Main Feature
Mother Church and the Rape of Her Children
A.W. Richard Sipe, Consultant to the movie "Spotlight"
Volume 30 Issue 4, 5 & 6 | Posted: July 7, 2016
“The church is my mother. Sometimes she acts like a whore, but she is still my mother.”
– Dorothy Day
A familial mythopoetic construct permeates the teaching and experience of the Roman Catholic Church, that is: —We are all brothers and sisters under one God the Father; Jesus is our brother; he is the bridegroom of the Church our Holy Mother. Clergy are meant to be spiritual fathers who instruct, forgive, and heal as visible representatives of God’s word. They are also agents of Mother Church who protect her children.
“The church is my mother. Sometimes she acts like a whore, but she is still my mother.”
– Dorothy Day
A familial mythopoetic construct permeates the teaching and experience of the Roman Catholic Church, that is: —We are all brothers and sisters under one God the Father; Jesus is our brother; he is the bridegroom of the Church our Holy Mother. Clergy are meant to be spiritual fathers who instruct, forgive, and heal as visible representatives of God’s word. They are also agents of Mother Church who protect her children.
Medieval spirituality was infused with the metaphor of a maternal divinity—God as Mother and Jesus as Mother—each the solicitous divine parent. The phrase, Deus Pater Materque (God, Father and Mother) is forever memorialized in mosaic in some medieval churches (Torcello, 1006 C.E.). Julian of Norwich eloquently articulated “a [maternal] divinity whose chief characteristics are protecting, nurturing and sustaining.” (Long, 1995; Bynum, 1984)1 The current crisis in the church is the betrayal of the expectations of maternal protection and nurture from mother church. Saint Peter Damian (1149 C.E.) called sexual violation of spiritual children by priests “incest” and implored Pope Leo IX to impose zero tolerance for priests who sodomized children.2
The Roman Catholic Church in the United States has vibrated with shock waves consequent to the widespread knowledge of the existence and extent of priests’ and bishops’ sexual involvement with young people. When the Boston Globe printed its first articles of a “relentless, no-stone unturned investigation” into clergy sexual abuse on January 6, 2002 a seismic shift of unimaginable magnitude reverberated around the world.
Bishop Gregory Aymond labeled that moment as “a time of terror…. [for what] was within our family.”3 The revelations provided the tipping point against deep-seated expectations for purity, protection, and guidance from the Catholic Church and her clergy. The aftershocks resound worldwide in what can be characterized as the biggest religious challenge to Rome and the Vatican since the Protestant Reformation.
The perspective I contribute on this cataclysm is behavioral—harvested from clinical interaction with clerical victims and abusers alike during my participation inside and out of the clerical system. That experience formed the core of a 25-year ethnological report of the celibate/sexual behavior of clergy including sex with minors. (Sipe 1990, 1996)4 Since that time I have had an opportunity to review hundred thousands of legal document pages that record testimony about Catholic clergy sexual abuse in the United States.
We can measure what the church has learned about clerical sexual behavior by examining five issues that are foundational to understanding the area of Roman Catholic clergy abuse: secrecy, scandal, crisis, celibacy and culture.
Secrecy: The explosive public exposure of sex abuse of minors by U.S. Catholic clergy that precipitated the Dallas meeting breached the secret lives of priests and bishops and the secret operational structure of the church as never before in the United States.
Blind obedience to the pope is demanded of all prelates and its implications are best exemplified in the vow cardinals take, “never to reveal to anyone what is confided to me in secret nor to divulge what could cause damage or dishonor to the Holy Church.”5 Secrets (not truth) confirm power. Secrecy is a major tool of clerical control and an operational imperative. The emphasis on secrecy as an essential element of administrative control has led to the production of an ever more fragile house of clerical cards and the escalation of a culture of untruth. The credibility of bishops and clergy, especially in sexual matters, has been cracked to its foundations in America (and Ireland); and as of 2010 European countries are rocking with revelations similar to those familiar to Americans.
