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Clerical pedophilia: The next step
byFrank Kaufmann, Tuesday, June 21, 2011
On June 19, 2011 Peter Stanford wrote a nuanced and compelling
Guardian
article
 
on Father Kit Cunningham of the Rosminian order, described by a man named John Poppleton in the article as having “perpetrated physical and sexual abusethat made St Michael's, Soni, [in what was then Tanganyika, now Tanzania,] "aloveless, violent and sad hellhole".“Fr Kit,” the article goes on to point out, “kept his "dark side" so well hidden,[and] the church authorities allowed him to keep it so well hidden that even theQueen awarded him an MBE, [for his] work with the poor and marginalised?”Stanford's article seems to be orchestrated somehow into the weird world of “infotisement” in anticipation of the airing of the highly controversialAbused:Breaking the Silence, a documentary shown on BBC1 on last night. These horrors of abuse continue to haunt us with no signs of abating. But is theworld of legal settlements sufficient to rescue us from our collective suffering?All creatures are sexual, humans meant to be most exquisitely so. Sadly, sexualactivity among humans can take on some of the most horrific forms andexpression.Celibacy or some form of abstinence for spiritual purposes exists in virtually allreligions and spiritual traditions, but very few imagine that lifelong celibacy isgood. The best known of those that do areRoman Catholicismand parts of Buddhism. It is widely known that efforts to realize this enormously difficultcommitment (lifelong celibacy) is rife with failures and violations of every sort,and continues to be so. Lifelong celibacy is unnatural. It
can
be done, and forsome small few, it probably can be done well. But the path is so extreme and socontrary to human life and all life, that it should never be attempted withouthuge levels of commitment and support from any institution that would allow itsleaders to try it. Failing the presence of an uncommon degree of care, attention,and support, the chances of things going horribly wrong is high. Any institutionthat insists on having that as a requirement for its leaders should either investunreservedly in getting it right, or should stop it altogether. The damage done byattempting this carelessly is simply not acceptable. Furthermore, tyrannicallegalisms like “zero-tolerance” policies will not suffice to mentor and pastorcelibates through this grueling option.In addition to attempting to violate one's own nature in the choice of a spiritualpath, several other important dangers attend the effort toward lifelong celibacy,One very important one is the fact that clerics have power. Power makes it easierto fulfill personal desires, of which the drive for sexual fulfillment is one of themost forceful of all.
 
Is lifelong celibacy possible by the mere assumption of exercising self-discipline?We all try, with varying degrees of success, to discipline ourselves. This too isnatural throughout creation, and again most elegant in humans. Don't sleep toolate. Don't eat too much. Don't watch too much TV. Don't lash out at idiots. Onthe positive side, do my push ups and sit ups. Practice my scales. Study for mytest. Share the family chores with my wife, and so forth. The thing about self-discipline is that it is a tricky road in which excess is dangerous. Above allsuppression is clearly a road to disorder. Our innate impulse to realize highaspirations must be pursued with grace, not with force, and abnegation.Furthermore, most everyone who aspires to staying on difficult paths of self improvement know that help is needed, a gym buddy, a study group, a mentorand confidant. So what exists to help lifelong celibates tread this minefield, andmeet the ever shifting challenges of this grinding course in wholesome ways?Already the program of lifelong celibacy is one that violates all of nature, add tothat the highly explosive and often corrupting element of personal power, andthen top it all off by threading this incendiary mix with the ever compromisingforce of livelihood and occupation. We work to live, for shelter, food, healthcare,dignity in our old age, and other vital needs over the long course of life. Howdoes this issue of “livelihood” relate to the massive challenge of managinglifelong celibacy, what happens when you err, when you slip up, when you findyourself in the grip of unmanageable demons? Who do you tell? What happenswhen you discover some terrible perversion or fetish in your makeup? Whathappens when the power of your position opens a way for you to unleash darkand vile impulses? Who do you tell? The crucible of lifelong celibacy is tied toyour very livelihood. Suppression makes matters ever worse, darkness can gainan upper hand, perhaps faith in the theology or cosmology that called me tocommit to the unnatural path of lifelong celibacy falters or grows cold or cynical.But now my livelihood, the very basics of my whole life are bound to demandsforged by my early life choices.Additionally, there are the evils and shortcomings inherent in institutions, theunvarying addiction to self-preservation, be they corporate, governmental, orreligious. FromBritish Petroleum, toFukushima, to any religious body facing scandal. Self protection of the very worst sort surges inevitably when the survivalof an institution is at stake. Even when death and destruction are at its doorstepand blood is on its hands. The last element in the dynamic of this breakdown also is not unique to thechurch or to religious institutions. That is the haunting, mocking cycle of debilitating, destructive, and self-destructive addictions, and the web of ensnarement it weaves around all who would care or try to help. The dozens orhundreds of times those possessed by a hated evil awaken horrified, ashamed,and “quitting,” and the same number of times husbands, battered wives, friendsof the addicted, and the abusers themselves
want 
to believe. Really? Have youquit? Are you sure? You've really quit? Yes! Never again. Oh God, never again...Of course until next time. The horrible slide from loving, caring, hoping toenabling. And the horrible slide from pastoral, from “support,” “help,” and
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