It was an eventful start to the year for the Catholic Church and all those who are still following it. The experts who investigated sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising have examined, say: A paradigm shift in the Archdiocese in the direction of the injured person’s perspective “did not take place”. There was neither an active approach to those affected nor an opening of spaces for dealing with what had happened.
The situation is bad for those who care about the power of the institution. Of course, the report in Munich hurts, if you only consider that the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising was able to call its own assets of 5.96 billion euros in 2017 and that there may now be a loss of tax revenue. Annoying all that with sexuality.
It is as bitter as ever for the victims; interspersed with glimmers of hope, because expert opinions on the behavior of other dioceses will follow, which underpin the clergy’s excessive demands. The synodal path has been running since the end of 2019 until September of this year, which was carried out by the Bishops’ Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics in response to the publication of the study “Sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests, deacons and male members of religious orders in the area of the German Bishops’ Conference”. .
#OutInChurch
Members of the German Bishops’ Conference, elected members of the Central Committee and representatives of other church personal and professional groups take part in the synodal assemblies. For example Mara Klein for the group of under 30 year olds. Klein is non-binary and queer—and to be admired because she* repeatedly exposes herself to this stressful environment, in which the basic rights that queer people have are barely up for negotiation as an innovation. And it is unclear whether their decision will not fail because of the universal church and the approval of the Pope.
At the same time, the #outinchurch initiative demands that queer church employees can “come out” without having to fear consequences for their job. They also want homosexuals to be blessed. Her idea of a “Church Without Fear” is supported by 110,000 people online – and the number is rising.
Cardinal Marx just said that sexuality never passes. No, really, you can’t shake off this sexuality. These bodies, they desire so much. But I’m not making a blanket statement here, because there are asexual and greysexual people who have little or no sexual desire. Yes, sexualities are a complicated and often fluid spectrum – a lot of truth can still be found, even scientifically.
They then become scary and problematic if left unmanaged. Sexually disoriented, lonely individuals also become violent in other ways, as illustrated by the incel phenomenon. Suppressing sexualities and instrumentalizing them in celibacy or chaste heterosexual marriage norms is a dangerous idea. The point should have arrived.
Celibacy is a misunderstanding
Celibacy is a misunderstanding and as old as the (economic institution) church itself: priests are not allowed to marry so that they have no claim to the values of the church in succession and this does not mean charity, but real estate in the best locations and shares in one of the largest commercial companies in Germany.
The Catholic Church has tried unsuccessfully to negate and sanction the sexualities of its clergy – to the incomprehensible and unheard-of suffering of the children and adults affected by abuse, who are not alone. The sexually illiterate society also doesn’t like to see those they pay for or exploit as their body therapists: voluntary sex workers and involuntary prostitutes. The chairs of sexology are too few and are being fought from the right. It doesn’t make anything better, but: it’s not just the church that has a huge gap in knowledge and shame.
Ignorance mixed with hubris is bad in itself. But when Catholics talk about sexualities in an undifferentiated way, it is the seventh circle of hell: there you will find blatant ignorance about transidentity and non-binaryity as well as equating pedosexuality and homosexuality.
Better late than never
She should be as grateful that queer people still want to say something about this institution, as she is for the incredible work that those affected by abuse have to do in order for something to happen. It would be more than appropriate if a few beautiful monasteries set in picturesque landscapes became places of recuperation for those affected, with appropriate therapeutic support and education on what structures lead to what was done to them. The key word would be “transformative justice.” The church has enough money and space for this.
The non-paedosexual and non-abusive, the consensual and communicative sexualities are not to be wished away, but should be recognized and encouraged, in the great worldliness and diversity in which they are there if they are not suppressed. Then ultimately the church also approached the spiritual experience of love, which religions are supposedly about, then it would finally be about loving and successful relationships there too – better late than never.
And, now I’m leaning out the window: if the church manages to change itself as radically as its failure makes it inevitable, couldn’t other male-dominated institutions do the same?