Copyright © 2014 by James Leonard Park
Selected and reviewed by James Park.
James Park's two books on sexology are:
Imprinted
Sexual
Fantasies:
A New Key for Sexology
and
Variations
of Sex
& Gender:
Six Phenomena Frequently Confused.
Red
comments represent the
opinions and evaluations of this reviewer.
These books are organized by quality, beginning with the best.
1. Thomas P. Doyle, A.W. Richard Sipe, &
Patrick J. Wall
Sex,
Priests, and Secret Codes:
The Catholic Church's 2000-year
Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse
Los
Angeles, CA: Volt Press: www.volt-press.com,
2006) 388 pages
(ISBN: 1-56625-265-2; hardcover)
(Library of Congress call number:
BX1912.9.D69 2005)
This is the definitive book on Catholic priests having sex with
children.
Since the beginning, the Roman Catholic Church
has tried to handle the problem of priests violating their vows
by re-assigning them to new parishes,
sometimes after some months of religious rehabilitation.
Protecting the reputation of the Church has almost always
come before doing anything to help the victims.
But millions of dollars have been paid in compensation,
sometimes after court cases to determine the truth.
Priests have a special power and authority
in traditional Roman Catholic thinking:
The priest is the representative of God or Christ on Earth.
They have the power to forgive sins and grant absolution.
Many victims of priests' sexual interests
have no way to deal with what is happening to them.
This is especially true of young children.
Thus the abuse can sometimes last for a few years,
until the victim is old enough to say "no".
This book does not explain why
so many priests are sexually aroused by children.
But there is probably nothing
about the preparation for priesthood
that turns ordinary men into
pedophiles.
Rather, men who already have
imprinted sexual interest in children
might be attracted to the
priesthood in the hope that the vow of celibacy
will save them from their
inclination to have sex with boys.
However, the history recounted in this book shows
that joining the Roman Catholic priesthood
is not a good technique for dealing with any sexual inclinations.
2.
Marie M. Fortune
Is Nothing Sacred?
When Sex Invades the Pastoral Relationship
(New York: Harper & Row,
1989)
167 pages
This is
the
story
of one church where the minister
had sexual relationships with several
members.
It is told from the perspective of the
women (ages 20-60)
who were victimized by the seducer.
The book was put together by a woman
called in
as a consultant by denominational
officials.
The minister
was a charismatic, 'spiritual' person,
who had a series of secret affairs with
perhaps a dozen women
in his church over a period of 4 years.
He easily manipulated the women into
bed with him
because they were under his spell as
their minister.
One became involved with him because
she was very active
on church committees and in youth work.
One was seduced when in a vulnerable
state
because of the death of her husband.
She was told that sex with her minister
would be part of the healing-recovery
process.
One was an employee of the church.
And one was a married female minister
of the same denomination.
Physical comforting of women in distress
often turned into a sexual encounter.
And he talked some of the younger women
into having sex with him by promising
to marry them.
All of his victims blamed
themselves
in some degree
for allowing themselves to be seduced.
This self-blame kept the problem hidden
for years.
A conspiracy of silence (with only vague
rumors circulating)
reigned among all the women he had
seduced
or abused.
But an informal women's grapevine
developed
to warn other women who might become
his victims:
This minister is a romantic/sexual
predator;
watch out for him.
Finally one woman called a meeting of
all the victims she knew about.
It took 4
years
to remove this offender from his parish.
But those who read this book will not
be as likely to deny
that it could happen or to delay taking
action.
Is
Nothing
Sacred?
is a good place to begin
reading about the problem of sex
between
ministers and parishioners.
3. Peter Rutter,
MD
Sex in the Forbidden Zone:
When
Men in Power—Therapists,
Doctors, Clergy,
Teachers,
and Others—Betray
Women's Trust
(Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher, 1989) 240 pages
This book is
a comprehensive, compassionate,
and thoughtful treatment of an
emerging
problem of our time:
sex between men in positions of authority
and their clients, patients,
parishioners,
or students.
Peter Rutter is a psychotherapist;
many of his examples describe
the violation of the theapist-client
relationship.
But the "forbidden zone" includes all
situations of professional trust.
Women enter these professional
relationships
with the hope of some healing or personal
growth.
But after they have opened themselves
trustingly to these men
who are supposed to help them,
they sometimes find that they are drawn
into sexual relationships
that seem mainly for the benefit
and healing of the clergyman or therapist.
Sometimes the
women are also seductive,
but it is the professional's
responsibility
to maintain
the sexual boundary between himself or
herself
and the clients seeking help.
Rutter says that this professional taboo
against sex with clients
should be as strong and as lasting as
the incest taboo
between a father and his daughter.
Even as they grow older, moving away
from the original relationship,
it is never
appropriate for a father
to have sex with his daughter.
