Narcissism

The Root of All Evil

in Church finances, clergy sex abuse scandal, homosexuality, Masculinity, Narcissism 36 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

If the Catholic Church were serious about preventing sexual abuse (which it is not), one simple method is available: audited accounting of all church financial records.

Almost invariably, sexual misconduct has been paid for by misuse or outright theft of church funds,

The case of Gary Mercure is only one of thousands:

The records reveal that Mercure systematically stole money from church coffers and used it to lavish young men and boys with cash, gifts and living expenses as he brazenly maintained a sexually active, homosexual lifestyle for decades.

The donations of the faithful funded Mercure’s lifestyle:

In 2008, when Bishop Howard J. Hubbard sought to confront Mercure about overwhelming evidence that he had sexually abused minors, the priest responded that he was on vacation and could not be reached by telephone.

But Hubbard, in an internal document, had his staff trace the phone number. They learned Mercure was secretly vacationing at a gay resort “where the choice to wear something or nothing is yours … (with) erotic video lounge showing adult male videos.”

Sexual activity is private and is sometimes hard to detect, but money can be traced with ease.

However, church officials are even less interested in ending theft than they are in ending sexual abuse.

One elderly pastor told me that he had never been in a parish in which someone was not on the take.

Diocese accounts are set up so that money can be siphoned off with ease. Perhaps this goes back to the feudal concept under the old canon law, in which the income of a parish was the property of the pastor. From that he paid his assistants, the upkeep of the church, the dollar a day he allowed to the nuns, etc.

The financial system in many dioceses is susceptible to theft or misappropriation, and dioceses show little interest in preventing it until the problem becomes public.

In Baltimore each parish has its own bookkeeper and accounts. There seems to be little overall supervision or regular auditing.

Father Nick Cieri on the left

and his housemate Father Larry Johnson in the center

with two young friends

Domenic Cieri was director of liturgy (1984-1992) in the archdiocese of Baltimore  and then pastor (1992-2007) of St. Bernadette’s parish in Severn, Maryland, on the far southern fringe of the Baltimore metropolitan area.

There he set to accomplish two things: making St. Bernadette’s a gay-friendly parish and making himself financially comfortable. He succeeded in both.

In making St. Bernadette’s a national center of gay ministry, he set up several groups with the assistance of Ann McDonald.

As pastoral associate at St. Bernadette Parish on Stevenson Road, Ms. McDonald helped found Reclaim in 1997 as a group for homosexual adults to ease the pain of alienation they felt toward the church and its teachings. Today, she helps preside over a group that has grown significantly, touching on issues such as the Catholic church’s relationship with gay adults, as well as its relationship with the parents of gay children, gay families and even gay teenagers. The most recent branch of the group, called Recharge, is an alumni group for the more than 200 people who have completed Reclaim over the years and either have joined Catholicism though Baptism or reinvesting in the faith through Catechism and confirmation. Some gay members join Reclaim if only to feel comfortable enough in their spirituality to attend Mass again, Ms. McDonald said. The church’s pastor said the newest incarnation of Reclaim will help graduates stay energized about and connected to Christianity, if only by knowing they’re part of a larger religious family.|”Reclaim is about trying to touch people in a meaningful way,” said St. Bernadette Pastor Domenic L. Cieri. “The church teaches its members to love and be loved in return and we want to help gay and lesbian members feel wanted by the church and by God.”|With a progressive, 1,200-family congregation at St. Bernadette Parish, Ms. McDonald said, there are plenty of ways for gays and lesbians, no matter their religion, to find acceptance and learn that being gay is not a sin. With dozens of pamphlets about gay and lesbian issues in the church office and vestibule, straight congregation members have numerous opportunities to educate themselves and realize that being gay is not an evil choice, Ms. McDonald said,

This was all done with the blessing of the Archdiocese of Baltimore:

With the Catholic church struggling with a myriad of issues, Reclaim is a step ahead of many of the 161 churches in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.|”Reclaim is a good gateway to educate people on the church’s teachings,” said Deacon Paul A. Weber, director of the Office of Ministry with Gay and Lesbian Catholics for the Archdiocese. “Many communities, quite frankly, are unfamiliar with issues of same-sex orientation.”|According to the Rev. Weber and Ms. McDonald, no one at St. Bernadette or the Archdiocese of Baltimore hierarchy has ever voiced any objections to Reclaim, even though some Catholic circles frown upon the practice of homosexuality.”

It is not clear whether  St. Bernadette’s and the Archdiocese are or are not among those Catholic circles which frown upon the practice of homosexuality. However the parish’s web site claims that it is “providing pastoral care in keeping with the church’s teaching on chastity.” It is not clear which teaching this is referring to – Dominic Cieri’s or the Vatican’s.

(In July 2008 Ann McDonald was appointed Pastoral Life Director at St. Bernadette’s.)

Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of the Archdiocese of Baltimore participated in this work at St. Bernadette’s:

With a message of humility, faith in times of suffering and God’s unconditional love, a bishop with the Archdiocese of Baltimore celebrated Mass yesterday at a service devoted to gay and lesbian Catholics.

“‘As bishop, being here this afternoon in this community, I do so with genuine affection and gentleness to you,’ Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, the eastern vicar, told those gathered at St. Bernadette Roman Catholic Church in Severn, [Md.,] a parish that has had a thriving gay and lesbian ministry since 1997.

“Reflecting on Scripture readings about the Apostle Paul’s admiration for the Thessalonians as ‘faithful people who embraced the cross at a time of suffering,’ the bishop added, ‘In our own time, you know the struggle, some of you, of being gay and lesbian.’

“The service – the second in five years sponsored by Baltimore’s Archdiocesan Ministry with Gay and Lesbian Catholics and offered by St. Bernadette’s – attracted same-sex couples, single gay men and women, and parents of gay children, as well as churchgoers hoping to send a message to Catholic leaders with their presence at such a Mass.

“Attendees traveled from Pennsylvania, Virginia, the District of Columbia and across Maryland for the religious service – and, more important, they said, an inclusive welcome that is not available to them at many Catholic parishes.

Cieri’s work in making St. Bernadette’s a gay-friendly parish was acknowledged by the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Gay and Lesbian Ministries and by New Ways Ministry. He explained: “My integrative awareness status is indicated to me by the work in establishing safe and welcoming places for GBLT in my parish.”

He explains what he means:

“I identity as a white, middle-class, suburban gay male…You might say I am a soft male (my words). I am not macho and never have been.

“At the time of puberty I was very aware of being attracted to males. This was somewhat distressing, Even though I wanted to be a priest, I still had a desire to have a family.  I began to wonder what it would be like to be a girl.  Then I could get married and have a family with the boy of my dreams.

Cieri claims that his pro-gay work got him into trouble: “Naturally it got me into trouble with Church authority.” This does not seem to be the case; auxiliary bishops (Bishop Newman and Bishop Rozanski) spoke at St. Bernadette’s and praised the work there. Something else led to trouble for Domenic Leo Cieri.

While demonstrating a revisionist attitude toward traditional morality on sexuality, Cieri also set about his second goal of achieving financial comfort.

In 1999, 2000 and  2005 St. Bernadette’s, a very-well-to do suburban parish, ran an operating deficit. This is not surprising in light of what was later revealed.

In October 2006 Archbishop Keeler of Baltimore was in a serious automobile accident. He needed brain surgery in June 2007, and was therefore out of commission and had to be replaced by Archbishop Lori in July 2007.

Immediately after the accident, in October 2006, and after it had received an anonymous tip, the Archdiocese conducted an audit of St. Bernadette’s with special attention to compensation and was not happy with the results.

Domenic Cieri was pastor of St. Bernadette’s in Severn. He was supposed to be in residence there and receiving compensation according to an archdiocesan scale.

In fact (see here and here and here):

· Cieri was not in residence at St. Bernadette’s. He was living in Glen Arm, 34 miles away, in a house he had purchased with the Rev. Lawrence Johnson (former agent for the AIDS Interfaith Network of Central Maryland and now chaplain at Stella Maris) in 2001 for $255,000. The house is currently estimated at $455,000.

· Cieri earned nearly $48,000 a year for the fiscal year ending in June 2006, about 70 percent more than the $28,122 that the archdiocese says he was to earn as a pastor ordained for 25 years. His pay and other compensation was hidden in the budgeted single line item of $475,000 for “Salary and related.”

· Cieri was reimbursed nearly $36,000 for rectory expenses, although he did not live in the rectory attached to the church.

· Cieri received $14,000 as a housing allowance,

· Cieri received $6,300 in Mass stipends. Priests have the choice of receiving Mass stipends for individual Masses or a lump sum of $2,000 per year – for all masses an amount set by the archdiocese.

· Cieri, since he was not in residence, paid other priests to do his work. The church also paid a lot of money in stipends to visiting priests who celebrated some of the church’s four Masses each weekend,

· The lay parish officials had approved all payments, so there was no possibility of the parish recovering any of the money. The leaders thought that because others on staff earned salaries in the $40,000 range, it was appropriate to pay the pastor a comparable wage. They said they felt manipulated by the Rev. Cieri in approving his salary and compensation.

· According to the Bishop Rozanski, the archdiocese has no plans to formally reprimand or punish the Rev. Cieri, and his fate will depend on his own decisions after he ends his leave.

It is not clear whether this extra compensation was the annual or the total figure; it seems to be annual. If that is the case, during his pastorate Cieri received about $1 million more than archdiocesan guidelines provided.

Cieri resigned on May 29, 2007, because of, he explained, “differences regarding fiscal policies.” That’s one way of putting it. Cieri’ s attitude to the  priesthood seems to be based on that of Pope Leo X, who is reported to have said on his election “God has given us the papacy; let us enjoy it.”

