Assessing Catholic sexuality
Author contrasts church teaching with the experience of the faithful

Reviewed by JAMES L. EMPEREUR

For the person, Roman Catholic or not, who is curious to know why the Vatican’s position on many issues of sexual morality has had and is having such a mixed reception by the Catholic faithful, John Perito’s book is the one to read. Perito does not approach the topics of contemporary Catholic sexuality specifically as a moral theologian or ethicist but as a certified psychiatrist and psychotherapist who brings to his writing the experience of a career-long interest in the area of sexuality.

I would consider his approach to sexuality to be a psycho-spiritual one. When he respectfully diverges from the Vatican’s position, he is simply following his methodological starting point.

A change has taken place in theological thinking from physicalism to personalism, from an action-centered to a person-centered approach. Perito embraces the person-centered approach while the Vatican still holds on to the more traditional action-centered approach. In the matter of determining what is right or wrong, it is easy to see how Perito and the Vatican and those who embrace the Vatican’s approach would clash. The Vatican asks physical questions that require physical answers, for example, sexual actions between a couple (husband and wife) are moral as long as the male semen is deposited in the vagina through sexual intercourse.

Perito is asking human questions that demand human answers. “Lovemaking should be free and mutual. … What is critical is a sense of lovemaking in which the interpersonal issues are attended to.” This person-centered approach as applied to marriage and contraception guides the other moral issues of the book such as masturbation and homosexuality. One can make the case that the majority of Catholics are more person-centered than action-centered in the various areas of their lives, for example, decisions about where to send their children to school, how to deal with aging parents and how to choose a health care professional. Being person-centered in large areas of their lives, it is natural they would be person-centered in the area of sexuality, perhaps especially so. This has affected the reception, or lack of it, of the Vatican’s positions on sexual morality.

Perito writes that the most important chapter in his book is the one on sexuality and spirituality. It is through the lens of spirituality tinted with a psychological perspective that Perito takes up the issues of sexual fantasy, celibacy, marriage and the Roman Catholic priesthood, aging and pedophilia. Like many authors today, Perito defines spirituality in broad terms, so spirituality ranges from the casual contemplation of a sunrise to a full-blown tradition of ritual behavior, spatial practices, silence, meditation and contemplation. Specialists in spirituality are less willing to name experiences of the Grand Canyon as constituting spirituality. Such experiences may be spiritual, but spirituality names a way of life with its practices and procedures. To be faithful to Perito, when he discusses the spiritual dimension of topics such as aging or celibacy, it is his Christian spirituality that shines through. His real concern here is to unite the sexual and spiritual dimensions of the human person. “We need a spirituality that fits our sexuality and a sexuality that fits our spirituality.” (Partial Reprint, See Below For Link to Full Article.)

 

This review appeared in the April 9, 2004 issue of National Catholic Reporter and is available on the NCR Web site: http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2004b/040904/040904o.htm

Catholic Sexuality: Teaching and Practice
Reviewed by Anne Crawford Storz
The American Catholic - April 2004

By John E. Perito
The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2003. 190 pp.

In the face of the collective shame and anger we Catholics feel as official reports of clerical abuse of children are published and widely discussed, this slim paperback offers us hope. Not that it makes excuses for the sinful scandalous behavior; quite the opposite (and of course we know there are no excuses); and not that the priestly scandals are even the major focus here (they are discussed in only two chapters). But, the fact that this book has been published at all - a book that describes, confronts and rebuts with both intelligence and respect the many Church "shall nots" on sexual matters - and by a major publisher of Catholic books, is hopeful in itself.

What is especially remarkable is that "Contemporary Catholic Sexuality: What is Taught and What is Practiced" by John E. Perito is neither wimpy nor inflammatory. There are no apologies and no tirades. Just respectful but firm arguments, often illustrated by personal narratives, explaining and challenging many Church teachings relating to sex, from the all-male priesthood to contraception and much more. Perito speaks from authority: as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst; a practicing Catholic; a former seminarian, a husband, father and grandfather. He never exploits his personal authority or flaunts his expertise. And he doesn't flinch from confrontation. He offers his book as a dialog with people of good will, recognizing that the balance between "official" Church teaching and freedom to explore one's conscience is an especially important struggle today.

