Saturday, November 6, 2010

"IF WE WAIT, RENTAPRIEST.COM WILL GO AWAY"

If you are new to this blog, you may wish to read the archived blogs first since the story is being written somewhat chronologically. What is posted below is the most recent. Thank you.

“IF WE WAIT, RENTAPRIEST.COM WILL GO AWAY.”

In the late 1960s when it was expected that the Second Vatican Council would vote to end mandatory celibacy in the Catholic Church, priests were poised to get married. Then Pope John 23rd died and Pope Paul VI was in charge. Mandatory celibacy and birth control went out the same window that John 23rd had opened for this new fresh air to come from the Holy Spirit.

Shocked by the results of Vatican II, the climate in the Catholic priesthood changed and a mass exodus began that lasted for almost twenty-five years. Over 25,000 priests in the U.S. left their clerical ministry and nine out of ten did so to get married, many of them marrying nuns, according to a sociological study done in 1985 and reported in “Full Pews and Empty Altars” (Schoenherr and Young, 1990).

Priests got jobs, started families and became part of the mainstream—some may even be your neighbors or co-workers today. When they left, however, resentment set in by the hierarchy, as one archbishop admitted; some were blackballed in their communities and couldn’t get decent work, and they were told by their bishops that under no circumstances were they allowed to function as priests—in fact, “don’t even think of celebrating Mass” and “don’t tell anyone you’re a priest.” Some were forced to move as much as 500 miles away because of “scandal,” as the church put it.

Through the efforts of one married priest Canon Lawyer, Delmar Smolinski of Michigan, research was conducted in the Code of Canon Law to find church laws that validate the priests’ ordination, and “what about those canons that apply to ministry?” Twenty-one canons were in fact found, beginning with, “…after it has been validly received, sacred ordination never becomes invalid,” (290). More importantly, in the laity section of the Code of Canon Laws lies power to invite a married priest to any sacrament for “any just cause” (1335) and that he “may not deny the Sacraments to those who opportunely ask for them” (843).

While Canon Laws may not be the reason hundreds of thousands of people have contacted rentapriest.com over the last 15 years, it has helped many priests realize that what the bishops told them upon leaving about their priesthood and ministry was not true. It may also explain the reason there has been no cease and desist from the Catholic institution. What CITI Ministries is doing in promoting their availability falls within these Canon Laws—we are valid. The people may not care, but CITI protects married priests in its defiance of the hierarchy, but not its laws.

A few facts:

1. In 1996, Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) based at Georgetown University, conducted a study of Catholics who no longer attended Catholic Church. The results, reported in Maine’s Church World in Feb. 1996 indicated that 73.3% of American Catholics (48 million) had stopped attending Catholic Church. Clergy sexual abuse revelations since 2002 only added to that figure so the publicly held figure of 30 million is grossly incorrect.

2. When CITI MINISTRIES INC first went into “business” in 1992, it was with the notion that married priests would be invited by bishops and the parishioners to fill in where there were shortages in the church buildings. However, no one called.

3. Much to our surprise after some national publicity due to the name Rent A Priest (received by the Holy Spirit's inspiration in a dream), calls came from the unchurched. While mostly for marriage and remarriage because of denials by their pastor, many calls to rentapriest were also surprisingly received from those whose babies were refused baptism because the parents no longer attended Sunday Mass and “put money in the collection plate."

But, people get complacent and priests get even more complacent. Without the availability of married priests, many important life cycle events may not have the Catholic traditions we grew up with. Married priests may forget what was afforded to them by CITI Ministries by making this service available was out of their lives, in some cases for as much as 20 or 25 years.

Now, CITI is struggling to stay afloat. Is this the end of our mission? Maybe it’s the end of the commercial aspect of our mission and the referrals for marriages are taking care of themselves. Is this all married priests were looking for? A marriage business?

If it's the end of our mission, why are Home Churches popping up? A few of the laity are beginning to notice the value of CITI/Rentapriest because of its association with Roman Catholic married priests. In the past three years, 75 lay people have become support members of CITI. In addition, a clergy sexual abuse survivor and his wife who were responsible for starting a Home Church with married priests are now members of the CITI Board.

While these numbers may not seem like a lot, we are remindful that in 1994 with all its efforts at Corpus/FCM/CTA and other church reform meetings, CITI had only signed up six married priests for its referral service because the others were skeptical. Home Churches are a new phenomenon with Catholics, especially the ones on the fringe, and they too are skeptical. It will take time, but CITI’s laity support member base grew by 23% in 2010 over 2009. Something is going on!

Please help support this effort to the end. We’re crossing a new threshold and really becoming the lay organization that we have been promoting, and we really need your help to continue. There is nothing better that the institution would like at this point than to see us disappear. That is their mantra. Will we succumb to their “If we wait, Rentapriest will go away?” or will we continue to support an organization that has (maybe too quietly) been using our ministry as our protest or our advocacy -- we don't picket -- no time because people need us for spiritual assistance. Close to a half million folks have contacted CITI/rentapriest for a free married priest referral in the past 15 years or so.

How can you help? If you’re a married priest certified member, continue your certification with an added donation. If you’re a sacramental recipient, become a support member at $50 per year for the couple. If you are a Home Church member, do likewise; maybe set up a special collection once a month to benefit CITI's work. If you are none of these things but believe in our ministry, please send a donation so it can continue--so we can continue to recruit married priests and so we can continue to supply referrals. CITI is a 501.c3 non profit and all donations are tax deductible. You can donate online at www.rentapriest.com or send a donation to CITI Ministries, Inc. 14 Middle Street, Brunswick, ME 04011.

Thank you and God bless you.

In behalf of all of us,

Sincerely,

Louise Haggett, Founder/President

CITI Ministries, Inc.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Church Culpability and the International Criminal Court (A Catholic Holocaust?)--Chapter 11

