Articles

ANOTHER LOOK AT THE CLERICAL SEX ABUSE SCANDAL

by Bishop Paul Peter Jesep

"Wherever the truth is injured, defend it."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

It came to light recently that a prominent American politician blamed the Catholic Church's child abuse scandal on liberal culture. He said that, "Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture. When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."

     Although the comment understandably outraged many, it also suggests that no one has intelligently assessed the problem. Pedophilia has existed well before the city of Boston was ever founded. It also has occurred in places far more conservative than the northeastern part of the United States.

     The Catholic Church has behaved like a large, monolithic corporation protecting its assets by carefully orchestrating a quiet campaign that suggests gay men are responsible. So far it seems to have worked. However, the facts tell a very different story.

     Several years ago Cheryl L. Reed of California wrote in a regional newsletter for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SurvivorsNetwork.org) that since 1974, a Minneapolis counseling center that consulted on more than 2,000 sexual abuse cases found at least half, if not more, were girls and women. Incidentally, a woman started the national Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests more than a decade ago.

     Reed wrote that one clinical psychologist sees "six times more females (adolescent and adult) than male victims abused by priests. But because the cases that make headlines usually involve boys, the public is being misled about the scope of the problem."

     According to the psychologist, "I would challenge the church to show me that there are more boys than girls being abused by priests. There are plenty of cases of girls and they are just not getting the visibility . . .the sexual abuse of a boy is treated far more seriously, and is considered a far worse offence than girls or women . . ."

     In addition, what seems to be the high percentage of boys violated reflects the children a priest has access to, not necessarily a preference for the gender. Mental illness, not sexual orientation, is the cause for the problem. A falsehood perpetuated long enough begins to sound like the truth. It's Machiavellian strategy at its best that powerful Church leaders have pursued.

     In April 2002, I interviewed with Arnie Arnesen, a talk-show commentator on WNTK radio, Phil Saviano, New England regional director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Saviano said that about 40 percent of his chapter members are women. The number could be higher.

     "Most women," he said, "are unwilling to go forward publicly with their experience. This is not something they want their husbands to know about." He added, "It's similar to a woman being raped. They worry about being blamed. There is a certain stigma. This holds true with clergy abuse. Women are more likely to seek help through therapy. Men are more likely to get really angry and hire a lawyer."

     There is another reality that is not often discussed. Women can be pedophiles too. Society is not ready to hear this truth. According to Shanta Dube, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as quoted by ABC News, "Children of both genders are vulnerable to childhood sexual abuse."

     In a study cited by ABC News this year, "researchers examined the results of a survey of 17,337 San Diego-area members of the Kaiser Permanente Health Plan between 1995 and 1997. Twenty-five percent of females reported being molested, as did 16 percent of males. Among female victims, males were responsible for the abuse 94 percent of the time. Among male victims, females made up 38 percent of the perpetrators." Because men are less likely to discuss being abused by a woman the percentage could higher.

     Independent of failing to recognize pedophilia for what it is; some advocating for change in the Church have innocently contributed to the confusion. There is a bizarre notion that celibacy is the problem. Calls to allow priests to marry in an effort to help remedy the evil of pedophilia are illogical. Suggesting that celibacy contributes to such abusive, violent behavior would be laughable if the issue wasn't so sad and serious. Pedophilia is an abnormality that doesn't occur because of sexual frustration.

The dust still hasn't settled on the scandal. Failure to be honest about it and the absence of logic and common sense in the national public debate can have a negative, far-reaching impact for many. Children will not be any safer, and an innocent segment of society may face scorn and ridicule.

Bishop Paul Peter Jesep serves in a branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is a lawyer by training, a past legislative analyst to U.S. Senator Susan Collins, and has studied at Bangor Theological Seminary. His can be reached at VladykaPaulPeter@aol.com.

Bishop Jesep will continue this article in a future issue.