Cieri claims he is experienced in “financial management.” Under the name of Nick Cieri, he became a financial advisor with SmithBarney and then with First Financial Group. In this capacity he was

Licensed to sell insurance products and to offer securities in the Mid-Atlantic States, Nick Cieri serves as a Financial Advisor for MassMutual Financial Group, a marketing segment of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual or MML). Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Nick Cieri operates as a registered representative delivering investment advisory, securities, and financial planning services through MML Investors Services, LLC, a member of the Securities Investor Protection.

An expert financial counselor – ask St. Bernadette’s!

He would help his clients  engage in careful financial planning to achieve their financial goals – as he had done.

A seasoned financial advisor, Nick Cieri serves clients through MassMutual Financial Group, a firm located in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Understanding that financial planning often involves a great deal of anxiety, Mr. Cieri offers all of his clients the personalized attention and insight that they deserve. Individuals come to MassMutual Financial Group for a variety of reasons. Some want assistance with preparations for college, retirement, or other life milestones, while others simply need reliable life, long-term care, or disability income insurance. Nick Cieri listens closely to the needs of each client, discusses the relevant options, provides them the information necessary to make an informed decision, and connects them to the best products and services available. Mr. Cieri places his clients’ well-being above all else and is committed to integrity (my emphasis).

Through his practice, Nick Cieri gives clients advice about navigating today’s complex markets to achieve financial freedom. He employs a team of experienced professionals who support his mission with expertise in retirement services, annuities, charitable giving, executive compensation, and estate planning. When clients first come to Mr. Cieri, he performs a comprehensive audit of their financial situations to accurately represent where they stand. After discussing expectations and strategy with clients, he matches them to the products that will best help them achieve their goals, which often involves a diverse array of services.

It should be a great comfort to clients to know that Cieri is “committed to integrity,” as his record so clearly demonstrates.

Cieri is now a substitute school counselor in the Baltimore County public schools.

I had met Cieri when he was the director of liturgy for the archdiocese. Cieri would frequently come to say mass at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Mount Washington, where the pastor was Nicholas Amato, who had worked with Cieri in the central offices because Amato had been archdiocesan director of education. Cieri explained to me that Jesus had not initiated the Catholic priesthood, but it was started centuries later. I pointed out that this was what the fundamentalists also claimed.  I mentioned to Cieri that the Baltimore Sun had reported that half the members of the burgeoning evangelical and charismatic churches around Baltimore were former Catholics. He said they had left because Catholicism was too perfect for them, and we should not try to persuade them to come back. I now suspect that he feared that might bring back with them their ideas about sexual morality, which they had learned from the highly unreliable source of the Bible.

Toodle-oo!

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Altruism and Narcissism

in clergy sex abuse scandal, Narcissism 21 Comments Tags: , ,

Accusations of sexual abuse often provoke disbelief and comments “How could he have done such a thing? He done so many good things.”

Parishioners still leap to the defense of priests accused of abuse. In New York:

A Marine Park Catholic church dedicated its Christmas display to a priest accused of sex abuse, drawing outrage from one of his his alleged victim’s family.

Msgr. Thomas Brady, 78, a retired pastor at Good Shepherd Church, was placed on administrative leave after he was charged in October with attempting a “criminal sex act” on two teenage boys – but officials at the church still dedicated their annual tree lighting to him and posted a sign in his honor in front of the church.

The sign, still posted Monday, says the tree lighting “is dedicated to Monsignor Thomas F. Brady for his Service to and Love for the People of Good Shepherd.”

The dad of a then 13-year-old boy who accused Brady of molesting him in the church rectory said he was furious to see the display at the church, where his family are longtime parishioners and his son attends the parish school.

“That’s a slap in the face,” he said. “Take it down. That’s hurtful. You’re gaining support for Brady, but what about the victims?”

Many parishioners have backed Brady, who was pastor at the church for more than 20 years before retiring in 2009 and was also a chaplain for the Fire Department, and insisted the accusations couldn’t be true. The priest has suffered several strokes and is battling lung cancer.

Family friend Mary Ann Moran, 54, said although Monsignor Brady performed her mother’s funeral and she appreciated his efforts to unite the neighborhood after Sept. 11, she was angry he would be honored after the accusations came to light. “I understand how we feel so connected to the priest,” she said. “In any other job or organization, someone who’s been arrested for sexually abusing a child would never be honored just for doing their job.”

This priest may or may not be guilty. The courts have to decide. But his good works do not mean he could not have committed a crime.

Abusers do many good things; they are seemingly altruistic and willing to go out of their way to help other people. But this altruism is in the service of narcissism. The narcissist wants others to have a good opinion of him, so he may do good things. But the purpose of these good actions is to feed his self-image of being a good person.

He wants to think of himself as a good person even though he may also do terrible things. He does so much good that he is entitled to whatever he wants, including sex with children. He may do some mental creative accounting: “The good I do far outweighs any bad things I may do,” or he may be grandiose and feel he is not bound by the rules to which ordinary mortals are subject.