Louise Haggett, 1997 and 2010, All Rights Reserved. We learn values as children from our parents, teachers and especially from those anointed by God in the religious denomination to which we may belong. These individuals bring us the Word of God and teach us what is right and wrong. This is the reason it is so difficult for me to face the reality of my beloved Catholic Church being involved in criminal behavior, especially involving our most innocent children. The global numbers of clergy sexual abuse victims is staggering, some say over one billion. There have been Class Action Suits against priests and bishops, legal accusations of collusion between the church and courts, Federal Racketeering charges in the U.S. because children were transported across state lines where sexual abuse took place, silencing and gag orders attempted against victims and attorneys; countersuing and wiretapping since 1993 (Wall Street Journal-1993), and countless cases involving obstruction of justice. The Catholic institution has also tried to avoid trial by claiming the First Amendment (separation of church and state in the U.S.) or by claiming that “priests are not employees of the institution” therefore not the church’s responsibility. Some of these tactics are still being utilized as the Vatican faces abuse cases in several European countries, closer to home than the United States. It was only a matter of time before the notion of the church’s culpability would reach the heights of the International Crime Court as recently suggested by high ranking United Nations (UN) Judge Geoffrey Robertson. He said, “the Pope should be prosecuted at International Criminal Court.”* It makes one wonder if these atrocities affecting millions of children (or maybe a billion as suggested by some) are similar to the Holocaust? Are the crimes of the church like the legacies of Nuremberg? Is the Vatican a “criminal state?” *(Yoshihara, http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1606) In the broad spectrum, clergy sexual abuse is a crime against humanity too. It differs from Nuremberg however in that these crimes involve a “state of people” rather than a “political state.” What perhaps makes it more heinous is that the majority of its victims are the innocent children of the world. The following examines research conducted on bureaucracy as it related to the Holocaust, as well as the Catholic Church’s current NGO status (non-Member State Permanent Observer) with the UN. In a paper entitled The Legacies of Nuremberg, author David Luban says, “The framers of Nuremberg were confronted with a new offense, the bureaucratic crime, and a novel political menace, the criminal state. Limiting themselves to traditional legal concepts—sovereignty, individual criminal liability, conspiracy—and unwilling to question either the political system of nation-states or the character of responsibility in bureaucratic settings, they came to the brink of recognizing the novelty of criminal states but ultimately failed to comprehend this major challenge of our [20th] century (1987, p. 779). Nuremberg is seen by some as a “founding moment of the modern human-rights movement.” Are the crimes of a supposedly moral institution are also a “profound moment of the modern human-rights movement?” In order to put the notion of a Catholic Holocaust into perspective, it is necessary to examine the similarities between the Holocaust and the crimes of the Catholic Church. The Church as a Bureaucracy Let us first look at the issue of “bureaucracy.” Bureaucracy is the centralization of administrative power within major organizations or institutions so that its hierarchy—whether an individual or a committee—can control the individuals or groups in their influence. According to Alexis de Tocqueville, “bureaucracy or centralized administration, however, can lead to the suppression of internal dissent in an effort to further consolidate its power” (1995 p. 303). David Luban says, “The bureaucracy is a circle from which no one can escape. Its hierarchy is a hierarchy of knowledge. The highest point entrusts the understanding of particulars to the lower echelons, whereas these, on the other hand, credit the highest with an understanding in regard to the universal; and thus they deceive one another” (ibid. p.814). According to Jack Katz, “In the white collar ranks of formal organizations, persons construct authority to govern internal relations by shielding members from external scrutiny and by declining to force members to accept their responsibilities according to externally defined norms.” (1977 p.3) This is how “cover-ups” happen. As an organization builds internal authority, collective integrity becomes a secondary focus which can result in deviant behavior. In its attempt to maintain internal authority, the bureaucracy covers up the crime to protect the honor of the organization and maintain control of the deviant. This pattern manifests itself to other members of the organization who see the deviance as acceptable until the problem becomes uncontrollable. It is also possible that because the norms that are violated do not take priority over other organizational issues, less concern is shown, giving a message to the deviant that his misbehavior is tolerated. Another reason that an organization will hide the criminal or cover up the crime may be to maintain the external economic, political or financial support it may depend on to sustain itself, especially if it is nonprofit. In this context, the church is a bureaucracy. Its organizational structure is similar. It operates from the top down, attempts to maintain internal control and has protected deviant individuals so that it can retain its honor. The deviant individuals, seeing that it is okay to act in that fashion, continue the process until they get caught. Countless media stories have reported that deviant priests have been moved from parish to parish, country to country, rather than being disciplined or released. The Church as a Criminal State David Luban’s statement regarding the “framers of Nuremberg” described the Third Reich as a “nation-state” or “criminal state” (p.779). Does the church view itself as a church or as a state? As the only world religion that enjoys a “non-Member State Permanent Observer” status at the UN indicates that the church considers itself a “state.” To put it into perspective, the only other “state” with the same UN status is Switzerland (Columbia Law Review 1996). In this role, the church has more political influence in the General Assembly than it would in a lesser “observer” role. It even has voting and veto power at world conferences even though it has a “non-member State Permanent Status.” Two other UN “non-member” affiliations are available, each, however, with less influence. The International Red Cross belongs to one of them. If the church is a state in the United Nations political arena, it is responsible for potentially global criminal action against humanity and is, therefore, a “criminal state,” subject to the status of The Third Reich. There appear to be other similarities with the Catholic institution and The Holocaust. The Third Reich’s crimes were moral crimes; the church’s crimes are moral crimes as well. Both are crimes against God. The difference is, however, that the church is upheld as one of the highest moral institutions in the world, honor in the highest degree. While the crimes committed by priest perpetrators may not be related to a major war, these deeds would fall under Classification 6c in the Charter of the International Military Tribunal which describes the category of “crimes against humanity” as follows: “…murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war, or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in executive of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated (p780). Of course, there are differences in the crimes of the Holocaust and crimes of the Catholic Church. In the case of the Third Reich bureaucracy, since no single individual performed the whole deviant act, no single individual could be responsible for the individual acts. The administrative authority was at fault. In the case of the church, however, individual blame is also possible because of the nature of the crime (one abuse at a time) and the added element of “cover-ups” by immediate supervisors (the bishops) is identifiable. At the administrative level, the Pope would be named as the defendant because the Vatican’s bureaucracy protects the other hierarchy. (Evidence of alleged cover ups by the Pope when he was Archbishop has also emerged recently.) Luban said that “if the law is to be anything humane, it must guide our moral imaginations; and since it is now imperative that our moral imaginations include awareness of criminal states, the law must also include awareness of criminal states” (p.785). It would, therefore, seem fortuitous that the broader campaign that was launched in 1999, aimed at stripping the Holy See of its permanent observer status at the UN, was unsuccessful. Otherwise, the International Criminal Court might not be an option. ### Louise Haggett 2010, All Rights Reserved Excerpt from unpublished paper entitled “Why Would a Moral Institution Engage in Criminal Behavior?”, Haggett, Louise, November 13, 1997. CSRI99@aol.com 207-729-7673 Bibliography: Abdullah, Yasmin. 1996. The Holy See at United Nations Conferences: State or Church? Vol. 96. Columbia Law Review. 7:1835-1875 (Wellesley College) Associated Press. 1993. Pope: Celibacy Not Essential. July 18. New York Times 1996. Woman Sues over Relationship with Priest. May 30. Allegheny Times. 1997. (Dublin, Ireland-no headline) Aug. 25) Internet. Connors, Fr. Canice. 1993. The Issue of Sexual Misconduct & the Clergy, as presented at the 25th Annual NFPC (National Federation of Priests Council) Convention & House of Delegates. May 3-7, 1993. Hyatt Regency, Chicago. Dummett, Michael. 1995. Is Scandal, not truth, the norm for cardinals? Feb. 11. The Tablet (London), as reported in Breadrising, June 25, Terry Dosh, editor. MN Economus, Fr. Thomas. 1995. Missing Link Newsletter. Vol. 4 Linkup Abuse Support Organization. Chicago. Franklin, James L. 1992. Catholic Bishops Vow to Step Up Efforts Against Clergy Sexual Abuse. June 25. Boston Globe. Geyelin, Milo. 1993. The Catholic Church Struggles with Suits over Sexual Abuse. Nov. 24. Wall Street Journal. P.A48 Glascott, Katherine. 1997. 100 Priests Forced Out Over Sex Abuses. Aug. 26. The Australian. Haggett, Louise. 1997. Why Would a Moral Institution Engage in Criminal Behavior? Nov. 13. Unpublished paper. Framingham State College. Katz, Jack. 1977. Cover-up and Collective Integrity. 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Research Bibliography--Chapten 10 Addendum

