My Top 10 Predictions for 2012 on Sexuality, Religion,and Public Life

Happy New Year to you all.

Here are my top 10 predictions on sexuality, religion, and public life for 2012. Tell me what you think!

10. The Republican candidate for President will run on an unambiguous anti-choice platform.
Regardless of who the candidate is, this isn't too much of a stretch. All of the candidates in the Republican race are anti-choice; the only question is HOW anti-choice the candidate will be. Rick Santorum, who came in second in the Iowa Caucuses, even would be willing to let availability of contraception become a state issue.

9. The White House will disappoint pro-choice supporters, again. We will see a return to more pronouncements about reducing the numbers of abortions rather than the NEED for abortion.
Despite assurances from the White House that they are pro-choice, in 2011, the Secretary of DHHS stopped Plan B from being available without a prescription to adolescents and access to abortion was stripped from health care reform. The White House will continue to reach out to conservative voters by not standing strong on access to abortion services.

8. The Republican candidate for President will be anti-full equality for LGBT persons and will speak out against same sex marriage. See my comments under #10. It is only a matter of degree.

7. The President will NOT support same sex marriage in 2012. Despite being the most pro-lgbt President in history, the President in courting conservative voters will not speak out for marriage equality -- despite what I believe must be his support in his heart.

6. Several major political and/or religious figures will be involved in extramarital sex that will be exposed publicly. In 2011, we learned about Anthony Weiner and Herman Cain and more than we cared to about John Edward's bad decisions and actions. It will keep happening in 2012.

5. Child sexual abuse in faith communities, universities, and schools will continue to be exposed -- and continue to happen. Despite -- or maybe because of - - the national teachable moment on Penn State, more allegations of child sexual abuse by people in authority will be revealed. I hope that more attention will be paid to child sexual abuse PREVENTION in 2012.

4. The issue of full inclusion of lesbian and gays will continue to be debated in mainstream denominations, and The United Methodist Church General Assembly will be focused on this issue. I fear that once again The United Methodist Church will narrowly defeat changing its position on homosexuality to one of greater inclusion and welcome.

3. Marriage equality will continue to move forward in 2012. The American electorate will continue to support marriage equality in increasing numbers. Washington State will pass marriage equality, following yesterday's support by its governor. Attempts to roll back marriage equality will not be successful.

2. The teenage birth rate, which reached its lowest level in 2011 in 70 years, will continue to decrease. Teenagers will continue to act more responsibly about their sexuality, as they have increasingly done in the past decade.

1. Progressive religious voices that support sexual justice will continue to grow in the public debate. More and more religious leaders will speak out for sexual health, sexuality education, and full inclusion of women and LGBT people in 2012 -- at least if the Religious Institute has anything to do about it. More seminaries will meet the criteria of a sexually healthy seminary, more denominations will require sexuality education of their clergy candidates, and more congregations will address sexual health. Stay tuned for progress on this one.

Happy New Year!!

Shame on Bill Donohue and His Ad in the NY Times

Bill Donohue of The Catholic Life League is the worst kind of bully.

Many years ago, he and I appeared on a national television program together. He was intimidating, condescending, and offensive. He's one of the few people I won't appear in the media with because of how he has treated me.

Yesterday, he published a full page ad in the New York Times titled "Going for the Vatican Jugular."

It said in part, "The Times continues to editorialize about the 'pedophilia crisis' when all along it's been a homosexual crisis." He writes that "homosexuality does not cause predatory behavior, and most gay priests are not molesters, [but] most of the molesters have been gay." He goes on to say that the NYT is covering this story because of "abortion, gay marriage, and women's ordination."

I'm guessing you just felt as outraged as I did reading those words. No, Mr. Donahue, it's a crisis because Roman Catholic priests around the world sexually abused children and youth -- and then the hierarchy covered it up, moved those priests to different parishes where they would abuse again, and failed to take action. The sexual orientation of those priests is irrelevant and unknown to anyone but themselves. What is known is that they abused their power, violated their moral commitments, and scarred their victims for life. What is known is that Church officials turned their back on these young people rather than act to end the violence against them. What is known from this ad, Mr. Donohue, is that you are using this crisis to support your own homophobia and anti-gay stances.

What is also clear is that you don't extend your concern to the survivors. Mr. Donohue's ad yesterday NEVER ONCE mentioned the victims of the priests who abused them, except for a snarky line about an organization of survivors. It is inconceivable to me that The Catholic League should cast blame on the NYT for covering this story rather than showing ANY compassion or concern for the thousands of people who priests have violated. Shame on you, Mr. Donohue.

But don't bullies always blame the victim?

Up To The Pope

The latest revelations about sexual abuse against children by Roman Catholic priests are nothing short of morally revolting. The story of Father Lawrence Murphy, who abused more than 200 deaf boys in Milwaukee over decades, despite the boys' speaking out and calling for help, should outrage us all. The new revelations from Germany and other European countries add to the understanding that pedophile priests are, in the words of my colleague, Dan Maguire, "a global Catholic Church pandemic."

"It went up to the Pope", a formerly Roman Catholic friend said to me yesterday, with tears in her eyes. "How is it possible that people knew and didn't stop it?"

