Marriage not a Cure for Sexual Abuse

December 21, 2007 in clergy sex abuse scandal 1 Comment

Gerald at The Cafeteria is Closed has made some comments on my book. He thinks that having some married clergy would help remedy the situation.I am less certain. Certainly celibacy creates a culture in which many or most clerics have sexual secrets: affairs with men or women, abuse of boys or children (rarely teenage girls, for some reason). But churches that allow married clergy have similar problems, as I document in the book. Married clergy not only have affairs with laypeople but abuse teenage boys and girls. Male clergy are the usual culprits. Men seem to get a greater thrill than women do from sexual transgressions – almost all perversions in the long lists that psychologists make are done by males, not by females. As a man, I find this troubling. Perhaps it is misdirected aggressiveness, which is definitely more present in men than women. But whatever code a church espouses, a male clergy will get a thrill by violating it. A Catholic priest can transgress by secretly marrying, a minister of the Metropolitan Community Church, the gay denomination, is still not allowed to touch boys – but they do.

The Latin Church may someday follow the example of the Eastern Churches in allowing married clergy – but preventing sexual abuse should not be the motive.

St. John the Undivine

December 21, 2007 in Episcopal Church 1 Comment

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York has the distinction of becoming a ruin before it is even finished. I hadn’t been there in decades, and I had not known there was a serious fire in 2001.

The metal scaffolding that surrounded the tower in this picture has come down in an admission that the tower will never be finished.

After entering the door one walks down the main aisle through on a grey-painted plywood corridor, such as used to grace the Toronto airport. This seems to occupy 2/3 of the building.

The main altar and surrounding chapels are finished, but are already decaying.

It is hard to understand what was going through the minds of the Episcopal worthies in the 1880s when they projected building the largest cathedral in the world.

What could it have been used for? Unlike Washington, New York has no state occasions that require vast spaces. The 400 (New York society) may have been Episcopalian, but they would have been lost in the echoing spaces of their cathedral. Perhaps it was simply American boosterism — New York will have the biggest cathedral in the world! Alas, the cathedral is instead becoming a modern ruin.

If the faith had been kept, it would matter little, but the Cathedral’s website proudly chronicles the events it has hosted:

(After some standard politically liberal stuff in the 1960s)

1973: Tennessee Williams is honored with an evensong service incorporating raeings from his dramatic works and other writings.

1982 Halveti-Jerrahi Order of Dervishes at Istanbul performs Islamic liturgical dance beneath ten Crossing’s dome.

1984 Cathedral exhibits Christa, a bronze crucifix by British sculptor Edwina Sandys depicting Christ as a woman.

1986 Philippe Petit performs Ascent on a high wire.

1990 Big Bird and other Muppets pay tribute to puppeteer Jim Henson at his memorial service.

1999 Stonewall 30: A Sacred Celebration brings thousands from New York’s gay and lesbian community.

The sadness of it all.

The Inescapable Messiah

December 21, 2007 in Episcopal Church, Music No Comments

During our annual Christmas trip, we heard the choir of St. Thomas Episcopal Church (Fifth Ave) sing The Messiah, as arranged by Mozart.

I had never heard it with treble voices before. The voices were delicate but clear. It was possible to hear all the lines of music distinctly. Because boys voices do not have great power, the conductor refrained from blasting the audience out of its seats, and kept things gentle except at the highest moments of the Hallelujah and Worthy Is The Lamb. The Messiah has entered into the popular consciousness probably more than nay other pice of religious music – and it was not even written for church, but for the concert hall.

When a culture is Christian, it reminds all its members, even unbelievers, of the story of Christianity. Some think it fact, some think it myth, some dislike it, but no one can escape it. Even the unbelievers in the audience for months will have the words and music For unto us a child is born, He was despised and rejected of man, The LORD GOD omnipotent reigneth, running through their heads – a message that they might not want to hear, but cannot ignore it completely, because the music is too great to give up.