Bingo! Clergy Sexual Abuse Research Bibliography: References in alphabetical order: Abel, Gene G. and Joanne L. Rouleau. 1995. “Sexual abuses. Special Issue: Clinical sexuality.” Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 1:139-153. AFP. 1995. “Tough Pedophilia Bill Derailed.” International Herald Tribune, November 8. Akerlind, Ingemar. 1992. Loneliness and alcohol abuse: A review of evidences of an interplay. Social Science & Medicine. 34:405-414. Akers, Ronald L. 1985. Deviant Behavior: A Social Learning Perspective. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. American Humane Association. 1996. Fact Sheet. Children’s Division, AHA. American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-IV-TR. 2000. Washington, D.C. APA. ------. 1994. American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-IV. Washington, D.C.: APA ------. 1987. American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-IIIR. Washington, D.C.: APA. Ames, M. Ashley and David A. Houston. 1990. Legal, “Social, and Biological Definitions of Pedophilia.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, 4:333-342. Anderson, Kenneth N., Lois E. Anderson, and Walter D. Glanze. 1994. Mosby’s Medical, Nursing & Allied Health Dictionary. St. Louis, MO: Mosby. Andrews, D.A., and James Bonta. 1994. The Psychology of Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Co. Arnold, Regina. 1980. “Socio-structural determinants of self-esteem and the relationship between self-esteem and criminal behavior patterns of imprisoned minority women.” U.S. Univ. Microfilms International. 40(10A):5603. Arroyo, Raymond, narrator. 2004. “National Review Board Report on Clergy Sexual Abuse.” EWTN Television Network, February 27.Associated Press. 1998. Pentagon Estimates Viagra Costs $50M. The Union Leader. Manchester, NH, October 3. Babbie, Earl. 1995. The Practice of Social Research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Barstow, Anne Llewellyn. 1982. Married Priests and the Reforming Papacy—The Eleventh-Century Debates. NY. Edwin Mellon Press Baumeister, Roy F., Laura Smart, and Joseph Boden. 1999. “Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of high self-esteem.” Pp. 257-272 in Self in Social Psychology, edited by Roy F. Baumeister. Philadelphia: Psychology Press. Bates, Frederick and Katherine S. van Wormer. 1979. “A Study of Leadership Roles in an Alabama Prison for Women.” Human Relations. 9:793-801. Bateson, Gregory. 1972. Steps to an Ecology of Mind. NY: Ballantine. Bennetts, Leslie. 1991. Unholy Acts. Vanity Fair, December. Berry, Jason. 1992. Lead Us Not Into Temptation. Catholic priests and the sexual abuse of children. NY: Doubleday. Blumer, Herbert. 1969. Symbolic Interactionism: Perceptions and Method. NJ: Prentice-Hall. Bonnike, Frank J., James Gower and Louise Haggett. 1993. “The Movement, the Ministries & the Methods.” Workshop presented at the 25th Annual National Federation of Priests Council (NFPC) Convention & House of Delegates. Chicago, IL, May 3-7. Booth, Richard. 2000. Loneliness as a Component of Psychiatric Disorders. Medscape General Medicine. 2(2): posted 3/22/2002. Retrieved April 7, 2004. (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430545). Brennan, Tim. 1982. “Loneliness at Adolescence.” Pp. 269-290, in Loneliness: A Sourcebook of Current Theory, Research and Therapy, edited by Peplau, L.A. and Daniel Perlman. NY: Wiley. Briere, John and Marsha Runtz. 1989. “University Males’ Sexual Interest in Children: Predicting Potential Indices of ‘Pedophilia’ in a Nonforensic Sample.” Child Abuse & Neglect.13:65-75. Burkett, Elixir and Frank Bruni. 1993. Gospel of Shame. NY: Penguin. Cameron, P., W. Coburn, Jr., and H. Larson. 1986. “Child molestation and homosexuality.” Psychological Reports. 58:327-37. CBSNews Online. 2002. Priest suicides tied to sex charges? (http://www.CBSNEWS.com/stories/2002/05/23/national/main509970.shtmlshtml) Retrieved July 11, 2004. Celibacy. 2004. America Uncover. HBO-TV, June 28. Celibacy & the Church. 2004. MSNBC-TV, July 7. Connors, Fr. Canice. 1993. “The Issue of Sexual Misconduct & the Clergy.” Workshop presented at the 25th Annual National Federation of Priests Council (NFPC) Convention & House of Delegates. Chicago, IL, May 3-7. Coon, D. 2000. “Introduction to psychology: Exploration and application,” in Ami Rokach, “Perceived causes of loneliness in adulthood.” Journal of Social Behavior & Personality. 15:67-85. Coridin, James A., Thomas G. Green, and Donald E. Heintschel. 1985. The Code of Canon Law. A text and commentary. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press. Cozzens, Donald B. 2000. The Changing Face of the Priesthood. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press. Crosby, Michael H. 1996. Celibacy—Means of Control or Mandate of the Heart? Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press. CST. 2004. “Bishops accused of sexual misconduct.” (http://www.WFAA.com/s/dws/spe/2002/bishops/stories/061202dnmetbishide.1d 915.html). Dabrow, Allan M. 1970. “Comment—The Pros and Cons of Conjugal Visits in Prison Institutions.” Journal of Family Law. 9:436-440. Diamant, Louis. 1993. Homosexual issues in the workplace. Philadelphia, PA: Taylor & Francis. Dietch, James. 1978. “Love, Sex Roles and Psychological Health.” Journal of Personality Assessment. 42:626-634. DiTommasso, Enrico, Cyndi Brannen, and Lisa A. Best. 2004. “Measurement and Validity Characteristics of the Short Version of the Social and Emotional ‘Loneliness’ Scale for Adults.” Educational & Psychological Measurement. 64:99-119. Doyle, Thomas P and A.W. Richard Sipe. 2005. Priests, Sex, and Secret Files. (to be released August, 2005). Durkheim, E. 1951, 1897. Suicide. NY: Free Press. Economus, Thomas. 1995. 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The Mandatory Celibacy/Clergy Sexual Abuse Research and Findings--Chapter 10