Those around him often feed his narcissism and grandiosity; the clergy and parishioners in New York may be doing that to Thomas Brady. And if there are other victims, they see how the parish will respond to accusations.

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Grandiose Narcissists

in Narcissism, sexual abuse 1 Comment

The editor of America, Father James Martin, discusses the grandiosity of narcissists who are abusers. But his words also apply to their enablers:

In my experience, after the conviction or removal from office or ministry, those two qualities merge in the person with terrible consequences. And these consequences make it far more difficult for the institution to address such cases. The grandiose narcissist now focuses almost exclusively on his own suffering. His removal from office, or from ministry, he believes, is the worst thing that has happened to anyone, and he (or she) laments this fate loudly and frequently. Because of his narcissism he focuses almost entirely on his own troubles; because of his grandiosity he inflates them to ridiculous proportions. He suffers the most. This is the “Poor Me” Syndrome.

Even more dangerous: he draws others into his net, and the suffering of the real victims, those whose lives have been shattered, is overlooked-even by otherwise intelligent and well-meaning people. The focus of those within the institution is shifted onto the person they know, rather than the victims that they may not know. “Poor Father,” some parishioners may say, “how he suffers.” It is difficult for a diocese, a religious order, a school, or indeed members of any institution to resist the powerful pull of the grandiose narcissist. Indeed, people often seem unaware that they are being deluded into an overblown sympathy for the wrong “victim.”

Poor Joe Paterno.

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The Basic Questions

in clergy sex abuse scandal, clericalism, Narcissism, psychopathy 14 Comments Tags: , ,

Rick asks the fundamental questions.

What intrinsic deterrents did the abusers overcome to begin their sordid behaviors? What spiritual blindness did the bishop have to see this a clinical problem? These are the core questions. They are both spiritual. Enforcement both internal and external to the Church are certainly factors, but essentially they are not intrinsic. What happens to a man spiritually that would incline him to take advantage of minors to satisfy his own lusts? If we can answer this we have the most important (but not the only) solution to the problem of clerical sex abuse.

The abusers, as far as I can tell from the documents, range from narcissists to psychopaths. They have no feeling for the pain, sometimes literal, physical pain, they are inflicting on the victims.  I don’t think that some of the abuser were even believers; they were atheists, who saw the priesthood as an easy life that gave them access to victims and which protected them from prosecution. Those who were not atheists often pickled their brains in alcohol (and more recently, drugs); alcohol does bad things to the judgment center of the brain.

 

How did these extreme narcissists and psychopaths and atheists get themselves ordained? There was a gross failure of discernment in the seminary, even when the bishops and seminary officials had plenty of warning signs (read the murder-suicide case of Ryan Erickson).

 

The bishops and the officials in the Vatican also suffered from narcissism and a lack of empathy. In any hierarchy, business or ecclesiastical, those people who are cold-hearted and are willing to step on other people on their way to the top rise to positions of authority. The narcissism becomes a culture, clericalism.

The phenomena are both spiritual and psychological. How to keep narcissists out of positions of authority? I wish there were an easy answer; but conditions in the church, chiefly clericalism, both attracted and enabled narcissists and psychopaths. The case of Maciel is probably one of the most disturbing in the history of the Church. Benedict rightly called  the psychopathic Maciel  “a false prophet” – but John Paul praised and enabled him.

 

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Cultivating Narcissism

in clergy sex abuse scandal, clericalism, Narcissism 3 Comments Tags: ,

While I suspect that many priest sexual abusers and even some bishops may be true, congenital psychopaths with a different brain structure than the average person, most of their failure to feel the pain and damage that abuse was causing victims was brought about by the culture of clerical narcissism, Priests considered themselves other Christs, not just in the sense of ordained ministers of the word and sacraments, but in the sense that priests were the only really important people in the Church.

 

Narcissism which shades into psychopathy, can be learned, and, I hope, unlearned. Science Daily reports: 

The study, presented in Boston at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, analyzes data on empathy among almost 14,000 college students over the last 30 years.

“We found the biggest drop in empathy after the year 2000,” said Sara Konrath, a researcher at the U-M Institute for Social Research. “College kids today are about 40 percent lower in empathy than their counterparts of 20 or 30 years ago, as measured by standard tests of this personality trait.” 

Nor is it just college students:

In a related but separate analysis, Konrath found that nationally representative samples of Americans see changes in other people’s kindness and helpfulness over a similar time period.

“Many people see the current group of college students — sometimes called ‘Generation Me’ — as one of the most self-centered, narcissistic, competitive, confident and individualistic in recent history,” said Konrath, who is also affiliated with the University of Rochester Department of Psychiatry.

“It’s not surprising that this growing emphasis on the self is accompanied by a corresponding devaluation of others,” O’Brien said. 

