Sex offending priests in the Philippines: Nature, etiology and treatment

• Main Author: Enriquez, Rev Fr Alejandro C.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2008
• Subjects: Catholic Church—Clergy—Sexual behavior > Philippines; Catholic Church—Clergy—Sexual behavior; Catholicism; Clergy; Priest; Sex offenders; Sexual offenders; Counseling Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/212; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_doctoral/article/1211/viewcontent/CDTG004465_P.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The study explored the phenomenon of sex offending priests in the Philippines nature, etiology and treatment. Concurrent nested method design was employed, survey for the quantitative and grounded theory for qualitative part. Participants were: a) 75 bishops and religious superiors and b) 10 sex offending priests, 4 from Luzon, 3 from Visayas and 3 from Mindanao. The Demographic Form, Sexual Offense Survey Form, Millon Multi-Axial Inventory (MCMI-III), and in-depth interview were to used gather data. Open, axial and selective coding were employed in the analysis. Findings indicate that there are priests in the Philippines who commit sexual offenses. Most of them are secular or diocesan. The types of sexual offenses committed were sexual exploitation (fathering a child, active homosexuality), sexual abuse and child abuse. The usual victims are closely associated with the priests like friends and counselees. Sexual offenses of priests are stress related. They happened inside and outside of the convent and lay people also contributed to the phenomenon. Among the coping strategies employed were denial and acceptance. Treatment program focusing on self-awareness, recognition and acceptance of offense, healing, recovery, relapse prevention and re-integration was developed. From the results, a Psycho-Cultural-Environmental Theory is advanced to explain the phenomenon of sex offending priests in the Philippines which has important and for reading implications to counseling theory and practice as well as to the Catholic Church on issues related to screening, admission and formation and on-going formation of clerics.