The whole of human sexuality is suffused with an air of secrecy (despite flagrant displays in secular culture); exposure is doubly troublesome for Catholic clergy. According to church teaching all sexual activity outside marriage is considered sinful; serious sins must be submitted to a priest in confession to be kept secret by him. Sexual behavior is customarily exercised in private; acts labeled sin (or perverse) are ordinarily hidden; some behavior is relegated to a “secret life.” Bishops and priests propagate an expectation that they are perfectly celibate and chaste; therefore any sex for them is secret sin. A public relations spokesperson for the Bishops' Conference, Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, proclaimed on national television that stories about celibate violations were exaggerated testifying, “I am convinced that 99 and 44/100 percent of priests keep their celibacy”. However, the weight of factual documentation forever crushed the presumption of universal clerical sexual purity. A “scarlet bond” of priestly brotherhood binds the sexual activity of bishops and priests in a circle of secrecy. Violations, even pedophilia, were “family matter” to be kept secret within the clerical circle.
Investigations of clergy abuse conducted in Ireland during the past decade (Ryan Report, May 2009, Murphy Report, November 2009, Clone Report, April 2011) have led to conclusions similar to Grand Jury investigations in the United States, namely: the church mobilized its forces to maintain secrecy, avoid scandal, and preserve material assets and image rather than protect children.6
Documents made public prove beyond any reasonably doubt that some bishops and priests are sexually active even with minor boys and girls and superiors cover up these crimes. Once the well-guarded secret accounts of clergy sex were ruptured they indeed became like Humpty Dumpty. Cardinals, bishops and even the pope cannot render substantiated reports again secret. Proof that they knew and covered for the abusers is documented.
Sex abuse of minors is only one aspect of a secret world of the church and clergy. Once visited the clerical secret world can never again revert to a terra incognita. Therein rests the scandal of truth.
Scandal: Canon law and instructions to the faithful are clear. Do not give scandal—that is: do not say or do anything that could damage the image or reputation of priests or the church—or give the enemies of the church ammunition for attacks. There is no question that the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, Ireland, and mainland Europe is embroiled in a major scandal that predictably hinders the pastoral work and efficacy of priests and bishops. They are compromised; in many quarters they are held up to derision and suspicion. Records of individual and corporate immorality are now so broadly disseminated that no revision of history will be able to reverse or neutralize the judgment of priests who believe with Fr. D'Arcy (2010) “that part of the human structure of the church is rotten to the core.”7
Nearly half of the U.S. Catholic population (48 percent) believes that more than 6 percent of priests have abused minors (CARA 2007) at the same time many Catholics (33 percent) are aware and satisfied with the bishops' handling of the crisis. In 2008 the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reported that, “Approximately one-third of the survey respondents who say they were raised Catholic no longer describe themselves as Catholic. This means that roughly 10% of all Americans are former Catholics.” Although the connection between the proportion of men and women who were raised Catholic yet no longer identify themselves as Catholic and the revelations of the scandalous behaviors of priests and bishops is pregnant for research, no causal relationship has yet been proven.
But the scandal of abusive clerics achieved such notoriety in the past decade that secular culture is redolent with allusions, references, and jokes about priests and children as if violation of minors, especially boys is “a given” in clerical society. Some of the shocking details of abusive behavior slowly became explicit in legal procedures. Accurate and provocative words like “raped” and “sodomized” became common in press accounts of priests' behavior.
Public relations were preeminent to counter revelations. Rome learned its importance as the abuse scandal touched home. The Vatican dismissed the scandal as “the petty gossip of dominant opinion” shortly before June 11, 2010 when Pope Benedict XVI insistently begged forgiveness “from God and from the persons involved, while [we promise] to do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again”Later the Pope reflected, “The greatest persecution of the church does not come from enemies on the outside, but is born from sin within the church.” Apologies and promises lack meaning while American bishops (or the Pope) maintain a preoccupation with secrecy and scandal-control without any “discernable change” that is the circumstance in 2012.