Unfortunately, the answer is that people all along the Catholic hierarchy did know, and chose to move the priests rather than directly address the crimes that were being committed against children. Yes, crimes.

And in a secular world, those authorities would be held criminally accountable for their behavior. It is not enough for the Pope to apologize, as he did to victims last week. It is unconscionable when Catholic spokespersons try to explain away the lack of action as being part of another time, when people didn't talk as much about child abuse.

It is a testament to the power of Catholicism in people's lives that these past 30 years of revelations haven't driven its followers from the church. It is hard to imagine that if countless liberal church clergy were found to have been abusers that our churches wouldn't be empty. I can't even imagine what would happen to the field of sexology if even one of our certified professionals had this history.

The fact that the Catholic Church, in the midst of this scandal, continues to speak out on other people's sexual decisions is astonishing. It's time for them to stop pontificating against abortion and homosexuality and birth control and the role of women. In light of these recent revelations, it's time to take the log out of their eyes and start with the sexual immorality in their own house.

It's up to the Pope. Pope Benedict XVI, the world is watching and waiting.

Do You Know How to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse?

The Sunday Review of Books featured an ad for yet another new book for children on "stranger danger" called "You're NOT my Daddy."

I inwardly groaned, thinking about the scared but earnest parents who would buy it and feel that they had protected their children from sexual abuse. But, what if it is their daddy -- or their step-daddy, their uncle, their coach, their teacher, their babysitter, their Sunday School teacher? Because, in 9 in 10 cases, people who sexually abuse children are well known to the child.

I am passionate about protecting children from sexual abuse. I know so many adults -- both friends and clients - - whose lives have been scarred from acts they endured as children. The statistics say 1 in 4 women, 1 in 6 men...but in private conversations it seems so much higher.

That's why I wrote the books "Balancing Acts" and "A Time to Heal", to help congregations prevent abuse and consider the possibility of how to safely minister to an offender. I am pleased to tell you that there is now an online course on these issues, developed in conjunction with the UUA and the New England Adolescent Research Institute, and it is FREE. I am grateful to Joan Tabachnick, my co-author of the course, and NEARI for making this happen. I hope you'll let clergy and lay leaders in YOUR congregation know about this new resource and encourage them to take the course. It will be a valuable resource if you wanted to know more about healthy childhood sexual development, the signs of potential abuse, people with history of sex offenses, and what YOU can do to protect children.

The new course was featured in an AP story in newspapers across the country this weekend. You can read it at http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/08/03/online_course_helps_churches_deal_with_sex_offenders/?page=2 I'm hoping that the publicity means that more congregations will start looking at what they can do.

Georgia Rule

Ministry takes me to many wonderful places. Last night, I had the privilege of being at the premiere of the new movie, "Georgia Rule", starring Jane Fonda, Felicity Hoffman, and Lindsay Lohan.

Each of their performances is stunning. (As are they are...what a treat to see them all at the premiere last night.)

But, more importantly, the film is the first movie that I know that deals honestly with the issues of adolescent familial sexual abuse. The buzz around the movie has been about Lindsay Lohan's continuing "bad girl" behavior on and off the set; how much more important it would be if the reviewers and the press addressed the central issue of the film.

Lindsay plays Rachel, who was sexually abused by her mother's husband for two years from twelve to fourteen. Her own promiscuity and her confusion about her sexuality stem from the abuse. Her mother struggles with whether to believe her or believe her husband.

Rachel represents the MORE THAN HALF A MILLION children and adolescents who are sexually abused each year. In the case of girls, it's most likely done by a family member or close family friend. In 90 percent of the cases, abuse is committed by someone the child knows well.

Go see this movie. Bring your teenage children. Talk about it. More importantly, educate your children and yourself about sexual abuse prevention. Make sure your faith community does so as well.

What the New York Times Can Teach You About Sex Today

I spoke this morning at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University at the first conference of the University Consortium for Sexuality and Research Training. I reviewed the research about how religion affects sexual attitudes and behaviors as well as the importance of sexuality researchers to reach out to faith communities. I was warmly received, although I seem to be the only presenter who didn't have a power point.

I told the conference that sexuality researchers can play a vital role in providing information to clergy, congregations, and denominations as they address sexuality issues. I also talked about attacks on sexuality research by the Religious Right (most of the senior researchers in the room had been on a list by the Traditional Values Coalition for defunding), as well as the Religious Right's distortion of sexuality research findings to support their conclusions. I also told them that itt is critical that research about sexuality be translated for both the public and policy makers.

Today's New York Times does just that. The Health Section of today's NY Times focuses on sexual desire, sexuality and aging, and sexual pleasure. It's all online and I think you will enjoy reading it.

The A section of the paper also includes a feature on the situation I've blogged about before at the church in San Diego which is trying to develop a policy for dealing with sex offenders AFTER a person with this history has come to the congregation. I'm quoted fairly extensively in the article, and was able to make the point that congregations need policies BEFORE a crisis. Unfortunately, my book for congregations, "A Time to Heal", isn't mentioned, but I hope you will get a copy to help your congregation avoid front page New York Times stories. Nevertheless, it's the first national print article I know of about this issue, and I am happy to have been included.