For centuries, in part in response to Protestantism, the Catholic Church developed a mystique of the priesthood that exalted priests above ordinary mortals. The sense of entitlement and self-importance that some priests developed tended to reduce the empathy they had for the sufferings of the mere laity

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Shoot Foot, Insert Firmly in Mouth

in Anti-Semitism, clergy sex abuse scandal, clericalism, Narcissism 7 Comments Tags: , , ,

Is there a school at the Vatican where priests and bishops are taught how to offend everyone? 

The NYT reports that the papal preacher, the Franciscan Cantalamessa, compared criticism of the hierarchy to anti-Semitic persecution: 

A senior Vatican priest speaking at a Good Friday service compared the uproar over sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church — which have included reports about Pope Benedict XVI’s oversight role in two cases — to the persecution of the Jews, sharply raising the volume in the Vatican’s counterattack.

The remarks, on the day Christians mark the crucifixion, underscored how much the Catholic Church has felt under attack from recent news reports and criticism over how it has handled charges of child molestation against priests in the past, and sought to focus attention on the church as the central victim.

In recent weeks, Vatican officials and many bishops have angrily denounced news reports that Benedict failed to act strongly enough against pedophile priests, once as archbishop of Munich and Freising in 1980 and once as a leader of a powerful Vatican congregation in the 1990s.

Benedict sat looking downward when the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, who holds the office of preacher of the papal household, delivered his remarks in the traditional prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica. Wearing the brown cassock of a Franciscan, Father Cantalamessa took note that Easter and Passover were falling during the same week this year, saying he was led to think of the Jews. “They know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence and also because of this they are quick to recognize the recurring symptoms,” he said.

Father Cantalamessa quoted from what he said was a letter from an unnamed Jewish friend. “I am following the violent and concentric attacks against the church, the pope and all the faithful by the whole word,” he said the friend wrote. “The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt, remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism.” 

Father Lombardi, the spokesman for the pope, is running for cover:

Father Lombardi said that he personally did not think that criticism of the church could be compared to anti-Semitism.

“I don’t think it’s an appropriate comparison,” he said. “That’s why the letter should be read as a letter of solidarity by a Jew.”

The chief Rabbi of Rome was astonished:

Rabbi Riccardo di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome, who hosted Benedict at the Rome synagogue in January on a visit that helped calm waters after a year of tensions, laughed in seeming disbelief when asked about Father Cantalamessa’s remarks.

“With a minimum of irony, I will say that today is Good Friday, when they pray that the Lord illuminate our hearts so we recognize Jesus,” Rabbi Di Segni said, referring to a prayer in a traditional Catholic liturgy calling for the conversion of the Jews. “We also pray that the Lord illuminate theirs.”

At the Holy Thursday liturgy in Baltimore, Archbishop Edwin O’Brien began well when he talked about how scoundrels had disgraced the priesthood, but warmed to his topic when he lambasted newspapers for criticizing bishops and the pope.

I see, abuse of children that wrecked their lives and drive some to suicide is parallel to criticism in the press that upsets a cleric.

As O’Brien spoke, I thought of the plagues: “and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart” – and the archbishop’s. O’Brien’s and Cantalamessa’s remarks are stunning demonstration of clerical narcissism.

Jewish leaders and sexual abuse victims are – I can’t imagine why –  taking offense:

Stephan Kramer, general-secretary of Germany’s Central Council of Jews, described the remarks as offensive and repulsive.

“So far I haven’t seen St Peter’s burning, nor were there outbursts of violence against Catholic priests,” he said.

“I’m without words. The Vatican is now trying to turn the perpetrators into victims.”

Peter Isely, spokesman for the US victim support group Snap, said the sermon had been “reckless and irresponsible”.

He said: “They’re sitting in the papal palace, they’re experiencing a little discomfort, and they’re going to compare themselves to being rounded up or lined up and sent in cattle cars to Auschwitz?

“You cannot be serious.”

Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, of the American Jewish Committee, called Father Cantalamessa’s comments “an unfortunate use of language”.

“The collective violence against the Jews resulted in the death of six million, while the collective violence spoken of here has not led to murder and destruction, but perhaps character assault,” he said.

There is no suffering like unto a cleric’s suffering who has been upset by “unfair” criticism –  it is as bad as being herded into a gas chamber.

 

 

 

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Ad Orientem

in Liturgy, Narcissism 5 Comments Tags: ,

As someone suggested in the comments, it might be better from a moral point of view to have the priest and the people facing the same way. 

I think that main problem with having the priest face the people is that it feeds narcissism to be aware that all eyes are on you, and too many priests (and other clergy) are narcissists. 

When the pope suggested that it might be a good idea to have the priest and people face the same way, the screams in America could be heard all the way to Rome. This indicated to me that it was not a disagreement about what might be pastorally better, but a question of denying priest the pleasure of being aware he was the cynosure everyone’s eyes.