Louise Haggett, 2010, All Rights Reserved 1. The Priest Study*--1997 2. The Victim Study*--1999 3. The Adult Victim Study*-1999 4. Homosexuality and Clergy Sexual Abuse* 5. What Were His (Priest) Needs?* 6. The Loneliness Study*--2003 7. General Conclusion* *Featured in The Bingo Report: Mandatory Celibacy and Clergy Sexual Abuse 1. The Priest Study-1997 Intersubjectivity best describes the team conducting the Priest Study at Framingham State College in 1997. Like the public perception of clergy sexual abuse, the team, whose leader was non-Catholic with a 4.0 GPA and led by a Jewish Sociology professor hypothesized that clergy sexual abuse was the same as general population abuse. I, of course, saw differences. These opposing views lent more credence to the research and helped make our findings “objectively true,” probably the best scenario when researching something so controversial." Are factors in a celibate priest committing the act of sexual abuse the same as general population sexual abuse?" became the sociological question. Using Georg Simmel's social “Learning Theory" provided the background for our hypothesis regarding influence on the subculture of the priesthood that might lead to deviance of vows/promises of celibacy/chastity. Was it the subculture of the priesthood or earlier socialization (families and society in general) that dictated sexual attitude and/or behavior? The self-administered questionnaire was sent to 248 random priests from a random list in The Official U.S. Catholic Directory (Kenedy 1996). Thirty-one percent (N=77) responded.

The demographics were well balanced so we had a good cross-section of priest respondents:

  • 8% had been ordained between 1-10 years, every other ten-year period up to 41+ years had between 21-27%.
  • 25% had entered seminary between 13-15 years old; 42% between 16-19 years old; 17% between the ages 20-29 years old; and only 6% over 30+ (probably second-career priests).
  • 69% had dated prior to seminary.
  • 67% were diocesan priests and 31% religious order, almost identical to the actual priest census--66.1% diocesan and 33.9% religious order.

Priest respondents were surveyed regarding their beliefs with follow-up questions to see if their actual behavior correlated with their beliefs. We asked whether they believed that priests in general were divine beings; did they adhere to the vow or promise of celibacy/chastity?; did they believe in divine retribution for breaking vows (was it a sin) and did priests adhere to the vow(s) because of their belief or not. They were then asked if priests in general broke their vows because of sexual freedom in society or because of their own sexual needs.

A separate section dealt with how much the church knew that priests broke their vows. If there was knowledge, how—if at all--were priests disciplined. Lastly, priest respondents were asked if they believed in optional celibacy and whether or not priests should be allowed to marry. This was essentially the same question, following the pattern used for other variables throughout the questionnaire.

Our findings were significant. Of particular interest were the unexpected contradictions from priests in general. Worthy of note was the dichotomy that existed in responses between the attitudes of respondents toward adhering to their promises or vows in contrast with their behavior regarding breaking them. While they said they believed in one thing, the action reported contradicted what they said they believed. For example,

  • Do you adhere to your vows? 87% said yes.
  • Do you occasionally not adhere? 43% said yes.
  • Do priests break their vows? 93% said yes.
  • Do you break your vows? 87% said no.
  • Do you believe in Divine Retribution [sinful] for breaking vows? 68% said no.

The Likert Scale which goes from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree was very telling in some of the more difficult questions below such as “sexual needs,” as well as in the responses that might have implicated the Catholic institution regarding what the hierarchy knew, prior to the 2002 revelations. The option “Neither Agree/Nor Disagree” – a noncommittal response – highlighted these variables.

  • Do priests have sexual needs? 94% said yes.
  • Do priests break their vows because of sexual needs? 47% were non-committal* or said no.
  • Does the church acknowledge that priests break vows? Of those who responded, 94% said yes.
  • Does the church discipline priests who break vows? Of those who responded, 55% said yes and 45% were non-committal or said no.
  • How often does the church discipline priests who break vows? Of those who responded, 15% said "frequently," 56% said "occasionally" and 29% said, "not often, never or only when it becomes public knowledge," the latter response written in.

The most significant finding of this study, however, came in the open-ended question that asked about "other factors" that would make priests break their vows. The answers included:

59% because of loneliness, lack of intimacy, marriage and family* 16.9% because of weakness 6.8% because of lack of prayer 6.8% because priests were frustrated with church policies regarding mandatory celibacy 6.8% because of substance abuse 1.7% because of societal pressures 1.7% other issues

*As little as 10% in a "written-in" response is considered significant in quantitative studies, 59%, therefore is very noteworthy.

The research team anticipated a measurable difference in attitudes and behaviors among priests based on their degree of socialization--whether or not it made a difference if they entered seminary before or after puberty, whether or not they dated prior to entry, whether or not the length of stay would solidify their vocation, whether or not they lived in community with other priests (religious order priest) or in a parish house in a more public environment (diocesan priest).

We discovered that the length of time a priest was in the priesthood made more of an impact on his attitude and behavior than any other factor and that it didn't matter if he was a diocesan or religious order priest. We concluded that the long-term socialization pattern within the subculture of the priesthood and not prior socialization (general population) played a major role in the behavior of priests and that their behavior was different from their attitude.

2. The Victim Study-1999

The Loneliness factor in the priest survey—a latent variable—did not become a highlight until 2003 when the findings from the Priest study and the 1999 Victim study were compared in preparation for The Bingo Report manuscript. Because CITI Ministries was continuing to grow and was now subject to a full advisory board comprising over 20 members, the research was beginning to take a back seat to the everyday demands of our website http://www.rentapriest.com/.

After Fr. Tom Economus, National Coordinator of The Linkup (victim support organization) read the Priest Research Report in 1999, he suggested that a study be conducted among Linkup's victim membership because it had never been done. Based on his experience in providing support to victims, he also believed that the victim demography might be different than general population child sexual abuse victims. He offered to take a questionnaire and send it confidentially to the victims on his list. By then, a compatible working relationship had been established with Framingham State College professor Lucille Lawless, a sociologist and criminologist. Prof. Lawless had a keen interest in the subject matter since one of her prior theses many years before had been on the subject of married priests. She offered to mentor me through the Victim Study, something I would have never attempted alone. The Center for the Study of Religious Issues was formed so that the research could be conducted in an independent setting.