The Catholic Church writhes in an uncontrollable and irreversible scandal that includes the ever-expanding knowledge that priests and bishops once presumed celibate, in fact have steady lovers or anonymous sexual encounters, father children, help partners procure abortions, or become addicted to pornography. (Sipe, 2003) Another dimension to the sexual scandal is the significant proportion of clergy who are homosexual—many active—at the same time the Vatican condemns gayness as “intrinsically disordered”. The scandal has monumental consequences. The Catholic Church is in crisis.
Crisis: The dangers posed by a crisis demand action. Great turning points in history can be traced to the decisions made in response to crisis. The Roman Catholic Church is enmeshed in an-as-yet unaddressed crisis of epic proportions and historic dimensions. The public exposure of the surprising extent of clergy sex abuse of minors (6 to 9 percent in U.S. is documented) and the collusion of bishops to cover up crime is currently some deterrent to clergy abuse. Dallas reactions to the scandal—from oversight and preventive education to public relations—are helpful, but limited by damage control and fall short of any real reform. The problem exposed in the scandal is systemic. The crisis dimensions of the scandal are immense by any historical standard and have so far outstripped the capacity of any hierarchy to address them adequately.
Since the Dallas Accord awareness of clergy abuse has escaped beyond American attention and borders. The Danish physician John-Erik Stig Hansen (2010) said, “Sexual abuse by Catholic priests is a global problem inherent in the way the hierarchy of the Catholic church (sic) functions. This is not new.” What is new are the questions raised, the intensity and urgency of their presentation plus the potential of radical danger to established power systems that decisive change would effect.
The clerical scandal pinpoints the centrality of the crisis—human sexuality. The pope, bishops and priests now do not have sufficient credibility in areas of life and behavior to intervene effectively. Church teaching is largely effete about abortion, sex before marriage, after divorce and remarriage, contraception, homosexual relationships, masturbation, or the use of condoms to avoid HIV exposure.
The larger challenges of the crisis are not limited to behaviors, but impinge on the structure of ministry— dangerous questions about power. Why is priestly ministry limited to men? Why can’t women be lawfully ordained? Does the all-male-power-structure generate and perpetuate misogyny and homosexual promiscuity? Is mandatory celibacy necessary, or even desirable for diocesan clergy? Should clerical celibacy be perpetual? Is blind obedience to a pope moral? Is the phenomenon of “creeping” infallibility inconsistent with tradition and destructive to the Christian mission?
The Roman Catholic Church is in a crisis mode because unsolved issues are vibrant and prominent in the minds of many thoughtful Catholics and crucial to the continued membership of some. No protestations of sorrow or apologies or amends for the harm inflicted by abusive priests and the neglect of bishops to protect the vulnerable will solve the basic problems exposed by the scandal of abuse. The system—clerical culture—is the arena where decisive battles will be won or lost. The battle lines are drawn as they have been in every reformation era of the church. Crisis questions exposed by the sex abuse scandal are grounded in a clerical culture that some view inadequate and corrupt. Irish priest, Brian D’Arcy (2010) portends the true arc of crisis when he writes, “A combination of bad theology, the dysfunctional abuse of power and a warped view of sexuality, have contributed to… ‘the systemic failure’ to protect the most innocent and the most vulnerable children. I believe that the evil clerical culture which pervades our institution right up to the Vatican bureaucracy itself needs to be dismantled.”
Mandated Celibacy: Religiously motivated clerical celibacy can be generative. It embodies the maternal elements of Christian ministry—to protect, nurture and support the faithful, especially “the little ones” that Jesus called to himself. The violation of this commitment is central to the crisis. The rape of Mother Church’s children merits in Jesus’ words a millstone and drowning—a reaction distinct from the tolerance and cover up practiced by the American and worlds’ bishops.
Celibate practice and achievement is vital (but unessential) to the Roman Catholic priesthood. It is the one obligation designed to ensure that clergy “adhere to Christ with an undivided heart and can dedicate themselves more freely to the service of God and humankind”. (Canon 277) Some lapses of celibate practice (sin) can be humanly expectable and even to a degree tolerable. Reformations ensue when clerical sexual violations reach a magnitude sufficient to destabilize the essential equilibrium between the faith community and the hierarchy/clergy. Violations have reached a degree that has mortally wounded Roman Catholic ministry.
