Vatican approves new scientific study

The Catholic Church has acknowledged that not every problem canbe solved by prayer and prayer… The Catholic Church has acknowledged that not every problem canbe solved by prayer and prayer alone.

According to the Catholic News Service, the Vatican released a 220-page report, “Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: Scientific and Legal Perspectives.” The report examines research into the psychological causes and types of abuse; screening procedures; recidivism rates; effects on child victims and the possibility of successful therapy for abusers.

Edited by eight non-Catholic scientists specializing in the study or treatment of sexual abuse, the report finds fault with and challenges the American bishops’ zero-tolerance policy of seeking to remove from ministry any Roman Catholic priest who has abused a child.

According to the scientists, the zero-tolerance policy effectively passes the responsibility for an abusive priest out of the hands of the Church and on to the larger society — where there is less monitoring and supervision of his behavior.

This point should not be forgotten: They are their brothers’ keepers.

Not only should the Church look to properly punish and effectively treat what the report terms “priest-abusers,” but the sexual climate of seminaries should be reviewed and reformed. There should be better monitoring and consistent checking of local parishes. Issues such as clerical marriage need to be assessed with a greater reliance on practical knowledge and scientific evidence rather than outdated traditions.

That the Vatican supported this report was highly unusual, given the report’s unflinching examination of the clinical aspects of sexual abuse within the Church. Pedophilia is still a psychological disease, and it cannot be treated with prayer or isolation from children.

With priests, the psychological flaw is an indication of spiritual decay as well. The Church and its community should hold priest-abusers accountable, but not without the punishment and rehabilitation offered to all sex offenders. The rehabilitation of priest-abusers was a key issue in the report. Whereas the American bishops’ zero-tolerance policy seemed to ostracize offenders, the experts argue that the priests need the Church to help them develop better self-control.

Far too often priests, seen as the strongholds of their parishes, do not receive the healing they need from the Church. In the past, the Vatican has appeared to hide the fallibility of its priests, but now it has the chance to prove the real power of the Church and faith as parts of reformation in individuals and in society.

Yes, the priests should and are being punished for their heinous abuse of their young followers, but even science says they should not be ostracized. Maybe now that science agrees that we ought to take care of each other, we will start to do it. The Bible and Jerry Springer have been saying it for years.