E
elts1956
Guest
Hello, I have heard various arguments as to the cause of homosexuality. Some claim genetics, very few claim it is the result of emotional abuse. I did find the following article as a result of a link given on another thread. I have given only a small part of what was written. To get the full substance go to: www.narth.com/docs/catholic.html
The following letter was sent to the Catholic Bishop’s meeting in Dallas in June, 2002 to discuss the Church’s sexual abuse crisis. It was also published in the Homiletic and Pastoral Review in November, 2002. The authors are Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons and Peter Rudegeair, MS.
The authors offer suggestions for improved methods of screening and training candidates for religious life, including those candidates who are homosexually oriented.
Your Excellencies:
As a Catholic psychiatrist and psychologist who have treated a significant number of priests from various dioceses and religious communities over the past 25 years for same-sex attraction (SSA or homosexuality) and for pedophilia and ephebophilia (homosexual behavior with adolescents), we believe that our particular expertise and those of our colleagues in the Catholic Medical Association may be of help to the American bishops as they seek to create effective long term strategies to prevent the recurrence of the problems in which the Catholic Church in the United States now finds itself enmeshed.
Many have pointed out that solving the problem of sexual abuse by clergy will necessarily involve addressing the problem of SSA among priests. Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, admitted at a press conference in Rome on April 23 the existence of an ongoing struggle to ensure that the Catholic priesthood is not dominated by homosexual men.
As the revelations of abuse have become public it has become increasingly clear that almost all the victims are adolescent males, not prepubescent boys. The problem of priests with same-sex attractions (SSA) molesting adolescents or children must be addressed if future scandals are to be avoided.
In treating priests who have engaged in pedophilia and ephebophilia we have observed that these men almost without exception suffered from a denial of sin in their lives. They were unwilling to admit and address the profound emotional pain they experienced in childhood of loneliness, often in the father relationship, peer rejection, lack of male confidence, poor body image, sadness, and anger. This anger, which originated most often from disappointments and hurts with their peers and/or fathers, was often directed toward the Church, the Holy Father, and the religious authorities. Rejecting the Church’s teachings on sexual morality, these men for the most part adopted the utilitarian sexual ethic which the Holy Father so brilliantly critiqued in his book, Love and Responsibility. They came to see their own pleasure as the highest end and used others – including adolescents and children – as sexual objects. They consistently refused to examine their consciences, to accept the Church’s teachings on moral issues as a guide for their personal actions, or regularly avail themselves of the sacrament of reconciliation.
These priests either refused to seek spiritual direction or chose a spiritual director or confessor who openly rebelled against Church teachings on sexuality. Tragically, these mistakes allowed these men to justify their behaviors.
The Bishops, individually and collectively, should develop screening protocols which will identify men who may pose a risk to others and who cannot live the chaste celibacy required of a priest. This is essential to protect the Church and her children from further pain, sorrow and future scandals. While no screening system is absolutely foolproof, sufficient research is available to develop efficient tools for this task.
One of the major problems we have discovered in discussing this issue with the clergy and the laity is the enormous amount of misinformation about the nature, origins, and treatment of homosexuality/SSA. This is not accidental. For over twenty years, activists–intent on changing the laws on sexual orientation–have put forward a massive public-relations campaign specifically designed to spread misinformation that will change the social acceptance of homosexuality.
The following letter was sent to the Catholic Bishop’s meeting in Dallas in June, 2002 to discuss the Church’s sexual abuse crisis. It was also published in the Homiletic and Pastoral Review in November, 2002. The authors are Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons and Peter Rudegeair, MS.
The authors offer suggestions for improved methods of screening and training candidates for religious life, including those candidates who are homosexually oriented.
Your Excellencies:
As a Catholic psychiatrist and psychologist who have treated a significant number of priests from various dioceses and religious communities over the past 25 years for same-sex attraction (SSA or homosexuality) and for pedophilia and ephebophilia (homosexual behavior with adolescents), we believe that our particular expertise and those of our colleagues in the Catholic Medical Association may be of help to the American bishops as they seek to create effective long term strategies to prevent the recurrence of the problems in which the Catholic Church in the United States now finds itself enmeshed.
Many have pointed out that solving the problem of sexual abuse by clergy will necessarily involve addressing the problem of SSA among priests. Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, admitted at a press conference in Rome on April 23 the existence of an ongoing struggle to ensure that the Catholic priesthood is not dominated by homosexual men.
As the revelations of abuse have become public it has become increasingly clear that almost all the victims are adolescent males, not prepubescent boys. The problem of priests with same-sex attractions (SSA) molesting adolescents or children must be addressed if future scandals are to be avoided.
In treating priests who have engaged in pedophilia and ephebophilia we have observed that these men almost without exception suffered from a denial of sin in their lives. They were unwilling to admit and address the profound emotional pain they experienced in childhood of loneliness, often in the father relationship, peer rejection, lack of male confidence, poor body image, sadness, and anger. This anger, which originated most often from disappointments and hurts with their peers and/or fathers, was often directed toward the Church, the Holy Father, and the religious authorities. Rejecting the Church’s teachings on sexual morality, these men for the most part adopted the utilitarian sexual ethic which the Holy Father so brilliantly critiqued in his book, Love and Responsibility. They came to see their own pleasure as the highest end and used others – including adolescents and children – as sexual objects. They consistently refused to examine their consciences, to accept the Church’s teachings on moral issues as a guide for their personal actions, or regularly avail themselves of the sacrament of reconciliation.
These priests either refused to seek spiritual direction or chose a spiritual director or confessor who openly rebelled against Church teachings on sexuality. Tragically, these mistakes allowed these men to justify their behaviors.
The Bishops, individually and collectively, should develop screening protocols which will identify men who may pose a risk to others and who cannot live the chaste celibacy required of a priest. This is essential to protect the Church and her children from further pain, sorrow and future scandals. While no screening system is absolutely foolproof, sufficient research is available to develop efficient tools for this task.
One of the major problems we have discovered in discussing this issue with the clergy and the laity is the enormous amount of misinformation about the nature, origins, and treatment of homosexuality/SSA. This is not accidental. For over twenty years, activists–intent on changing the laws on sexual orientation–have put forward a massive public-relations campaign specifically designed to spread misinformation that will change the social acceptance of homosexuality.
