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I know a young man who years ago was seduced by an older priest in a position of power. He was a young, attractive, pious, and naïve seminarian, an avid reader of Courage materials, and unable to integrate his sexuality into the rest of his life. He was the perfect target (1/7)
... Eventually he was able to snap out of the influence of the priest and reported what was going on, but to his knowledge nothing ever came of it. I've been thinking about him while reading the #McCarrick report, and also about when I experienced an attempted seduction (2/7)
... In my case, it was a priest I had known for some time. He had helped me navigate my sexuality and knew personally Courage's founder. He recommended that I not identify as gay. He recommended to me Fr. Harvey's writings early in our relationship. I read much of them. (3/7)
... A couple of years lapsed before I saw him again. During that time, I had gone from being a closeted naïve "same sex attracted" kid to a gay man with a decent amount of sexual experience. I had entered into a chaste relationship with another Christian and was very happy. (4/7)
... When I met with the priest after that lapse in time, I was more confident, less insecure. We were more frank and open. But when he started to tell me about his sexual experiences, I knew from my own that I needed to be cautious. I was saddened by them. I value vows. (5/7)
... He asked questions about my relationship. I could tell by the fact that he was fishing for sexual details, that something wasn't right. I had learned to read manipulative men and was a fairly skilled conversationalist. I was able to navigate our meeting safely. (6/7)
... But I have no doubt that if I were more naïve and less integrated, that the conversation would have led to sexual contact with the priest. The closet isn't safe. I now realize how much being sexually experienced, out, and in a relationship helped to protect me. (7/7)
Put these together as a full post, with additional thoughts: https://chrisdamian.net/2020/11/13/a-priests-seduction/