————

In response to the query for a reference for Benedict’s comments, see http://www.adoremus.org/0500-Ratzinger.html or just google Ratzinger and Ad Orientem

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Narcissist Bishops: Homo- and Hetero-

in clergy sex abuse scandal, Narcissism, Uncategorized 8 Comments Tags: , , ,

Archbishop Rembert Weakland was one of the more loathsome bishops who shuffled abusive priests from one parish to another without warning anyone. The history and details are at BishopAccountability and videos of his depositions can be seen here, here, here, and here.

In his 1994 interview with the Milwaukee Journal, the archbishop was more effusive and less restrained in his speculations.

An ephebophile’s sexual interest in an individual, explained the archbishop, “usually begins at puberty—say 12 or 13…What happens so often in those cases is that they go on for a few years and then the boy gets a little older and the perpetrator loses interest.  Then is when the squealing starts and you have to deal it.”

“Squealing” – that’s how Weakland regarded the accusations of victims of sexual abuse.

Charles Sykes describes how Weakland handled the case of one victim:

He was lying in bed, the bed of a Catholic priest. The priest, Father Dennis Pecore, had gotten up and answered the knock at his door. He stood in the doorway in his bathrobe, talking with another priest, who had come to his room. The visitor could see the boy lying in the bed. “Hi, Greg,” he said to the boy.

“Nothing else was said or asked of me,” recalls Greg. He was 14 years old.

Greg is just one of hundreds of young men who were sexually abused by priests they trusted. But his case casts a shadow over the Milwaukee archdiocese and the legacy of Archbishop Rembert Weakland.

It should. Because Weakland’s handling of this case stands as his most shameful moment.

By the mid-1980s, it was an open secret that Pecore was using Greg, a student at the Mother of Good Counsel School, as a sex toy. Greg says that other priests knew, as well as teachers and school officials. “My mother used to call up at the rectory and they would say that I was not there, and she would ride by and see my bike out front and know I was at the rectory.”

In July 1984, one of the school’s teachers had become so alarmed that he wrote a letter informing Archbishop Weakland that a priest at the school was taking young boys to his private bedroom, one at a time, suggesting that he was abusing the youngsters. He urged Weakland to do something “before it goes public.”

Weakland’s response: a threat. He wrote that “any libelous material found in your letter will be scrutinized carefully by our lawyers.”

Frustrated, the teacher and two others continued to warn about Pecore’s behavior. All three teachers were fired. In a lawsuit filed several years later, the three teachers say they were fired because they had tried to warn Weakland about what was happening at their school.

Weakland didn’t like people trying to protect boys who might squeal.

Weakland, it turned out, had a homosexual affair with a 31-year-old man, who blackmailed him. Weakland used a half-million of the archdiocese’s money to keep his lover silent.

And now Weakland has written a book about his homosexuality and his handling of sexual abuse in his archdiocese – we shall see whom he regards as the real victim – himself or the abused children. I can make a fair guess.

Freud thought that narcissism was the source of homosexuality. Whether this is universally true I do not know, but in the case of clerical homosexuals the two go together very, very often.

Americans have short memories, and no has brought up the memory of Robert Sanchez, the former archbishop of Santa Fe, who presided over an endless orgy of abuse fueled by the pedophiles at the Paraclete center at Jemez Springs.

Sachez was heterosexual. In his deposition he talked about his girlfriends A, B, C, D, E etc. He had to resign when the girlfriends started squealing.

He was equally hard-hearted about the suffering of children. At one Catholic institution, La Hacienda de los Muchachos, a boy ran away in mid-winter to escape abuse by the Rev. Ed Donelan, and froze to death in the mountains.

In case after case, people pled with him to end the abuse, and he did not act. He was much too busy enjoying his girlfriends, sometimes in his private chapel.

At his deposition, Sanchez was asked if had tried to fond out what the effect of abuse was on children.

  1. When allegations of child molestation by priests
    9 first started coming in to you —
    10 A. Yes, sir.
    11 Q. — did you make any effort to learn about it?
    12 I’ve asked if you asked any psychologists or
    13 psychiatrists. But did you go to a library, call up a
    14 cardinal, call up the Vatican, get a book, read a
    15 magazine, do anything to develop an understanding
    from
    16 what literature or information there was about the
    17 consequences of childhood sexual abuse?
    18 A. No, sir, I did not make that effort.

Narcissists come in both homo- and heterosexual versions. They are attracted to the clergy, because they can be the center of attention and manipulate other people. Within the clergy, they tend to rise to the top, because they want more attention and more opportunity to manipulate people.

And so the People of God get archbishops like Weakland and Sanchez. And children are abused and die.

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Benedict and Joseph

in clericalism, Narcissism, Vatican 1 Comment Tags: , ,

Benedict, when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, eyed the cult of personality in the Catholic Church (including the cult surrounding John Paul II) with a hairy eyeball. He did not want a cult of personality when he became Pope, and his sometimes unconsidered remarks and actions have guaranteed that there is no cult of personality for Papa Benedetto.

