I've been pondering the subject of celibacy since Lugo's admission on Monday of fathering a child while he was a Catholic bishop (see previous post). Priests in the Catholic church are committed to celibacy. Yet there are so very many stories of priests who have affairs, and others who abuse boys, that I wonder just what proportion of the priesthood do actually make it to the end of their life without breaking their vow of celibacy. Is it the majority or the minority who do manage it? How helpful is it really to require such a vow, when it is broken so frequently? If it is assumed that a priest is above the normal human urge for sex, then that may free parishioners to be honest with their confessor in a way they might not otherwise. However, it is clear that priests are just as human as the rest of us, and in no way are they above such urges, so perhaps parishioners are unwittingly putting their clergy in positions of unbearable temptation... if indeed they do believe priests are super human in this regard. If, however, it is not assumed that a priest is above the human urge for sex, then surely the priest himself as well as the laity in a parish should be more than conscientious about not placing him in situations where temptation could become unbearable.Lugo started his affair with the mother of his child when he used to stay in the house where she was living, as a 16-year-old girl. Obviously I have no idea how the affair started, but surely somebody should have thought of the possible danger it might pose to have a priest (a single man with all the normal sexual desires of any man) staying in the same house as a girl of that age? Should there not have been some kind of chaperone at the very least, to ensure they were never alone together? The adults around ought to have taken responsibility for the girl and protected her from being in a position where the then bishop could take advantage. Not that I'm assuming the seduction was all Lugo's. I can quite see it possible that she might have been the initiator - we just don't know, but at the age of 16, she should have had someone looking out for her best interests. And those best interests could never have included becoming a bishop's mistress. Surely?
However, Paraguay has a very relaxed attitude towards sex. It is so common to sleep around or to have a wife/husband as well as a bit on the side, that everyone sees it as more or less de rigueur. Perhaps I'm exaggerating, but I'm constantly surprised by the stories I hear of unmarried pregnancies and affairs. Unfortunately, the Christian community in Paraguay is also full of this sort of behaviour. There is a theory that after the Triple Alliance War in the 1800s, the male population of the country was so badly decimated that there weren't enough men to go round. Therefore, it became common to have more than one "wife," each in a different town. The theory is that this promiscuity has become embedded in the culture in a way that makes it extraordinarily difficult for Paraguayans to stand firm in the face of temptation.
The "scandal" of Lugo fathering a child while a bishop seems not to bother the average Paraguayan. On the contrary, the men would seem to be somewhat supportive of this proof of his manhood, while the women seem to be glad enough that here is a father who will actually acknowledge his illegitimate child.
It makes me wonder whether, given this prevailing attitude, those who were looking after this young 16 year old, perhaps didn't focus on the questionable morality of her affair with Lugo as much as the possible prestige and access to power that might come with her having a relationship with the bishop. Or maybe I've been reading too much Philippa Gregory (see The Other Boleyn Girl, where the court of Henry VIII was intent on gaining favour with the king by having young female relatives sleep with him...)!
© Fiona L Cooper 2009