I continued to wonder if claims by the church that clergy sexual abuse was the same as general population abuse would bear themselves out if a target population of clergy victims were to be segregated from other sexual abuse victims. The investigation for prior research on child sexual abuse uncovered a 25,000 general population sample from a compilation of 19 prior retrospective studies that was collected by David Finkelhor, a Professor and Director of the Family Research Laboratory now Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. These demographics provided the basis for our study.

I took the project to Professor Lawless and she helped me devise a 29-question survey instrument that would be mailed by Fr. Tom to his list. Eight demographic questions would determine who the respondents were, and the remaining questions would be about their abuse experience. We also included a section on "how much the church knew and what they did about it."

The survey was mailed to 959 reported victims, of which 131 valid instruments were returned. Even though the questionnaires had been sent confidentially, the majority of responses included contact information and many thanked us for our interest in hearing what victims had to say. Surprisingly, 31% of the respondents had been abused as adults so it was necessary to provide a separate report since the Finkelhor's 19-study population ended at 18 years old.

The sociological question was: "Is a Sexually Abusing Roman Catholic Priest a Pedophile?" One of our hypotheses was that victims of priest perpetrators were older than victims among the general population, therefore would not fall into the “pedophilia” category--generally pre-pubescent. The American Psychiatric Association's (APA) 1993 edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) gave no distinction for pedophilia between victims who were four or 15 years old. The word "ephebophilia" (post-pubescent/adolescent victims) had already been coined by Johns Hopkins Sexologist John Money (Love and Love Sickness, 1980) and was currently being used by many researchers.

Our victim study findings indicated vast differences between clergy sexual abuse victims and general population victims when compared to the Finkelhor 19-study compilation of 25,000 general population child sexual abuse victims. For instance,

Duration of Abuse: 68.5% of General population victims were abused only once, compared to 17.5% of the victims of clergy sexual abuse. 56.7% of Clergy sexual abuse victims were abused one year or longer.

Age of Victim: Average general population victims of child sexual abuse were between 7-13 years of age (pedophilia).On the other hand, the average clergy sexual abuse victim was 10-15 years old (ephebophilia).

Gender of Victim: Under 18 years of age, 80% of the general population victims were female. Clergy victims under 18 years old were 93% male.

Age of Perpetrator: Average age of general population sexual perpetrators was early 30s with 33% under 18 years old, whereas 47% of the clergy perpetrators over 40 years old.

Our conclusion recommended that further research be conducted among the priest subculture and that the American Psychiatric Association adopt correct definitions for pedophilia and ephebophilia in new printings of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) as follows:

(excerpt from The Bingo Report: Mandatory Celibacy and Clergy Sexual Abuse [p110].)

DSM-IV-TR (2000) acknowledges various forms of "pedophile" sexual perpetrators such as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, regressed (attracted to children at times of stress), fixated (primarily attracted to prepubescent children), and incestual and nonincestual perpetrators. The concept of rape, also included in DSM-IV-TR, has reached a consensus among the disciplines and creates no confusion regarding related research or treatment or incarceration.

Since there are new definitions available and in common use among the research community regarding child sexual abuse, and since there is documentable evidence that not all child sexual abuse has the same characteristics, it seems appropriate to: 1. Accept and include the following as universal terminology in future printings of DSM to describe child sexual abuse, as well as in sociological and other scientific dictionaries and encyclopedias: A. Infantophilia: Sexual activity, whether physical or otherwise, with an infant child or children (generally age 0-5). (The Bingo Report reviews research by Kalichman [1991], Ames and Houston [1990], and Greenberg, Bradford and Curry [1995] to support this statement.) B. Pedophilia: Sexual activity, whether physical or otherwise, with a prepubescent child or children (pre-pubescent 6-12 [see note below*]). C. Ephebophilia: Sexual activity, whether physical or otherwise, with a post-pubescent or adolescent child or children (post-puberty 13-18).

*New data appearing in Magill’s Dictionary (Dawson 1998) speaks of "precocious puberty" beginning at ages 8 for girls and 9 for boys, where normal puberty onset is indicated for females between the ages of 10-12 and boys between the ages of 12-14. If this is adopted as the norm, it may place many more victims in the "ephebophilia" category.

Until such time as the APA considers more suitable terminology to remedy the current confusion regarding the relevant concepts being discussed, we recommend that the proposed distinctions of infantophilia, pedophilia, and ephebophilia be adopted by the scientific community at large so that future studies can be more reliable.

We also recommended that the APA

2. Subcategorize study populations for future research on child sexual abuse.

3. Use consistent methodology especially regarding demographics and peculiarities being studied.

(The APA reported in January, 2010 that "ephebophilia" would be considered for the next printing of DSM.)

3. The Adult Victim Study

The Adult Victim statistics produced significant findings. Since our general population frame of reference was child sexual abuse ending at age 18, the adult findings were provided as a separate report in The Bingo Report, as stand-alone observations.

The most notable statistic was the dramatic shift from male to female victims among victims beyond 20 years of age--94.5% female and 5.5% males, compared to 93% clergy sexual abuse male victims in the adolescent category. While there was very little research available on sexual abuse in other religious denominations in 1999, which could be compared to Catholic clergy abuse, we found one study which indicated that, "all the Protestant survivors (among the study population) were abused as adults and all were women" (1994 McLaughlin)

Based on our findings, therefore, the only clergy sexual abuse perpetrators or victims that can be compared to general population abuse would be the abuse of adults by priests. Our research findings, therefore, disprove that child sexual abuse by priests is the same as general population abuse. Additional data is available in The Bingo Report: Mandatory Celibacy and Clergy Sexual Abuse (available through Amazon.com or via the bookstore at http://www.rentapriest.com/.

4. Homosexuality in Clergy Sexual Abuse

We investigated homosexuality as a possible factor in clergy sexual abuse for our Victim Report. The only papers we were able to find in 1999 regarding deviant sexual activity in same-sex institutions reported that in prisons the prevalence of homosexual behavior was 69% versus 13% among the general population, and that 90% of the prisoners who engaged in homosexual activity in prisons were heterosexuals who began that practice in the prison system and who reversed to heterosexual activity once released (Ward and Kassebaum 1964).

According to Christopher Hensley (2001) of the Institute for Correction Research & Training in Kentucky, "Men immersed in single-sex environments, such as boarding schools, the military, remote work sites and correctional institutions, have been long known to engage in sexual activities with one another, yet staunchly maintain a heterosexual identity. Sexual activities with other men are defined as simply a response to the deprivation or a lack of mixed-sex interactions. General belief holds that most men engaged in situational same-sex activities would return to heterosexual sexual activities once removed from the segregated environment."