Seeing sexuality as a gift from an imaginative creator, he begins with the obvious: "Sexual ethics in the Catholic Church are in a state of flux;" and the hope that the "naiveté, ignorance and arrogance of the past will not return." He gives a concise and helpful survey of the evolution of Church teachings on sexuality from St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Thomas, writing as if in dialog with these teachings, like a kindly professor with his peers, presenting their views with the same respect and clarity that he uses to often rebut them.

He has this to say about changes in Church teachings: "It took 700 years between the time of St. Augustine and the time of St. Thomas before there was any authoritative teaching that sexual pleasure in marriage is not a sin. It took another 700 years before the secondary end of marriage, the mutual love and support for the spouses, was placed on a par with the primary end, namely the procreation and education of children (This happened at Vatican II.) When the Church does change directions on something, it is more like the turn of an ocean liner than a speed boat."

Clearly, many Catholics would prefer the speedboat. But Perito does not encourage us to jump ship. Our Church is a work in progress, he tells us, urging us to keep the balance "between loyalty to the official teaching and freedom to explore and follow one's conscience...a struggle that has faced believers in every age and especially today." The fact that some in the clergy have lost credibility as moral guides in the area of sexuality only reinforces the resistance some Catholics have to Church teachings on other issues, such as capital punishment or preemptive war.

There's no sexual issue that Perito seems afraid to explore. He disputes the Vatican teaching that homosexuality is an "objective disorder" and while he doesn't take a position on gay marriage, he argues that "there needs to be some moral room made for them [homosexuals]...to live in a holy committed relationship that will allow for genital expression that can foster love and generativity in their lives."

This is not a negative book. The chapter the author considers most important, "Sexuality and Spirituality," offers an imaginative exploration of how sexuality and spirituality might be better integrated, through prayer and self-reflection. Chapters on marriage and on aging and death explore the milestones of life with imagination as well as realism.

The final chapter raises a sensitive issue. How do Catholic educators who are not in sync with official teaching respond when adolescents press them with questions about sexual behavior. He recommends "respectfully and completely teach what the Church teaches but...have the freedom to honestly express where one's own reflections might differ." This might be the appropriate time, he suggests, to apply the Church's teaching about the primacy of conscience.

This is a sensible, brave and hopeful book.

Anne Crawford Storz is an associate editor of The American Catholic.

Book Review by Diana Wear - Published in New Women, New Church for the National Women's Ordination Conference. Reprinted with permission of the Author.

When I received this book in the mail many months ago my initial reaction was cynically rolling my eyes and replying "contemporary Catholic sexuality?-give me a break, there is little "contemporary" in the Catholic Church's teaching on sexuality." I put it on my book reviewer's shelf and didn't plan to take it seriously. But a few days later I received an e-mail from the author, asking if I would do him the favor of reviewing it. He also remarked that the book does indeed relate to women's ordination. Well, while I am clear that the discrimination against women in the RCC priesthood is about sex, despite the official documents' theses that assert otherwise, I was intrigued by Perito's statement. So I told him I would give it a gander. I picked up the book that weekend and could not put it down.

The author, John Perito is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and a practicing Catholic. He also studied in the seminary many years ago. He has the credentials and clinical experience to lay out this foundation. Equally so, Perito has given an enormous gift to our church as well as something for us, as a people of faith, to cherish. This book is important for any person interested in psychosexual development, sexuality, and the relationship of sexuality to spirituality. Perito's book is for individuals, couples, and parents. It is by no means limited for a Catholic audience.

