Clericalism is the tendency to allow an inner group of specially selected leaders to make decisions, typically without input from others, on matters pertaining to the institution. Within the Roman Catholic religious tradition, clericalism involves the practice that ordained clergy (i.e., priests, bishops, cardinals, and the Pope) decide about Church matters among other issues that impact the faithful in many aspects of their lives, including sexual expression. It suggests that clerics are special and superior to laypersons and that their authority should be accepted without question.
It is important to mention that clericalism can also be applied to clerics from other religious traditions where power is concentrated among the ordained or religious leadership. Additionally, the dynamics of clericalism can be found in professions other than religious communities including medicine, law, the military, government, and educational institutions, too. Whenever you have elevated leaders of high regard who are put on a pedestal and are considered special making most of the important decisions for others, clericalism can pervade any hierarchical organization.
Clericalism Is a Problem for the Church
From a psychological and behavioral viewpoint, clericalism is dangerous for both clerics and laypersons. It prevents the type of healthy checks and balances and corrective feedback that is needed to maintain thoughtful and productive decision making. Clericalism encourages narcissism and authoritarianism among clerics.
When clerics struggle with common human problems such as loneliness, addictions, mood or behavioral disturbances, they may feel confused and unable to reach out to others for help and support, given their expectation for perfection. In addition, when it comes to sexuality, where the Church has a very high set of expectations for sexual ethics and behavior, clerics may be especially vulnerable when they don't maintain their celibacy ideals as expected by the Church.
Typical Problems Associated with Clericalism and Sexuality
Typical problems that clerics encounter associated with clericalism and sexuality include unchecked challenges with pornography use, compulsive masturbation, and sexual acting out, most typically with either consenting adults or sex workers. Often, their forbidden need for sexual release and expression, their desires for intimacy and connection, and their feelings of loneliness emerge and interconnect in such a way that they choose more destructive coping strategies. Clericalism often results in an unwillingness to seek professional help as well as an increased chance of using denial and repressive defenses in an attempt to try to maintain a perfect and idealized clerical persona.
Psychological consultation can assist with conducting a root cause analysis of their behavior problems, examine co-morbid psychiatric troubles such as alcohol and substance abuse, chronic depression, anxiety, or personality dysfunction, and assist in developing a treatment, wellness, and safety plan for the future. Additionally, psychological consultation can assist a religious superior, such as a bishop, in supports that can be offered for the cleric as well as how to manage their risks for future problems.
Conclusion
Clerics are people, too. This might seem obvious but clericalism tempts us to think otherwise. Clericalism suggests that ordained clerics in the Catholic Church are unique, special, and closer to God. They vow not to marry or have sexual relations with others. They often maintain a self-image that they are always in a holy and spiritual place and don’t suffer from the human stressors and strains as well as the common human impulses of sexual desire and expression. Their special status, attire, and role in the Church encourage and reinforce clericalism while the faithful often passively go along and support this notion of specialness among the ordained. Most laypersons are taught to treat clerics with a great deal of respect, deference, and even awe. Clericalism and a general sense of specialness and elitism only becomes more intense and concentrated when a priest becomes a monsignor, then a bishop, and even more so when a bishop becomes a cardinal or most especially the Pope.
While it may be flattering, reinforcing, and even fun to have people treat you with deference and reverence it is actually dangerous to allow it to happen unchecked. It encourages narcissism and authoritarianism. Priests who struggle with typical and expected human challenges may feel too embarrassed or even paralyzed to reach out for personal or professional help. Their sexuality and sexual impulses, for example, may then form and develop in unhealthy and unproductive directions that include the use of pornography, engaging sex workers, and seeking illicit sexual encounters with fellow adults. These destructive behaviors are often a sign of problematic and unhealthy approaches to dealing with loneliness and a need for intimacy, distraction, validation, connection, and stress management. Being mindful of these very human challenges and nurturing a more seamless and trusting collegial relationship with experts, such as psychologists, could go a long way towards helping seminarians and clerics manage the challenges of being fully human. Clericalism gets in the way of fully supporting our clerics to live whole, complete, and healthy lives. The Church, clerics, and the laity all can do their part to push back and find strategies to combat clericalism for the good of the Church, the clerics, and for everyone.
Finally, it should be mentioned that many people, clerics or not, struggle with sexual impulses, desires, and behaviors. Catholic clerics or clerics, in general, are not unique on this front. Laypersons including those who are married and partnered struggle too. Perhaps everyone could benefit from the resources and support that is available to manage their sexual desires in a healthy and productive manner.
Copyright 2019, Thomas G. Plante, PhD, ABPP
References
Manuel, G. S. (2012). Living celibacy: Healthy pathways for priests. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.
Plante, T. G. (2015). Six principles to consider when working with Roman Catholic clients. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 2 (3), 233-237.
Plante, T. G. (2019). Consultation with religious professionals and institutions. In C. A. Falender & E. P. Shafranske (Eds.). Consultation in Health Service Psychology: Advancing Professional Practice – A Competency-based Approach. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Plante, T. G., & McChesney, K. (Eds.). (2011). Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: A Decade of Crisis, 2002-2012. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger/ABC-CLIO.
McGlone, G. J., & Sperry, L. (2012). The inner life of priests. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