In Africa, Benedict, according to CNA, gave an address to priests and made two important points:

He continued speaking to the priests saying they “cannot occupy center stage; [they are] a servant, a humble instrument pointing to Christ, who offers himself in sacrifice for the salvation of the world.” This, Benedict taught, is how Origen understood Joseph and Jesus’ relationship to be, “Joseph understood that Jesus was superior to him even as he submitted to him, and, knowing the superiority of his charge, he commanded him with respect and moderation.”

That is, the priest (and the bishops and the pope) are not supposed to attract attention to themselves, but be mere pointers to the true Savior, Jesus Christ. Would that pompous ritualists and would-be Las Vegas comedians who use the Mass as their stage would follow his advice! They won’t.

Priests should realize they are often in the position of Joseph who had fatherly authority over Jesus. In the flock committed to them there are often people far, far superior to the priest in holiness of life and growth in spirituality. The priest (and bishop and the pope), because of his office, has an essential role in governing the Church, but he is almost always governing people often far better than he is. This humbling thought should cause church authorities to exercise their office with care and discretion, in a spirit of service. One can always hope.

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The Catholic Art Scene in Florida

in Florida, Narcissism 1 Comment Tags: ,

My daughter, a painter who has fled Florida for a northern art school, is visiting us in Naples and noticed the progress of the arts in the town of Ave Maria, Florida. The Naples Daily News reports:

The Ave Maria Gallery and History Exhibit has opened in La Piazza, the town center of Ave Maria, a community and university at Oil Well and Camp Keais roads in eastern Collier County.

“We believe visitors to our town will very much enjoy this gallery,” said Project Manager Blake Gable. “It provides interesting perspective on Ave Maria’s history.”

The gallery displays a variety of archival items that relate to Ave Maria University and its founder, Tom Monaghan, who also was the founder of Domino’s Pizza and owner of the Detroit Tigers.

Included are:

– The founding of a university: Photographs spanning the building of the university from the tomato fields that preceded it to today, as well as the construction of the Oratory, from its first sketches to its completion.

– Fine Art Gallery with artwork for viewing and sale.

– A tribute to the late Pope John Paul II: A bust of Pope John Paul II, a chair that was custom built for his historic 1987 visit to Detroit, plus photographs of the Mass at the Pontiac Silver Dome in Detroit and more.

– Detroit Tiger baseball archives: The 1984 World Series trophy, one of Al Kaline’s Gold Glove Awards, a Joe DiMaggio designed baseball glove chair and assorted signed memorabilia.

– A brief history of Domino’s Pizza: The sign from the first store, plus archival photos and historical information.

– Model of Frank Lloyd Wright House: An architect’s rendition of the Robie House in Chicago.

The exhibit, which will continue to grow and evolve, is at 5072 Annunciation Circle, No. 103 next to Tropical Smoothie.

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Maciel – Four Possibilities

in clergy sex abuse scandal, Maciel, Narcissism, sexual abuse, Vatican 12 Comments Tags: ,

The Vatican and the Legion of Christ have decided to maintain a discrete silence about Maciel. Perhaps a further statement will be forthcoming, as promised, or perhaps the Vatican and the Legion count on the short attention span of the public.

The Legion has admitted that Maciel fathered a child in his old age and was leading a double life. Maciel went to his grave without admitting any guilt. He let the Legion portray him as a wrongly-persecuted saint.

When the Vatican told Maciel to retire to a life of prayer and penance, it showed it believed at least some of the allegations that he had molested seminarians.

There are further allegations and rumors, which I list in roughly descending order of probability:

– That Maciel absolved his sexual partners during confession

– That Maciel misused Legion money

– That Maciel led a luxurious life

– That Maciel used narcotics

– That Maciel became the lover of several rich women to extract money from them

– That Maciel was involved in narcotraffic

– That the mother of the daughter was only 15 when Maciel impregnated her.

The admitted double life and the certain molestations of seminarians are bad enough; the others simply compound the crimes.

From the admissions and allegations about Maciel I have come up with four possibilities, in descending order of seriousness:

1. He was a false prophet who was sent to deceive if possible even the elect. Germain Grisez leans in this direction.

2. He was a charismatic psychopath, totally lacking in empathy for the pain he was causing, and he constructed the Legion to indulge his vices.

3. He was a pathological narcissist, not completely lacking in empathy, but determined to keep everyone centered upon his personality and thereby control everyone. His altruism was in the service of his narcissism: he did good things so that he would be the center of attention.

4. He was himself seriously damaged by abuse and compartmentalized his personality, as men all too easily do. All his good work was in one part of his life; then there was another, sealed-off compartment that contained his sexuality.

I don’t know, and perhaps no human being alive knows, which of these possibilities is closest to the truth. Maciel did a lot of harm, whatever the cause, but clearly one’s attitude to him would change if he himself had somehow been a victim.

There were enough clues over the years to alert authorities in the Vatican that something was wrong, there was at the very minimum too much of a cult of personality and too rigid a control of members. But no one acted until Benedict became pope; he knew something was seriously wrong, and at least took some action. Was it enough? Those who said that Maciel abused them are still being called liars by some members of the Legion.