There is further research referred to in The Bingo Report that supports these statements. John Jay College of Criminal Justice has conducted its own research on possible causes of clergy sexual abuse has also indicated homosexuality is not a factor (AP,2009). With reference to priests and male children, logic would tell us that in the era of our study population (victims abused in the 1960s-1980s), there were no female altar servers making young male altar servers more convenient. The fact that girls were “off limits” and boys were okay was also admitted by Fr. Canice Connors at the 1993 NFPC Conference. We therefore conclude that homosexuality is not a factor during the period of our study population.

5. When Was Abuse Reported?

At the time of our Victim Study in 1999:

  • 18% of our total respondents (children and adults) still had not told anyone about their sexual abuse by priest perpetrators.
  • 39% took 20 or more years to tell anyone.
  • 5% reported it twice with many years in between because no one believed them the first time.
  • 3% reported it when it happened.

65% of the respondents said they told two or more people. We concluded that once the secret was out, the more people who were told, the better the healing. Of the people who were told, 28% were church officials, 9% legal authorities, 10% professionals (counselors, etc.), 9% media and only 2.7% parents.

6. What Were His (Priest's) Needs?

The options for response to the priest perpetrator’s needs were Biological (described as natural sexual need), Emotional (loneliness), Authoritarian (abuse of power) and Other (open ended). The respondents were asked to check off as many "needs" as they felt applied.

Over 50% of the victim/survivor respondents retrospectively indicated that the needs their perpetrator(s) had included Biological (natural sexual need) and Emotional (loneliness). A large percentage of clergy victims/survivors today hate not just their perpetrators, but all priests as a result of their own victimization, so we found significant that victims would have any kind of sensitivity towards priest perpetrators.

7. The Loneliness Study--2003

That 60% of priest respondents and over 50% of victim/survivor respondents would acknowledge "loneliness" and "lack of intimacy" as reasons for either breaking celibacy vows or in the case of victims, needs of the priests, suggested further research prior to the publishing of The Bingo Report. A literary review of books and articles on the celibate priesthood was therefore pursued in 2003.

The following quotes appeared in various publications:

  • Dean Hoge 2002: "Among priests who resigned their clerical ministry, the only thing in common in the four sets of reasons for leaving was loneliness" (102).
  • James Gill (Hoge, 2002): "...13 stresses that priests have. Number one was loneliness" (102).
  • Donald Cozzens 2000: "Among priests who came to [him] to announce leaving, few expressed anger at Church, pastor or of unforgiving parishioners. Not one mentioned loss of faith...many did, however, speak of loneliness and a desire for intimacy" (25).
  • Schoenherr and Young 1993: "NORC [National Opinion Research Center] found resignations more frequent among young priests who found loneliness a personal problem" (222).
  • A.W. Richard Sipe 1990: "The depth of the aloneness that must be embraced to support celibacy cannot be minimized" (63). "Lonely is one of the most frequent replies when one asks a celibate how he feels" (260). "The person who cannot tolerate true aloneness cannot move beyond this level of celibacy and therefore remains vulnerable to sexual compromises even after years of discipline" (261).
  • A.W. Richard Sipe 2003: "for priests in for 22-27 years [37-42 years of age--see age of perpetrator], it is lack of companionship rather than sexual discharge that threaten the celibate commitment" (298).*
  • Archbishop Rembert Weakland to The New Yorker 1991: "Men who leave the priesthood because of loneliness are not weak. They are simply good men who have fallen in love with good women" (53)

*Sipe’s research supports our findings in both the Priest Study and the Victim Study in terms of the longer a priest remains in the priesthood, the more he struggles with loneliness (Priest Study); as well as the average age of priest perpetrators (Victim Study).

Further, general research on persistent intense loneliness clearly demonstrates strong correlations with low self-esteem (in some instances, high self-esteem leading to an authoritative nature), substance abuse, suicide, and crime (Rokach 2001, 2000b, 1990, Kim 1997, Nurmi et al. 1997, Jones and Carver 1991, in Nurmi et al. ibid, Jones 1982, Weiss 1982, Brennan 1982). Researchers also agree that, "Voluntary solitude is not synonymous with loneliness. Lonely people do not voluntarily enter into that emotional state; rather they 'find themselves' feeling sometimes desperately lonely for reasons even they may not fully understand. Loneliness is fundamentally debilitating" (Booth 2000).

One of the reasons “loneliness” may not have been considered, or acknowledged, in the causal factors is that for the hierarchy or for a priest—a male—to admit intense loneliness would be to admit weakness among a subgroup whose persona projects authority and spiritual strength. The idea of being weak makes the priest fallible in a culture that has idealized him as a divine being and puts him on a pedestal with other Catholic icons such as Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is a difficult role to play, tough even for some priest researchers though not so tough when they are reporting on one of their priest research subjects.

Prior to 1993, the American Psychiatric Association's DSM listed "intense loneliness" as a "differential diagnosis" under the heading of "pedophilia." It was eliminated in future editions, however.

Loneliness is discussed in more detail in The Bingo Report.

8. General Conclusion

The church is not questioned when it claims that clergy sexual abuse is the same as general population abuse. Its authority is still believed in some circles. Yet there is so little research on the subculture of the priesthood using mandatory celibacy as a variable that is not present in general population sexual abuse nor other research on same, and the church hierarchy has done a good job discouraging it as previously stated.

Evidence in The Bingo Report indicates that both the demographic profiles of the majority of priest perpetrators and the characteristics of sexual abuse victims that they inflicted are too different to suggest any similarities between clergy sexual abuse and sexual abuse in other segments of society. The only exception would be the sexual abuse of female adults (approximately one-third of female clergy abuse victims among our study population), characteristics of which mirror the general population studies.

We conclude that just as loneliness/depression/low self-esteem/substance abuse/crime/suicide are overlapping problems in general society, the problem of clergy sexual abuse is related to loneliness made more intense because of mandatory celibacy, not celibacy that was freely chosen. Our data indicate that for the majority of priest sexual perpetrators, the abuse is more a result of the length of time they are forced to live a lifestyle without an intimate relationship, be it male or female, than it is a pre-existing condition. This would be consistent with the Gratification Theory coined by behavioral scientist Abraham Maslow, in which he lists as the first level of basic needs necessary for an individual to reach self-actualization [self-esteem]: food, water, sleep and sex (Maslow 1954:16).

