Should priests sketch nudes?

[monalisa1]

Last year I was a new member to a Catholic parish. I was working at an art school downtown and, lo and behold, the pastor of the exact church turned up in class. Unsure of how I felt, I ignored his presence. Upon further thought, I am mortified and refused to model further.

I just feel a bit confused why he would be involved in a situation like that. Most models I know would NOT consent to modeling for a priest or for a natural father or any male family members.

We have seen each other several times in passing and have exchanged awkward glances. Is he a priest or an artist and should he have made his priest status known?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

I sympathize with your embarrassment, but please realize that neither you nor this priest did anything wrong. Models for art classes are not providing a peep show; they are instead enabling students to learn how to draw the human body. Students to such art classes are there to study art, something a priest may do without problem.

Models for such classes need to have the confidence to overcome embarrassment over the possibility of being seen nude by people they know who are taking the classes. If this is something that you find that you are unable to do, then you may want to look into other job opportunities at this school.