Seduction by
religious leaders and therapists is especially easy
when a psychologically-vulnerable woman
confuses
her emerging passion for life with her
passion for sex.
The helper or healer must not take
advantage
of the woman's mixed feelings, focusing
them on himself
because that serves some psychological
need of his own.
One poignant
example involves a 5-year sexual relationship
between a seminary dean (male, married,
with 5 children)
and a female student (who was 21 when
the sexual relationship began).
Instead of the religious vocation she
had sought,
she found herself in a sexual vocation,
as servant of the man she most admired.
She was able to break it off only when
she found out
that he was having sex with other women
as well.
Altho the
primary
responsibility for guarding the sexual boundary
rests with the professional man or woman,
the client can also help to reinforce
this taboo.
It is always better to talk too
much
about the sexual boundary than too
little.
When people do not discuss the
romantic/sexual
limits
of their professional relationship,
it is too easy to let their unexamined
romantic
programming
and imprinted sexual fantasies to take
over.
One therapist just wordlessly undressed
his client on the first visit
and had sex with her on the office floor.
She never returned so we know nothing
about the long-term damage this probably
did her.
The most direct and dramatic action a
client can take
when the professional becomes seductive
is to stand up and leave.
Many victimized women interviewed for
this book
see in retrospect that they should have
left.
It would have been painful and difficult
to cut off an emotionally-charged
relationship
that suddenly,
but it would have been much less painful
than the long struggle
with the harmful sexual relationship
that followed.
Most
professions
have written ethical rules and guidelines
prohibiting sex between a professional
and a client.
(In Minnesota it is now a felony
for
a therapist to have sex with a client.)
But religious groups often do not have
anything in writing
because ministers have been assumed to
be
among the most moral members of society.
However, increasing disclosures of clergy
violating the "forbidden zone"
show the need for religious organizations
to make the rules explicit
—and to impose appropirate sanctions
when the rules are violated.
Dr. Rutter
provides
much useful technical information
about filing complaints (ethical,
administrative,
civil, & criminal)
against professionals in positions of
authority
who use their power to seduce the people
who come to them for help.
Rutter also
offers
extensive advice for professionals
who are tempted to have romantic and/or
sexual relationships
with the clients or parishioners who
come under their care.
Even if the professional begins to dream
of a possible future relationship,
he or she ought to refer the client to
someone else,
because such fantasies can corrupt the
professional relationship
so that no productive work can be
accomplished.
And certainly if a sexual relationship
has alrady begun, it must stop.
Both parties might seek treatment for
this violation.
The professional should explain to the
client that he has failed her,
not the other way around.
Once a relationship has entered the
forbidden
zone,
it is unlikely that it will ever become
a sex-free relationship again.
The two parties need to acknowledge this
mistake
and go their separate ways.
Both might need to explore more deeply
their own romantic inclinations and
sexual
responses.
A new therapist or helper of the same
sex as the client
might be more appropriate,
since (as long as both are heterosexual)
that can help prevent the same problem
from happening all over again.
Sex
in the Forbidden Zone also gives examples of people
who have successfully resisted the sexual
temptation
and gone on to have very productive
non-sexual helping or mentor
relationships.
I
recommend
this
book highly for both professionals and their clients.
It will be helpful to both sides
of the
forbidden zone.
I wrote 68 pages of notes and
resposes.
4. Anson Shupe,
William
Stacy, & Susan E. Darnell, editors
Bad Pastors: Clergy Misconduct in Modern America
(New York: New York University
Press,
2000) 256 pages
(ISBN: 0-8147-8146-2; hardcover)
(ISBN: 0-8147-8147-0; paperback)
(Library of Congress call number:
BV4811.5.B33
2000)
A
collection
of articles on various forms of clergy misbehavior
—both mainstream clergy and cult leaders.
The problems of sexual and financial
violations-of-trust continue.
This book updates and expands the
information
already available.
Almost all of the 12 authors are
academics.
Thus they have gathered their information
from printed sources
rather than from first-hand experience.
Suggestion:
Read
the first two books in this bibliography first.
Then, if you still have the time
and
interest,
read this book to be brought up to
date.
created 2001; revised 4-24-2009;
9-25-2010; 7-28-2014; 8-1-2014; 4-23-2018;
Related Bibliographies
This bibliography is
related
to several others in sexology.
Here is the complete list:
Sex-Script
Hypothesis
B-SEX-SC
Variations
of
Sex and Gender B-V-SG
I. Intersex
B-CRIT
II. Transsexualism
B-TS
Transsexual
Autobiographies B-TS-AB
III. Sex-Roles
B-ROLE
IV. Gender-Personality
B-GEND
V. Sexual
Orientation
B-ORNT
VI. Cross-Dressing
B-TV
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