Could you be a little more specific? I think you’re referring to an inordinate desire or involuntary arousal over a neutral object, right? Anything that would be glorified or obsessed over in a disordered fashion would be a near occasion of sin, which is subjective to the person and the object of the fetish.
The near occasion of sin would be an inordinate lust for an object, just as objectifing a person for sexual gratification is inherently disordered.
…am I tracking here?
You’ve got it mostly right.
To add my own two cents, when people confess such things to their priest, it’s important to tell them the effects and causes. In this case, having a shoe fetish. If you leave the fetish part out and only describe the sin, then it may be harder for the priest to determine culpability factors, such as full will, intent, etc. Because fetishes are similar to addictions, there probably is some mitigating factors.
I would imagine the Church would refer the person with the fetish to a psychologist or encourage them to seek such treatment, the same way one would encourage AA meetings for an alcoholic.
To be perfectly honest, I asked this very question (what is the Church’s position on fetishes) in detail in the Apologist Forum a week ago and never got an answer, and I doubt anyone ever will unless they ask privately perhaps. I too would like to know the Church’s positions on fetishes, seeing as how they are unique and peculiar to the individual and range in level of attachment. You can’t exactly lump a fetishist with a drug addict, because the fetishist most likely developed this fetish early in life, whereas the drug addict chose to involve himself with drugs and make himself addicted. The fetishist, most likely, did not choose anything.
Perhaps it’s this difference however significant or minor some may see it, that is why the Church has not (to my knowledge) spoken out officially. They may be wanting to be careful about how they access this, since it goes into the field of psychology and includes elements they cannot ascribe to the issues of all fetishists.
Personally, as far as sin goes, and occasions of sin, I don’t think you can help that you’re attracted to the object of your fetish. What determines sin is what you do as a result of having this cross and burden. If you’re able to carry it there are graces for you. If not, then it will be a stumbling block for you for the rest of your life, most likely. My heart goes out to people who suffer from sexual fetishes particularly, because they’re not only assaulted by a peculiar object, but are aroused by it also, which is embarrassing enough. We need to pray for these people that God will either cure them or make their fetish bearable and give them the graces necessary to carry it.