We also conclude that, with the exception of a few extreme cases, the majority of perpetrators are neither pedophiles nor ephebophiles when they first enter into the priesthood. In a transcribed speech given in 1990 to the U.S. Conference of Bishops and used in part in several U.S. clergy sexual abuse trials and other published pieces, civil and canon lawyer Bishop A. James Quinn states that there were biological (sex drive) and psychological (loneliness) consequences of mandatory celibacy. An older report that pre-dates the celibacy discussions in the year 1139 indicates that Bishop Imola of Italy told the Council in his efforts to stop the Council’s vote on mandatory celibacy, “When celibacy is imposed, priests will commit sins far worse than fornication. Since some men cannot live by the council [sic] of perfect chastity, they will seek sexual release wherever they can find it” (Barstow 1982:112). More recent research regarding celibate Japanese monks has provided evidence that over a hundred years ago at the turn of the twentieth century, the Japanese government abolished mandatory celibacy among Japanese monks because of the deviant behavior that was taking place among them (Jaffe 2001). The church has therefore been aware for many years of the connections between mandatory celibacy and clergy sexual abuse in the United States and elsewhere. The unfortunate victims have been our innocent children.

Finally, there may be accusations of bias regarding this research and report because of my association with CITI Ministries, a married priest ministry. The only reason for my involvement in the research was that I was unable to find anyone in or out of the church or academia who was willing to study clergy sexual abuse as a subculture in order to examine possible differences between that abuse and general population abuse. All studies conducted to date (1996), with the exception of those regarding Infantophilia, combined all victims making it impossible to find potentially hidden statistics and demographic disparities. I had not been prepared to give up a career that would reduce drastically our family’s income and was also not able to obtain research grants due to the controversial nature of the subject matter. I realized, however, that if I did not follow up scientifically on my earlier observations, children would continue to be sexually abused by priests and the pattern might not be broken.

It was crucial that whatever research was to be conducted be both valid and reliable. A diverse academic research team at Framingham State College with the help of Sociology Professor Dr. Marion Cohen, and later the Center for the Study of Religious Issues with sociologist and criminologist Lucille Lawless as consultant and mentor, gave the work the integrity it needed. In particular, Professor Lawless’ assistance was invaluable. My discoveries had been rejected by church reform organizations as was the whole issue of clergy sexual abuse. In fact, one such organization forced me to sign a document that I would not tie my CITI work with the research. There also was resistance at Framingham State College during the Priest Study--threatening calls to Dr. Cohen from church officials trying to stop the study on the basis of the First Amendment, an argument they are still using in some court cases.

But if any of you causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose his faith, it would be better for you to have a rock tied to your neck and be thrown into the sea” (Matthew 18:6). The Bingo Report: Mandatory Celibacy and Clergy Sexual Abuse, the scientific research from which the above was written is available through Amazon.com and the http://www.rentapriest.com/ bookstore. Louise Haggett, 2010 All Rights Reserved. CSRI99@AOL.COM 207-729-7673 ###

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Why I Had to Research Clergy Sexual Abuse -- Chapter Nine

If you are new to this blog, you may wish to read the archived blogs first since the story is being written somewhat chronologically. What is posted directly below is the most recent. Thank you.

In 1996, I quit my full-time sales job so I could return to college in order to learn the methodology of doing quantitative research. Like Karen Silkwood, Erin Brokovich and Rachel Spring to whom I dedicate this and the next two chapters, I felt compelled to investigate more thoroughly observations I had made in the church that did not seem right. It was, however, important for me to do my research in an academic setting so that the findings would not just be anectodal.

Having been a devout Catholic as long as I could remember, I was very overwhelmed by my discoveries regarding the lack of integrity in my church and the fact that I had been unable to raise consciousness about priests leaving to marry, priests secretly married or having affairs. The most egregious of all, however, was the discovery of clergy sexual abuse and I had not been able to find anyone who cared.

Publicity was my forte having previously spent 13 years in advertising and 4 years in television, and by 1996, I had written several news releases and had spoken with several reporters about the church's dark secrets. Whenever anyone contacted me about CITI/Rentapriest (http://www.rentapriest.com/), I would explain the program and then tell them about clergy sexual abuse. The latter was never published by anyone from the Boston Globe to the New York Times to Catholic publications. These were long interviews that apparently never made it past Catholic editors.

I had even witnessed with my own eyes, the first ever presentation given to a group of 300 priests by Fr. Canice Connors, the then director of St. Luke's clergy sexual abuse treatment center near Baltimore, Maryland. The workshop was conduction in May 1993 at the 25th Anniversary National Federation of Priests' Council Conference (NFPC) in Chicago where I had been invited to do a workshop on married priests.

Fr. Connors' goal was to reintegrate into new parish settings, predator priests he said had received treatment and were "recovered" and ready to get back into parish ministry. Fr. Connors' appeal was for sensitivity to St. Luke's "victim" against the "voyeurism of the laity and the press," the reason he was looking to relocate them in unknown parishes.

He explained that "most priest predators are not pedophiles, but rather 'ephebophiles,' that pedophiles have a mental disorder and abuse pre-pubescent children. An ephebophile was described as a predator who was sexually attracted to adolescents up to 19 years of age, indicating that he did respond to treatment and could do normal ministry after "recovery."

Fr. Connors indicated at this 1993 workshop that clergy sexual abuse cases were becoming public in New Zealand, Australia, Africa, Ireland, England, Holland and France, and that St. Luke's representatives were in England that very week, training therapists. (Two months later, Pope John Paul II told the news media that clergy sexual abuse was only an "American problem" [Time Magazine, July 5, 1993].)

I publicized my notes from the NFPC Conference the following October (1993), but they were not picked up by any member of the press. It was obvious to me that the media knew about these church crimes but chose to keep the information quiet. One Washington Post reporter explained to me that most bishops visited press rooms regularly and their presence to Catholic reporters and editors kept them "in tow" regarding bad church publicity.

My curiosity regarding further research also peaked because of the many denials by the church that mandatory celibacy was related to clergy sexual abuse. Sociologist Fr. James Gill wrote several articles including one in American Catholic arguing that the matter "should not be investigated" because there is "no conclusive evidence" that mandatory celibacy is connected to clergy sexual abuse. The July 2, 1993 issue of National Catholic Reported (p.3) reported that when a Canadian Ad Hoc Committee on clergy sexual abuse was named to study the problem and issue its recommendations, the Canadian bishops gave "specific instructions not to study the nature and causes of sexual abuse."

During the question/answer period at the NFPC workshop for priests, I introduced myself, perhaps one of only two women present, and suggested that a scientific study be done to see if there is any connection between mandatory celibacy and sexual abuse since no study had ever been conducted. Fr. Connors' answer was that it "would be a tremendous waste of time and money" because "there is no connection." Yet, in the weeks that followed when the first case of Federal Racketeering (RICO) was made against the church in New Jersey, Pope John Paul II told the news media that "celibacy is not essential to the priesthood." (NYTimes, July 18, 1993)

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported on November 24, 1993 that in a Philadelphia abuse case, the archdiocesan attorneys were counter-suing parents, blaming them for not discovering that their child was being abuse. (Priests of course threatened children with stories of being damned to hell if they told.) The WSJ piece also related stories of other victims being subjected to private investigators hired by the church and wiretaps for use by defending attorneys.

