ABSTRACT
A small number of putatively celibate Roman Catholic priests and religious brothers have scandalously been engaging in immoral and illegal sexual acts with young boys. Many people believe that this is simply a homosexual problem. As a remedy, men who are known to have deep-seated homosexual tendencies are no longer welcome in seminaries or men’s religious orders. Yet, homosexual men who are sexually attracted to other adult men are not the culprits. To understand who the high-risk men are, the concepts of sex and gender are untangled. An understanding of how the brain is organized in utero and then activated at puberty is explained as a way to understand how a minority of adult men develop a sexual preference for young boys. Several different data sets are reviewed on the prevalence of priests and religious brothers being sexually involved with young boys. The author’s own data that physiologically measured the age and gender attractions of hundreds of priests and brothers are presented. The priests and religious brothers who get sexually involved with young boys are homosexual based only on the shape of the young boys’ genitals. Otherwise, like heterosexual men, they are attracted to feminine features. Celibacy (one cannot marry a woman) attracts all kinds of homosexuals to priesthood and religious life out of proportion to their prevalence in the general population. The homosexuals attracted to peri-pubescent boys are very masculine in demeanor, voice, mannerisms, etc. They cannot be detected by psychological interviews or psychological testing. They almost all say they are heterosexual. The Church has initiated some recent policies to remedy the problem that appear to be working in the short term. The author makes three recommendations to reduce the long-term risks and justifies the bases for these recommendations in the chapter: (1) allow diocesan priests to marry, (2) allow married persons to become priests, and (3) allow married persons and women into the Church hierarchy where policies are made.
