I disagree with the idea that sexuality can be or should be mastered or placed behind other areas of our lives. I teach high school and with the freshmen class I teach a unit on sexuality. The definition I give my students is that “sexuality is the energy that allows us to be in relationship with each other.” I don’t just mean romantic relationships either. This energy within all of us allows us to form relationships with our parents, teachers, friends, neighbors, and romantic interests. The word “mastered” sounds so oppressive as to be harmful to the integrity of an individual. We need to learn to integrate our sexuality with all aspects of our selves to be healthy. Yes, there is a problem with anyone, be they heterosexual or homosexual, who make the defining stance of their lives their sexuality. Men who are not able to integrate their sexuality will not make healthy celibates.
I believe that what we need more than a witch hunt or a scapegoat for the Church’s shame is a better understanding of our sexuality. As a culture we Americans are both prudish and blatantly sexualized. We need to find a healthy balance in order to live fully as we are called to live. One of the articles I read about this issue said that homosexuals couldn’t live in the male world of the seminary without the temptations being too much for them. That statement is an insult to those who live a healthy celibacy and an insult to the women who fill the pews of the Church. As a theology student I had a few seminarians that struggled with crushes they had on me. It was sweet and flattering. We both learned a lot from the experience while the men learned more about themselves and the struggle to live celibately. Priests are not going to stay in the rarified male world of the seminary. Heterosexual priests will have to learn how to manage their attractions of the women they minister to, as homosexual priests have to learn to manage their own attractions.
As an aside how can Jeff’s statement “we do almost everything better than everybody else” contribute to the humility he calls us to?