ONE IN 25 Catholic priests in the US has been formally accused of sexually abusing minors, according to research commissioned by the US Catholic bishops.We don’t have comparable research for Ireland, but between the Ryan and Murphy reports, we can surmise how realistic the US research is.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone has tried to blame “homosexuality”.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” was the reaction of Dr Alan Dibble, a clinical psychologist in Co Meath, who has worked with paedophiles and sex offenders in the US and Ireland for the past 20 years.
“There is no research to back up what he said. Five per cent of the world’s population is gay and to put us all in that category is appalling . . . This is a mighty inflammatory remark to make based on ‘being told’, for someone in such a highly responsible position. Is the Vatican bringing old scientifically debunked myths out of the closet in order to avoid confronting the weaknesses inherent in a hierarchy without transparency and without self-reflection on the extreme stresses inherent in the human loneliness of the priesthood?”
He adds: “As the Vatican has attempted to back-track on the cardinal’s comments . . . and with their history of minimising the issue of child sexual abuse in the church by blaming others for scapegoating them, the Vatican is using the same cognitive distortions therapists teach child sexual abusers not to use – such as whitewashing, rationalising, minimising and excuse-making as a way to avoid taking personal responsibility,” Dibble says.
Five other psychiatrists and psychologists interviewed by The Irish Times agreed there is no link between homosexuality and paedophilia, among them Prof Patricia Casey of UCD and the Royal College of Psychiatrists of Ireland. “It has never been demonstrated scientifically. Paedophilia is an attraction to minors – male, female or both.”
Prof Harry Kennedy, clinical professor of forensic psychiatry at TCD, explains that “there are heterosexual paedophiles, there are homosexual paedophiles and there is no special link between homosexuality and paedophilia and that is the plain science of it based on epidemiology, which is my field. I wonder where the Cardinal got his information. I’d be happy to look at any new evidence he might have and review it from a scientific point of view.”
Also adamant that there is no link between paedophilia and homosexuality are Dr Joseph Duffy, clinical director of the Granada Institute in Dublin, which has treated priests who have sexually abused children; Prof Donald West, psychiatrist and former head of the Institute of Criminology in Cambridge, UK; and Prof Michael King, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK, who has treated paedophiles and sex offenders.
The greatest threat to children are heterosexual males, says Kennedy. Girls are five times more likely than boys to be abused, usually by their father, stepfather or mother’s boyfriend.West says: “Most at risk are girls in the home.”
Research has shown, since the 1980s, that heterosexuals – 95 per cent of the population – are as likely as homosexuals to be sexually aroused by children.
When boys are sexually molested, the predator is most likely male, but that doesn’t mean he is gay.
As Casey states, paedophiles are attracted to children and many don’t care what gender the child is. One theory, King points out, is that boys are more accessible to the sort of predator who seeks out children in parks because traditionally they have greater freedom than girls to roam.
Are there more paedophiles among Catholic priests than among the general population?
“Nobody knows,” says King. “My own theory is that celibacy may be behind some of this, because we don’t seem to get the same reports in other churches. It’s only a theory that celibacy is a cloak that puts you in charge of children.”
Casey also suggests that some abusers were attracted to the Catholic church because they knew it would give them access to children, and vetting procedures weren’t good enough.
The stereotype, which is true, is that paedophiles get involved in sports clubs, scout groups and church activities to get access to children. The other classic method is to cultivate relationships with single mothers.
Paedophilia is a fixation where, for a persistent period of at least six months, the paedophile has sexual fantasies about children and a desire to have sexual contact with children that he cannot control.
As Duffy explains, a classic fixated paedophile is so driven that to be prevented from harming others, he has to be kept away from situations where he can have contact with children – families, schools, playgrounds and so on.
The paedophile isn’t sexually attracted to adults at all – male or female. “Homosexuality is irrelevant,” says King.
“These men are predators in general.”
Dibble gives the case history of a “true” paedophile who was molested by an adult neighbour, then did the same at age seven to his best friend, which lasted until puberty. When the best mate went on to have girlfriends, “this guy turned to younger children. His sexual development didn’t move on”.
He entered therapy in his 20s, after being caught molesting a child. After a year in therapy, he molested his nephew, and was placed in residential treatment for two years.
After his release, he got involved with a woman his age and eventually molested her two sons, and went to prison.
“Even with an experience of an adult relationship, his sexual preference was for kids and he couldn’t grow out of that.”
Paedophiles are interested only in children, whereas child molesters are opportunists who will satisfy their needs with anyone, regardless of age.
The Vatican stated this week that 10 per cent of abuse cases it has dealt with have been paedophilia, and 90 per cent sex with adolescents.
“Studies have shown that men have a low age threshold in who they are attracted to, saying, if they’re really honest, that age 14 is no problem whatsoever,” says King. “But these young adolescents cannot give consent.”
Many priests who have sexually abused children have been treated at the Granada Institute since 1994.
Duffy says many abusers prefer being with a child because it suits their emotional level. Others use sex with children as an abuse of power, dominance and control.
Anger against women, due to rejection, is another “driver”.
As King and Casey suggested, the rule of celibacy may contribute to priests having non-consensual sex with children with impunity. Casey believes that some men may go into the priesthood before they have had a chance to develop a mature adult sexuality and are stuck in an immature stage of development.
“Perverse reactions” may result, says Duffy when “intimacy, closeness and comfort are expressed in negative and deviant and destructive ways”.
A book by Karen Leibriech, Fallen Order , argues that celibacy forces people in religious orders to turn a blind eye to the misconduct of others.
Kennedy agrees: “In a society with a rule of celibacy, normal heterosexual and normal homosexual activity is regarded as a lapse and is likely to be denied and ignored. That creates a culture in which other things – including paedophilia – may also be ignored and denied.”
So, are religious abusers evil, or are they victims? King believes that “we have a horrible way of seeing paedophilia as evil. Paedophiles are not evil, they are caught in this terrible bind. I’m not excusing their behaviour for an instant, but we often forget about the paedophile as a victim of circumstances beyond his control.”
But what are the circumstances?
“We have no idea what creates a paedophile,” says King.
And neither does the Catholic church.
“This is a complex area full of unknowns, and work to understand it is still in its infancy,” says Dibble.
SEXUAL ABUSE THE NUMBERS
Less than 1 per cent of the general population are paedophiles and child molesters
98 per cent of abusers of girls are men
79 per cent of abusers of boys are men
Most at risk are children aged eight to 12
75 per cent of sexual abuse occurs within the household, mostly by fathers and stepfathers
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