Perito begins with the basics: theology, psychology, sexuality, and psychodynamics. Then he outlines the Church's teaching on sexuality, followed by critical commentary and theological integration. That is, he starts with the actual Church statement, then comments on it in light of his knowledge and expertise, and then invites us to reflect on the understanding in light of our faith. One refrain you will see throughout the book is "God unconditionally loves us and simply wants us to love ourselves and each other."

With this premise-that we are created as sexual beings as part of God's design-Perito then treads into the turbulent Catholic waters and he discusses issues of morality: sexuality and conscience formation, masturbation, homosexuality, contraception, and reproduction-tidal waves cradle Catholics know only too well. Then he takes on practical questions: sexuality and spirituality, fantasy, tradition, celibacy, marriage, the Roman Catholic priesthood, aging, and pedophilia. All of this is written without rancor or anger. He calms the waters and opens oceans that will ripple through our Catholic sexual teaching if we only take heed. Perito is a seasoned practitioner whose love of his church and his hope for people struggling with their sexuality shines through every topic he addresses.

Of particular interested to WOC readers is chapter 12, "Sexuality and the Roman Catholic Priesthood." Perito jumps right in with his statement on how social factors influence behavior and that they can be "just as powerful as the biological, psychological, and spiritual forces" (p. 160) to which he launches a full-scale support for women in the priesthood. His argument is clear-the discrimination against women in the priesthood is because of our sexuality-but this is a social phenomenon and it is outdated. Further, in concert with his subtitle what is taught and what is practiced he notes that the "rational arguments that the pope proposes for not ordaining women are not convincing to many men and women" (p. 162) (this, of course, is true of many of the Church's teachings on sexuality). The chapter goes on to discuss the issue of the prevalence of homosexuality in the priesthood as well as the prevailing homophobic attitudes in the Vatican as other issues of concern.

In sum, whatever stage of life you are in or positions you take on sexuality, this book offers solid, clear, and well-founded teaching. We are created as sexual beings and yet the topic of sexuality in all its myriad forms has caused fervor and angst, especially in churches of the Western world. Perito leads us out of that confusion and gives us a healthy, hopeful, and positive view of the sexual landscape.

Book Review Excerpts - by Terry Dosh PhD, Published in Bread Rising Volume 13, No. 8, November-December 2003 with permission.

Contemporary Catholic Sexuality, What is taught and what is practiced, by John Perito. Crossroad, 2003. $22.95. Excerpts from a review by John J Kennedy, Institute for Psychotherapy and Emotional Bodywork in the Prairie Messenger (Muenster SASK) 29 Oct. 2003.

This is a thoughtful and trenchant look at the church's teaching on sexuality with some possible ways contemporary Catholics can preserve their sanity while questing after sanctity at this trying time in the life of the church.

He criticizes, in a most balanced fashion, the church's teaching on sexuality from a person-centered point of view, as opposed to merely a review of sexual acts. In contrast to other recent books criticizing church teachings on human sexuality, Perito's is free of axes to grind or personal vendettas against formulators of natural law theory.

Perito decries the inhumanity of defining human sexuality in terms of a set of temporal acts, which reason or will power can allegedly reject or condemn. This type of judgment ignores much of modern knowledge of psychosexual development (Freudian or other) and treats sexual pleasure as something transitory and unworthy of the high vocation of being a Christian.

He points out how Christ is much more person-centered in his approach to people as revealed in the Gospels. Jesus is not condemning, but open, loving and always ready to help the person understand how they must grow into full emotional and spiritual maturity. Christ is an excellent example of a good therapist.

But Perito does not condemn the church nor dismiss the value of natural law theory. No revolutionary iconoclast is he. Rather, he points out how a more person-centered approach reveals the natural law values in a new, more humane light. The church has suffered from enough scandal and Perito is trying to point out that it needs to reevaluate its thinking to retain future credibility.

[Fr. Charles Curran writes an extensive, excellent foreword. I have read and highly recommend this book. - Terry]