Members of the Legion want to think that Maciel was simply a sinner, that his one fling showed he had human weaknesses. But clearly Maciel’s personality was severely damaged and distorted to the point that the Legion, which was set up to reflect his personality, itself must suffer from serious distortions.

Can a religious congregation be founded by an unrepentant sinner? Who would want to join a congregation founded by a child molester? But what is the Church to do with the Legion? I would suggest a spiritual Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The assets of the Legion, its members, properties, and endowments, should be distributed to other congregations in the Church.

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A Tale of Two Chapels

in Church Architecture, Narcissism 5 Comments Tags: , , , ,

On the West Coast a new college chapel:

Chapel of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, Thomas Aquinas College, Ojai, California. Architect: Professor Duncan Stroik, School of Architecture, University of Notre Dame. Cost $22 million.

On the East Coast, a new university oratory

Oratory, Ave Maria College, Ave Maria, Collier County, Florida. Architect: Thomas Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza. Cost $24 million.

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Maciel: Altruism in the Service of Narcissism

in clergy sex abuse scandal, Maciel, Narcissism 6 Comments Tags: , , ,

Like many abusers, Maciel was very charismatic and had many achievements.

Maciel targeted the wealthy, but he also used their money to also help the poor. One report about Maciel’s home town:

The Legion, according to religious observers, was founded with practically nothing in 1941, but flourished as Maciel courted the wealthy — a group that was largely not being ministered to by existing orders.

The Legion founded elite and expensive private schools — the Instituto Cumbres and Universidad Anahuac, to name two — and expanded abroad.

It supported charity projects such as the Mano Amiga schools for children in poor barrios, but was still primarily associated with wealth, status and exclusivity.

The poor appreciated the help he gave them, because no one else seemed interested in them:

In recent years, a Legion foundation worked with the Michoacan governor to build a museum, cultural center and a health clinic that offers doctors’ appointments for just 10 pesos. A private university that charges low tuition fees was also built with Legion money.

These projects haven’t been forgotten. “He did a lot for this place,” said campesino Juan Espinosa, who was selling green beans in the town plaza when interviewed. “There have been so many works.”

Therefore even those who have heard and believed at  least some of the allegations still like Maciel:

“It really doesn’t matter to me,” said local historian Elena Silva Trejo, whose father used to make Maciel’s suits. “There are two sides to every coin. You have to look at them both.”

Maciel used his good works to make people admire him, but they were really good works. Maciel made the Legionaries take a vow never to criticize him. He is a classic example of a phenomenon that Richard Sipe described:

They tend to be critical and demanding of others, yet are sensitive themselves to any slight, criticism, or correction from someone else. As priests they can do adequate work for the Church. In instances where they closely identify with their projects, they can accomplish remarkable things. Dr. Richard Gilmartin, a psychiatrist who has treated many priests, refers to this phenomenon as “altruism in the service of narcissism.”

“Altruism in the service of narcissism” – that is why abusers are so successful, and why they have so many defenders when they are finally exposed.

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Maciel: Discipline vs. Control

in clergy sex abuse scandal, Maciel, Narcissism, Uncategorized 8 Comments Tags: , , , ,

There is, entirely understandably, a lot of bitterness about Maciel.

The problem is not in understanding a scoundrel (history is full of them) but in understanding his enablers.

The Vatican and John Paul II are among the most culpable, in approving constitutions that focus far too much on the personality of the founder, and then in refusing to investigate the serious complaints about Maciel.

Pius XII had removed Maciel from his order, investigated, and was apparently going to permanently remove Maciel when Pius died. The vicar of Rome covered up for Maciel, who then was in good graces when John XXIII appeared on the scene. The allegations about Maciel surfaced again under John Paul II, but no one took them seriously.

One issue is the difference between control and discipline. These are often confused both in theory and in practice, but the purpose and results are different.

Anyone who has been responsible for discipline in a family, a scout troop, or a middle school class, knows how difficult and thankless and necessary a task it is. Any organization needs discipline to achieve its purpose, and often to protect the weak. Discipline should also help those being disciplined to be disciples, to learn, to mature, to internalize rules, and eventually to be independent of outward disciple: the Law is a tutor.

But control, although it can look like discipline, is the tool of the narcissist or psychopath who wants to be the puppetmaster in his little (or big) universe. He wants to control even the minutest actions of those around him, and he keeps those around him infantilized and dependent.

In any organization, including the Church, narcissists tend to climb to the top, because they enjoy attention and controlling other people. I suspect that the Vatican has its share of narcissists, who saw nothing wrong with Maciel.

And Pope John Paul… No one knows why he failed. He was not authoritarian, despite that accusation against him. I suspect he was guilty of wishful thinking: The Legion looked so good, the accusations against Maciel couldn’t be true. A common human failing, but it can be disastrous when the self-deluder is in authority and is responsible for the discipline that protects the vulnerable.

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