Correction

The issue of morality within the ranks of Roman Catholic religious has come up on this board from time to time. I have posted a number of articles concerning predatory priests who prey upon those they claim to shepherd. The sexual and emotion horrors perpetrated by Roman Catholic priests, nuns and monks against children throughout Canada were detailed in my paper on the Duplessis Orphans. I recalled some of the terrible crimes committed by former rulers of the Catholic cult. I have examined how the Roman Catholic princely hierarchy watches over her wayward priests and protects them from the long arm of the law.

Without exception, in my articles dealing with priestly predation among young people I have referred to the clerical miscreants as "pedophiles." This is not always the case, and I wish to correct the record with this posting. A Catholic priest with unique qualifications to know of what he writes takes exception with those defenders of the RCC who argue that the sexual interest some priests have for children and teenagers is a human problem, a moral problem – certainly not a systemic problem within the Roman Catholic Church.

Priests, according to this line of thinking, are no more drawn to pedophilia and ephebophilia (the recurrent, intense, sexual interest in post-pubescent youths, generally between the ages of 13 or 14 and 17) than other professionals who work with children and young people. The explanation offers consolation and a useful rationalization for those who find the present clerical system compatible with their personal needs, with those who feel the rightness of the system is the clear gift of the Spirit, and with those who feel compelled, out of a sense of ecclesial loyalty, to uphold the current system without critical reflection.--Donald B. Cozzens, The Changing Face of the Priesthood, The Liturgical Press (2000), p. 119

In this paragraph, Cozzens clearly pointed to what has been my error. Not every sexually deviant priest who preys on youngsters is a pedophile. Some are ephebophiles. I stand corrected.

The author, onetime vicar of the Archdiocese of Cleveland and currently president-rector of a Catholic seminary and graduate school, in discussing his experiences with priests charged with sexual crimes wrote something that shocked me.

What kind of men are these? During my years as vicar, I investigated dozens of reports of clergy sexual misconduct, spending a good part of many working days arranging for assessment and treatment for accused priests. In only a few cases did I suspect the priest sitting across from me possessed a heart of stone. The majority of these priests were effective enough pastors, and some were highly regarded for the skill and commitment that marked their service and leadership. No matter how effective they were as priests, no matter how good their "hearts" might be, they were men who had grievously wounded young people, often through patient patterns of seduction. Like their brother priests, they were wounded healers.

Unlike the great majority of their brother priests, they had betrayed the more vulnerable members of the Church in behaviors both criminal and immoral. They had betrayed a sacred trust. Without wanting to diminish the harm they had done, there seemed to be something amiss at the core of their personalities. For I sensed little guilt for their seductions. The only regret I could identify was associated with being caught. For the most part, the men I worked with were more concerned about themselves and their futures than for their victims. From my relatively brief work with them I came to regard them as focused sociopaths – little or no moral sense, no feelings of guilt and remorse for what they had done at least in this area of their lives. When it came to their misconduct with minors there was minimal evidence of conscience.--Cozzens, Op. cit., p. 123 [Emphasis not in original]

These "focused sociopaths" Cozzens is talking about are or were parish priests, men that parishioners look to for moral guidance, among other things. If the Catholic priest is expected to watch over his parishioners, who is watching the watcher?