In the very public Fr. James Porter case in Fall River Massachusetts, one of the plaintiffs told the court that the church had held back $5000 from the final settlement in a "hush money" escrow account. There were also numerous unsuccessful gag orders attempted on other Boston attorneys because of the numbers of pending cases and in the $119 million Dallas case, the church's attorneys attempted to have the judge removed prior to his judgment being written.

The Catholic hierarchy then and even today (2010) in Europe is having influential people believe that clergy sexual abuse is no different than sexual abuse among the general population. From the beginning as a bewildered Catholic, I saw "smoke and mirrors," defined as something intended to disguise or distort in order to draw attention away from an often embarrassing or unpleasant issue. It was almost unbelievable to me too.

Because my discoveries were all simultaneous--married priests, priests secretly married, priests in sexual relationships, priests sexually abusing adolescents; the church hiding the fact of married priests, blackballing some from obtaining jobs, suggesting to some that they have affairs instead of leaving to marry, denying that abuse was happening and finally denying that mandatory celibacy was connected--all these reasons made me feel compelled to research the abuse by priests. "Was it indeed the same as general population abuse or did mandatory celibacy make a difference?"

#30

Saturday, February 27, 2010

CITI's International Connection-- Chapter Eight

If you are new to this blog, you may wish to read the archived blogs first since the story is being written somewhat chronologically. What is posted below is the most recent. Thank you. CITI's first "live" introduction to the international movement of married priests occurred at a 1993 U.S. married priest conference where I happen to be seated next to the Rev. Dr. Heinz-Jurgen Vogels of Germany. Heinz was president of the German married priest movement and he and Lambert Van Gelder of The Netherlands had helped Paolo Camellini found the International Federation of Married Priests (see previous chapter), which first meeting was held in Ariccia just outside of Rome. Theologian and author Heinz saw the value of CITI's mission, and suggested that I attend August's Madrid conference of the International Federation. My French pretty much forgotten (I didn't speak English 'til I turned seven), I invited my sister Pauline who was both fluent in French and Spanish to come along, promising some touring after the conference since attending a religious conference was not enough of an incentive for her to travel to Spain with me in the middle of the summer. Though she had been supportive of my work thus far, she was accustomed to first class hotels and wasn't excited about committing to five days in a convent in the outskirts of Madrid during the hottest month of the year when everyone in Spain is at the beach. "Outskirts" is putting it mildly. We took a plane to Madrid, a train as far as it could reach, then a bus as far as it would go, and finally had to awaken the only taxi driver in a village from his siesta so that he could drive us the rest of the distance. We were dragging big suitcases across dirt paths in this little town in a 100 degree/100% humidity climate, following someone who spoke only Spanish and hoping he was taking us to the right place. Pauline remembers explaining to the taxi driver that we were traveling to attend a married priest conference. He stopped the car, turned to us and said, "There's no such thing as 'married' priests." And, so began my education through her translation, and in three or four days she was able to explain CITI's mission in both Spanish and French without my assistance. The convent itself was 15th century vintage with obviously no air conditioning except in the auditorium and the bedrooms were probably designed for cloistered nuns of that era--10 x 12, a small lavatory and two wire spring beds with just sheets and a bathroom down the hall. It was too hot for blankets. In fact, everyone on our floor left their room doors open to catch the slightest breeze, nonexistent for five days. The dining room reminded us of the eating scene in the movie, "Oliver." Unaccustomed to European meal habits, it seemed we were hungry all the time and of course, there were no vending machines. But, like other married priest conferences I had attended, the joy of the gathering was in the beautiful sacred people we met daily and experiencing the international flavor of talks and presentations in different languages. Because of the meekness I had previously witnessed among the beautiful gentle and spiritual married priests and their spouses, the strength that I saw in the global gathering enlightened me to the power and courage they had in numbers, especially with their colleagues across the waters. Neither individual organizations, nor individual married priest groups, nor individual convents nor retreat houses would ever stand up to the Vatican by themselves. Collectively, however, they had "chutzpah." Apparently, a few months before the conference when it became public that the International Federation of Married Priests would be meeting at the Dominican House of Studies in Madrid, the Papal Nuncio contacted the Convent Director threatening to "permanently close down [his] entire operation if he allowed married priests to meet there." The Convent Director responded to the Papal Nuncio that he "wanted that in writing, explaining which law he was breaking; otherwise the Congress would be held as planned." No letter came and the meeting was held without incident. Rent A Priest was met with mixed emotions by the various countries. Though the French booed me off the stage, others like England, Australia, India, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ireland and some in Spain were supportive. The people from the Philippines called CITI the Number One married priest movement in the world, this after only one year in existence. What made CITI different as a new organization was that it was started and run by lay people and our mission was to serve those among the public who needed sacramental and pastoral care, defying any church law that opposed the ministry of married priests. All other married priest organizations at the time were founded and run by married priests and the mission of most was to engage or attempt to engage in dialogue with the hierarchy to try to get the church to change the law of mandatory celibacy. These priests obeyed their promise to their respective bishops that they would not celebrate Mass. The European movement, with the exception of CITI's three new allies Paolo Camellini, Heinz-Jurgen Vogels and Lambert Van Gelder, never accepted CITI as one of its affiliate members. We were too different and they especially didn't like the name Rentapriest. We were later contacted by Kirche Intern, Austria's Catholic magazine who subsequently ran a three page story on CITI/Rentapriest, leading to two new Rentapriest-type movements in Austria and Switzerland. They did not survive, however, because they used a less catchy name and the organizations were run by married priests rather than lay people who could stand up to the hierarchy if need be. There were splits between Camellini and the International Federation during the next year and Paolo and Heinz scheduled their own international synod similar to the original (Arricia), in Assisi in 1995 and then another in Atlanta, Georgia USA in 1999, the latter at which I was invited to preside. The international synods were profound gatherings of married priests and other interesting parties from throughout the world. Without a specific agenda, something the left-brainers were not understanding especially in Atlanta, everyone came to the meetings with inspirations/papers that arrived at a common goal--almost like the people had been hand-picked by the Holy Spirit. At the Assisi meeting for instance, the majority of profound papers presented from several countries spoke of the future of the Catholic Church in the form of small faith communities--like the early days of the church. Former Carmelite contemplative, Donna Amy Podobinski and her Holy Ghost Father and husband William presented a related paper on Freedom-Unity-Integrity, now a new blog, accessible through the rentapriest website. A retired Venetian judge presented a paper on the corruption in the Vatican; and I, on clergy sexual abuse being a rampant international problem, something I would later study from a scientific basis. (See The Bingo Report: Mandatory celibacy and clergy sexual abuse available on Amazon.com). #30