Talking About Sex in Church
Feb. 22 -- For all the counsel and solace millions of Americans seek in their religious institutions, most churches aren't exactly known for offering a frank, healthy forum for talk about sexuality.
Recent highly publicized cases of child sexual abuse at the hands of clergy, though, are getting people talking about religion and sex — although the discussion focuses on a specific pathology, pedophilia.
Former Roman Catholic priest John Geoghan was sentenced Thursday to up to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy in 1991. More than 130 people have claimed Geoghan fondled or raped them while he served in Boston-area parishes.
On Wednesday, the cantor at New York City's largest Reform synagogue was arrested on charges that he sexually abused his own nephew. Howard Nevison, 61, the longtime cantor of Congregation Emanu-El, has denied the charges.
In an ABCNEWS poll, an overwhelming majority says the Catholic Church should be more open about sexual abuse. Nearly nine in 10 people said parishioners should be told of such allegations.
While such high-profile cases may serve to get people talking about pedophilia, some religion and sexuality experts say they hope such publicity also will help launch broader, more open talk about sexuality. Perhaps more frank discussion, some experts say, would in turn help prevent some abuse cases and help victims tell their stories.
Churches aren't doing enough to help families grapple with the sensitive topic of human sexuality, some experts argue.
"For the most part, churches refrain from dealing with this key dimension of life that we are sexual beings from the moment of birth to our death," said Larry Greenfield, a Baptist minister and former president of Colgate Rochester Divinity School. "We are sexual throughout our lives but we need the churches, temples, synagogues and religious organizations all to think about what it means to give good counsel [on sexuality] as a regular part of what we do."
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