devastating consequence on the individuals involved. The sexual abuse of minors is a dreadful plague that afflicts our society. The Crimes Against Children Centre reported that in 2004, approximately 200,000 children were sexually abused in the United States alone. Charol Shakeshaft has estimated that 290,000 U.S. students experienced sexual abuse by school employees in a single decade. This means that students are a hundred times more likely to be abused in school than by priests in the United States. While this does not excuse the behaviour of abusive priests, it does indicate that the sexual abuse of
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minors is significantly higher in secular society than in the Church. One of the immense dangers of focussing unduly on clergy abuse is that we might fail to protect vulnerable children in the wider society. In North America, for instance, it is estimated that 15 to 25% of women and 5 to 15% of men were sexually abused when they were children. Although more research needs to be carried out, the statistics suggest that the rates of sexual abuse in society are appallingly high. According to Professor Thomas Plante, a noted psychologist, 20% of American women and 15% of men report that they were the victims of sexual abuse, with 80% reporting that the abuse was perpetrated by a family member. He also notes that about 5% of school teachers have sexually victimized their students. According to the Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry: “Between 20 and 50% of women in populations surveyed recall some experience of abuse in childhood.” These figures include a range of experiences from touching to repeated intercourse.
The Catholic Church and the GLOBAL AIDS Crisis The morality and effectiveness of AIDS prevention policies honestly assessed. This booklet provides an informal, thorough and revealing description of the Global AIDS crisis. In particular it examines the morality and effectiveness of policies for the prevention and treatment of AIDS/HIV around the world. Its assessment of those policies against Church teaching and practice is both balanced and highly illuminating, and is founded on extensive research and empirical data.
ISBN: 978 1 86082 750 1 CTS Code: EX 38