Addicted to porn

Published July 1, 2010

Overwork, overwhelming loneliness and lack of proper training are cited as triggers that feed this compulsion. Illustration: Todd Davidson

The cases are high profile, shocking and mystifying to former flocks and colleagues of the priests charged. Last September, Roman Catholic Bishop Raymond Lahey, former Roman Catholic bishop of Antigonish, N.S., was charged with possession and importation of child pornography after being stopped at the Ottawa airport.  Just weeks before, he had been lauded for negotiating a $15-million settlement for victims of sexual abuse by priests in his diocese.

In another case last December, a well-known priest in the Anglican diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador was charged with five counts of possession and distribution of child pornography. Toronto undercover police investigators alleged they received pornographic images of children over the Internet from the Rev. Robin Barrett, rector of the Goulds parish, near St. John’s. Both cases are still before the courts.

Most baffling to many observers is how a priest could engage in behaviour that harms children.  One common thread appears to be the ability to compartmentalize or separate conflicting behaviours, says an expert who treats clergy with addictions, including pornography.

Sam Mikhail, a psychologist and clinical director at the Southdown Institute in Aurora, Ont., said addicted clergy compartmentalize their dual lives to cope with serving parishioners while privately feeding a harmful compulsion. 

Southdown, a non-profit facility that opened in 1965, treats clergy with a spectrum of mental health problems. Most clients are Roman Catholic, but the Salvation Army, Seventh Day Adventists and Anglican churches use the facility, too. (It is unknown if either Lahey or Barrett are being treated at Southdown, as the facility does not comment on patients.)

Another common theme among clergy who consume child pornography is that many refuse to consciously acknowledge that children are involved against their will, observed Mikhail.

In a typical case of pornography addiction, a priest will commence treatment at Southdown after being referred by a superior. Sometimes clergy will come forward on their own; often they are caught. 

The institute begins treatment with a comprehensive psychological and emotional assessment, and history of psychiatric problems. Five different professionals, including a psychiatrist, a psychologist and an addictions counsellor, examine the patient.

Psychologists administer the Abel test, which looks at a person’s predominant sexual interests. Addictions counsellors check the patient’s sexual history, including early childhood abuse and neglect, and whether other addictions such as drugs or alcohol might be contributing to the compulsive use of pornography.

Patients also are examined for physical problems that might impair impulse control or judgement. Dementia, for example, can cause hypersexuality.

Treatment is aimed at helping patients to become self-observing and to relate to the experience of victims, including children. In addition to specialized therapy, Southdown uses peer group psychotherapy to encourage patients to give and receive feedback about one another’s addictions.”When that feedback comes from multiple sources who are, essentially, your peers or your contemporaries, then it’s quite powerful,” said Mikhail.

Patients also examine the triggers that feed their compulsion. Clergy often cite overwork, overwhelming loneliness and lack of proper training to run a parish as stressors.

Meanwhile, Canadian churches, facing declining membership and fewer clergy to serve large areas, may be playing catch-up with the issue of pornography.

Barrett’s case is the first time the diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador has faced child pornography. The incident has led the diocese to overhaul its sexual misconduct protocol, which dates back to 1996.

“When it was written, we were (dealing with) sexual harassment, exploitation, rape,” said Archdeacon Sandra Tilley, who heads mission development in the diocese. “The issue has broadened with the Internet, so we are revising the protocol.” Barrett’s arrest was “a shock to everybody,” she added, and the diocese brought in an expert to help clergy understand the scope of the problem.  The church needs to speak out about the damage done by pornography, said Tilley.

While churches commonly use police checks to protect members from those with criminal records, it is more complicated to weed out people with a predilection to child pornography, said Mikhail. Many churches are now ensuring that ordination candidates undergo psychological evaluation as part of their formation. That evaluation can help identify a candidate’s discomfort with his sexuality or an immature sexual identity.

Still, Mikhail admits, if a person wants to pull “the wool over your eyes, they can probably do it. We can’t read minds.” Ω

Leanne Larmondin is former editor of the Anglican Journal.

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