Alcoholic priests need treatment of disease, not moral condemnation, bishops told
9/6/2007
UCANews
PATTAYA, Thailand (UCAN) – One of the toughest trials an alcoholic priest faces is the failure of his bishop or superior to recognize alcohol dependence is a disease, not a moral failing that must be denounced.
Jesuit Father Francis Jayapathy highlighted this on Aug. 30 at the seminar on "Caring for Priests – Especially For Those with Difficulties." The Office of Clergy of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences organized the Aug. 27-Sept. 1 seminar at Redemptorist Center in Pattaya, 150 kilometers (about 95 miles) southeast of Bangkok.
The 68 participants, all bishops, came from about a dozen Asian nations. The Indian Jesuit, one of just a few non-episcopal resource persons, discussed how alcoholism affects priestly life and ministry.
When one hears that a priest drinks, Father Jayapathy said, "We are embarrassed. There is talk, whispering. We see it as a moral problem, something gone wrong. We tend to sweep it away, or go for a geographical solution by transferring him, or punishment by sending him to a smaller parish or assigning him to work under someone else."
Paternalistically begging a priest to stop drinking, he said, reflects the moralistic approach. Some maintain a great silence about the problem, he added, "but silence is a breeding ground for the problem to thrive."
Myths about alcoholism abound, Father Jayapathy continued. "We all have an image in mind about how an alcoholic behaves, looks, etc., but there are all kinds of alcoholics because no two are the same."
"Since we have such an image," he asserted, "we do not recognize the signs."
Alcoholism is a treatable disease and treatment is available, so saying alcoholics cannot be saved is wrong, he insisted. However, relapse is "quite common," he added, and most treatment centers for alcohol addiction all over the world are only 40 percent successful.
The relapse rate makes people think there is no hope, he said, and many who accept that alcoholism is an illness still evidence a moralistic attitude.
The World Health Organization and many medical associations list alcoholism as a disease, Father Jayapathy said, but people discount this because medication cannot cure it and, unlike heart disease, cancer, diabetes and the like, they cannot easily conceptualize alcoholism as a disease.
He then described four characteristics of alcoholism as disease: craving or compulsion, loss of control, physical dependence and the need to drink ever more to "get high." A priest signals he is alcoholic by missing appointments, assignments and Masses, and drinking at inappropriate times.
Physically, he said, the impact worsens – bad digestion, poor functioning of the liver and other organs, brain damage causing unclear thinking and diminished memory – and just one blackout confirms that one is an alcoholic.
Bishops and superiors should avoid talking about alcoholism, the Jesuit said, because it is nagging for an active alcoholic to hear or talk about it. Even when other "faults" are admitted, denying one's alcoholism is common, he added, "so don't expect him to admit it, to do what he cannot."
For an alcoholic priest to get into treatment, he said, "intervention" often is used, and this demands "Facts! Reports by credible witnesses of actual events ... mere accusations are not facts."
"Get a team – never confront an alcoholic alone!" he also advised, "and have the options ready: go here or there, today or tomorrow." As for timing, he said, "alcoholics do not have sober moments of being non-alcoholic."
Intervention expresses love and concern, and recounts specific unacceptable behavior negatively impacting others, he said. After planning and implementing the intervention, he advised: "Let God ... leave the result to God."
9/6/2007
UCANews
PATTAYA, Thailand (UCAN) – One of the toughest trials an alcoholic priest faces is the failure of his bishop or superior to recognize alcohol dependence is a disease, not a moral failing that must be denounced.
Jesuit Father Francis Jayapathy highlighted this on Aug. 30 at the seminar on "Caring for Priests – Especially For Those with Difficulties." The Office of Clergy of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences organized the Aug. 27-Sept. 1 seminar at Redemptorist Center in Pattaya, 150 kilometers (about 95 miles) southeast of Bangkok.
The 68 participants, all bishops, came from about a dozen Asian nations. The Indian Jesuit, one of just a few non-episcopal resource persons, discussed how alcoholism affects priestly life and ministry.
When one hears that a priest drinks, Father Jayapathy said, "We are embarrassed. There is talk, whispering. We see it as a moral problem, something gone wrong. We tend to sweep it away, or go for a geographical solution by transferring him, or punishment by sending him to a smaller parish or assigning him to work under someone else."
Paternalistically begging a priest to stop drinking, he said, reflects the moralistic approach. Some maintain a great silence about the problem, he added, "but silence is a breeding ground for the problem to thrive."
Myths about alcoholism abound, Father Jayapathy continued. "We all have an image in mind about how an alcoholic behaves, looks, etc., but there are all kinds of alcoholics because no two are the same."
"Since we have such an image," he asserted, "we do not recognize the signs."
Father Jayapathy, himself an alcoholic, explained that the disease has many
stages, each with early, middle and late steps and aspects. Above all, he said,
one must accept that "an alcoholic cannot learn to control his drinking. He
can only avoid alcohol, and Rome recognizes this by allowing such priests to use
grape juice at Mass."
Reflecting his personal experience, he said the
crucial point is that "even a little alcohol in my system can turn me back
to a raging alcoholic."
Regrettably, he said, most superiors and bishops
think they should get the priest to accept being an alcoholic and then send them
for treatment, "but actually most alcoholic priests do not agree."
Alcoholism is a treatable disease and treatment is available, so saying alcoholics cannot be saved is wrong, he insisted. However, relapse is "quite common," he added, and most treatment centers for alcohol addiction all over the world are only 40 percent successful.
The relapse rate makes people think there is no hope, he said, and many who accept that alcoholism is an illness still evidence a moralistic attitude.
The World Health Organization and many medical associations list alcoholism as a disease, Father Jayapathy said, but people discount this because medication cannot cure it and, unlike heart disease, cancer, diabetes and the like, they cannot easily conceptualize alcoholism as a disease.
He then described four characteristics of alcoholism as disease: craving or compulsion, loss of control, physical dependence and the need to drink ever more to "get high." A priest signals he is alcoholic by missing appointments, assignments and Masses, and drinking at inappropriate times.
Physically, he said, the impact worsens – bad digestion, poor functioning of the liver and other organs, brain damage causing unclear thinking and diminished memory – and just one blackout confirms that one is an alcoholic.
Bishops and superiors should avoid talking about alcoholism, the Jesuit said, because it is nagging for an active alcoholic to hear or talk about it. Even when other "faults" are admitted, denying one's alcoholism is common, he added, "so don't expect him to admit it, to do what he cannot."
For an alcoholic priest to get into treatment, he said, "intervention" often is used, and this demands "Facts! Reports by credible witnesses of actual events ... mere accusations are not facts."
"Get a team – never confront an alcoholic alone!" he also advised, "and have the options ready: go here or there, today or tomorrow." As for timing, he said, "alcoholics do not have sober moments of being non-alcoholic."
Intervention expresses love and concern, and recounts specific unacceptable behavior negatively impacting others, he said. After planning and implementing the intervention, he advised: "Let God ... leave the result to God."
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