Sociologist Anson Shupe (2007) has written insightfully about the Roman Catholic expectation of clerical celibacy as le don—(the gift)—the core of the social exchange between the hierarchy/clergy and the members of the faith community.8 Celibacy is the basic social contract between the Catholic Church and her members. Medieval historian Mayke de Jong hits close to the mark in the statement that it was from sexual purity that the priesthood was believed to derive its power. Of course, the power is in celibacy practiced not merely pledged. Public confidence in the practice of clerical celibacy has currently deteriorated beyond repair.
Celibacy has conveyed clerical power because it is anchored in the awe inspiring presumption of dedication and selfless sacrifice embodied in the prospect of foregoing all sexual pleasure in order to serve others. The litany of canonized saints—predominantly vowed celibates—sets a standard of perfection and provides examples of heroic service.
Seemingly impenetrable bulwarks protect mandated celibacy as a requirement for ordination to the priesthood. Millennia-old tradition and centuries-old church law reinforce the claim of validity. Despite lack of scriptural backup and in the face of solid theological dissent recent popes have said that even they do not have the authority to revise the requirement.
Concern for the protection and preservation of church property—a practical if seemingly mundane reality—staunchly reinforces the celibacy law. This preoccupation is not merely of recent origin (Laeuchli, 1972).9 Control of clerics’ bodies—has been coupled with questions about control of inheritance and ecclesiastical property (Trexler, 1974).10 Of the five duties listed for pastors in 1500 C.E. the first four had to do with the protection of property.
The requirement of a promise of non-marriage and perfect and perpetual chastity prior to priestly ordination—whatever of its undeniable spiritual reality when practiced—is one means of organizational control and power.
Throughout the centuries the profusion of regulations and penalties concerning priests’ sexual behaviors show how assiduously the Church wanted to control clerical activity, to avoid anything that could compromise the priest’s power over the laity, keep him subservient to authority, and financially dependent.11 Several Irish priests named their conundrum (Smyth, 2010): “One disturbing aspect [of the crisis] for me is what I call a ‘convenient silence’. Why were we so silent? Why didn’t we speak up?”12
Part One of Two (see next issue)
1 Long, Thomas L. (1984). “Julian of Norwich’s Christ as Mother and Medieval Constructions of Gender”; also Cf. Caroline W. Bynum, (1984). Jesus as Mother: Studies in the Spirituality of the High Middle Ages.
2 Peter Damian. (1990). Letter 31. Vol. 2. Trans Blum. Washington, D.C.: CUA Press.
3 Aymond, Bishop Gregory. (2007). Woodstock Report. June. “Six Major Lessons Learned from the Sex Abuse Crisis”. “First: June 2002 was a time of terror…it was within our family.” Secondly, “errors that Church leaders made. Thirdly, “experienced the sin, the infidelity, the brokenness of individual clergy and of the Church Leadership.” The final three points are more academic. Currently he serves New Orleans as archbishop.
4 Sipe, A.W.R. (1990). A Secret World: Sexuality and the Search for Celibacy; (1996). Sex, Priests, and Power: The Anatomy of a Crisis. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
5 English translation 1988; also Zenit.org 2003.
6 Grand Jury Reports: (2003) Suffolk County NY; Massachusetts; (2005-11) Philadelphia; etc.
7 Fr. Brian D’Arcy. (2010). New Catholic Times. Dublin, February 1.
8 Shupe, Anson. (2007). The Spoils of the Kingdom: Clergy Misconduct and Religious Community. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois.
9 Laeuchli, Samuel. (1972). Power and Sexuality: Emergence of Canon Law at the Council of Elvira. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
10 Trexler, Richard. (1971). Synodal Law in Florence and Fiesole, 1306-1518. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana: Citta Del Vaticano.
11 Doyle, Sipe, Wall. (2006). Sex, Priests & Secret Codes: The Catholic Church's 2000-year paper trail of sexual abuse. Los Angeles: Volt Press.
12 Smyth, S.J. Fr. Derek. (2010). The Irish Times. February 9.
A.W. Richard Sipe, Consultant to the movie "Spotlight"