2003 Fall, A Dance of Sex and Spirit

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the

in the 21ST CENTURY

C21 Resources jm

CHURCH

SERVICE

OF

BOSTON

COLLEGE

FALL

2003

A Dance of Sex

and Spirit

Our

sexuality is

at the core

clerical culture as an explanation, with no evidence to support such an argument and no explanation why police, physicians and sometimes even academics similarly protect their own. So do many church leaders of other denominations, though not with so much dedicated imbecility. Some gay-bashers blame the church for ordaining gay men in recent years. But most of the cases that have surfaced are of men who were ordained long before the alleged increase in gay ordinations. The answer, I think, has nothing to do with celibacy or homosexuality and much to do with the propensity of men to stand behind their own kind, especially when they perceive them to be under attack. Under such circumstances, loyalty inclines men to circle the wagons, deny the truth of the charges (however patent they may be to others) and demonize the attackers. A form of group-think takes over. They rally round to support those under assault. Clerical culture is different from similar cultures in that the bishop is under pressure to exercise paternal care of the priest in trouble. The bishop finds himself inclined to the same denials and demonization as other priests do: maybe the charges are not true, maybe the so-called victims brought it on themselves, maybe they're just interested in money, maybe the priest deserves another chance. The police have not brought charges; the doctors offer ambiguous

BY THOMAS C. FOX

Hil aire

Belloc, an English Catholic writer from the first half of the last century, once remarked apropos of Catholic leadership that any organization whose leadership was guilty of such knavish imbecility must have the special protection of God. As we ride the turbulent waves of the latest reprise of the sexual abuse scandal, we must wonder why. Why did some of our leaders fall victim to the current wave of knavish imbecility? Some "experts" appeal to celibate

A Catholic Sense Catholics, as a group, have not always rested easily with the issue of sexuality. The gap between Church teaching and Catholic practice has seldom seemed so wide. And given popular culture's excessive focus on sex and the permissiveness it promotes, Catholics may well feel that the best thing to do is simply to leave the topic alone. But avoidance has consequences. It estranges individuals from their God-given bodies. In its most malignant forms, it has also contributed to the sexual abuse scandal that has shaken the Church. In this, our second issue, C2l Resources brings together a number of

of Sexuality

articles that address the role that sexuality has played in the crisis, and, more generally, in marriage, homosexuality, the formation of priestly celibacy, and the issue of how to recover the positive aspects of Catholic tradition on sexuality. Included are two Church documents. Many of these articles reflect on a basic premise of Catholic theology that has sometimes been overlooked: that we are embodied souls with sexual needs and identities, that God wanted this, and that this is good. Others reflect on whether the Church's teachings on sex are adequate to address our historical moment or whether they reinforce

the harmful dualism that divides body from soul. Not all of these articles agree, and they do not offer a comprehensive look at this complex subject. But all offer food for thought about our present situation. The issue ends with the moving response of one bishop, Archbishop Sean O'Malley of Boston, to the crisis. How to be at once holy and embodied? Simple answers are hard to find. Thus we are grateful to be reminded by some of these articles that the mystery at the center of our faith is itself a story of embodiment and incarnation.

The Editors

BOSTON COLLEGE

of our humanity

|

C2l RESOURCES

| FALL 2003

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2003 Fall, A Dance of Sex and Spirit by The Church in the 21st Century Center at Boston College - Issuu