Will Baude and I have, in the past, gone back and forth a bit on what exactly turning 18 means (specifically on whether one could be tried as an adult before 18--I say no), but the law that Phoebe cited below seems to me to be part of a distrubing trend of taking over-18s, stripping them of rights, and making them a protected class.
18-year-olds may make stupid decisions, but it's not the job of law or society to protect them from their decisions.
I say this specifically because I feel that such a position informs the case of the 18-20 year man old who, 15 years ago, had an affair with a much-older minister, now known to UChicago's Catholic community as "Father Mike." Father Mike resigned Tuesday, saying his appointment to a college was, in fact, inappropriate, even though he'd received counseling and had remained celibate for 15 years.
Why, exactly was his assignment to the University especially inappropriate!? Father Mike's crime, if he committed one at all, was misusing his position of authority. But he paid for that, and moved on. Perhaps he should not have been put in a position of authority--but that's not a university setting in general, that's a priestly position in general.
We've taken this assumption that child molesters cannot be healed and somehow applied it to all cases of inappropriate sexual behavior. Father Mike had a relationship with someone else OF LEGAL AGE. Why he should be forever barred from interacting with college students--something for which I hear he has an extraordinary talent--is far beyond me.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Age of Consent
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4 comments:
Apart from anything else I suspect there would be liability issues to allowing him to stay on.
But those liability issues exist no matter where he is, as long as he's a priest. There's nothing about being the in a college environment that makes the Archdiocese any more negligent. Like it or not, having an attraction to college students isn't illegal, nor is it a pathology.
Is it possible that it is the Father's issues with abuse of authority that lead to his appointment being questionable? You're right that there's nothing illegal, or particularly wrong with having an affair with an 18 year old (male or female). But the issue with the affair seems to be that it is an abuse of a position of power. Then the prospect of being promoted to another position of power, that of a University professor, similar in the sense that your job is to be constantly working with subordinates in the power scheme, becomes problematic. I think you're focusing on the wrong issue here in making it an issue about pedophilia.
all priests are inherently in positions of power.
nothing about him being a campus minister specifically makes it any more egregious.
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