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by W. E. Gutman
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by W. E. Gutman
"Immeasurable." This is how the president of the Conference of Bishops characterized the scandal that erupted in Boston late last month, a scandal now spreading nationwide as revelations of pedophilia among Catholic clergy multiply.
Vague and all-encompassing, the word "immeasurable" alludes to the psychological consequences of sexual abuse. But it also hints at the loss of credibility of a Church that had attained a distinguished ranking in a country where she was for so long a stranger, if not an outcast. It also defines the magnitude of the damage to the reputation of priests, the emblematic figures of Catholicism --- "men" vowed to celibacy and chastity.
In the vast ocean of American Protestantism, the Catholic Church --- at 60 million strong --- had earned esteem for its stand against the death penalty, its defense of family values and its contributions to human rights.
Today, the faithful are filled with doubt, the clergy is demoralized. The hierarchy is in disarray. A crime of unspeakable turpitude has besmirched an entire institution and priests everywhere are fair game in the kangaroo court of public opinion.
That the number of apostate priests is infinitesimally small seems to be irrelevant. After all, sexual crimes seem all the more abominable when men consecrated to God commit them. The novelty --- and the paradox --- is that a link is being made between the burdens of priestly celibacy and sexual misconduct. If celibacy was optional, would such scandals diminish, perhaps even vanish? Iconoclastic and startling, this question was recently aired in the official publication of the Boston diocese. On trial now is the very of issue of ecclesiastical celibacy.
But is celibacy the real culprit? Psychologists insist that revocation of the rules of abstinence would do little if anything to thwart aberrant sexual behavior among priests. Citing statistics showing that more than half of all sexual crimes, including incest, occurs within the family, Tony Anatrella, a cleric and noted psychoanalyst, insists that "marriage has never raised a therapeutic hedge against deviant sexual behavior." Allowing priests to choose between marriage and celibacy, he reasons, would not in itself hinder a sexual deviant from surrendering to his darkest passions.
The pages of history are filled with anecdotal accounts of drunkenness, homosexuality and concubinage among the clergy, from almighty popes to humble friars. The phenomenon has been acknowledged with equal doses of chagrin, frustration and resignation by successive Vatican dynasties. But the Church is not in the habit of abrogating its rights in response to public pressure. If it defends the rigors and disciplines of celibacy --- established in the 12th century --- it is not because of an aversion toward sexuality but because the essence and duties of priesthood, it contends, demand fidelity to established canons.
On thing is certain. The celibacy issue will not be argued, let alone resolved, under John Paul II, whose pontificate, from the beginning, slammed the door on any debate.
Nor can it be ignored. Rising cries of public indignation and justice toward the thousands of decent and dedicated priests now tainted by association, beg for a transparent discourse on the profoundly human dilemma that pits the flesh and grace in an often insurmountable contest.
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