Richard Sipe
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Aquinas Walter Richard Sipe (December 11, 1932 – August 8, 2018) was an American
Benedictine monk , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...
-
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
for 18 years (1952–1970 at Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota), a psychotherapist and the author of six books about
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, the clerical sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, and
clerical celibacy Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because the ...
.


Life

Born in
Robbinsdale, Minnesota Robbinsdale is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota,. The population was 13,953 at the time of the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Minnesota ...
, Sipe was an American Certified Clinical
Mental Health Counselor A mental health counselor (MHC), or counselor (counsellor in British English), is a person who works with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health. Such persons may help individuals deal with issues associated with ad ...
trained specifically to treat Roman Catholic priests. He practiced
psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...
, "taught on the faculties of Major Catholic Seminaries and colleges, lectured in medical schools, and served as a consultant and expert witness in both civil and criminal cases involving the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests". During his training and therapies, he conducted a 25-year
ethnographic study Ethnography (from Greek language, Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view ...
published in 1990 about the sexual behavior of supposed celibates, in which he found more than half had sexual relationships. In 1970, after receiving a dispensation from his vows as a priest, Sipe married a former nun, Marianne; they had a son.About Richard
/ref> Sipe was a witness in more than 57 lawsuits, testifying on behalf of victims of
child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...
by Catholic priests. Sipe died on August 8, 2018, of
multiple organ failure Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medical intervention to achieve homeostasis. Although Irwin and Rippe cautioned in 2005 that the use of "multiple organ failure" or "multisy ...
in
La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...
, at age 85.


Media coverage

Sipe participated in 12 documentaries on
celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...
and priest sexual abuse aired by
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, and other networks in the United States, United Kingdom, and France, and was widely interviewed by media, including
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
,
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
,
CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', ''
People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' magazine, ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' and ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
''. On January 21, 1995, he made an extended appearance on a special edition of the British television discussion program '' After Dark'', alongside
Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...
and
Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want What ...
, among others.


In popular culture

Sipe's research and his book ''Sex, Priests and Power'' are depicted in
Tom McCarthy Thomas McCarthy (also Tom and Tommy) may refer to: Academia *Thomas A. McCarthy (born 1940), American professor of philosophy *Thomas J. McCarthy (born 1956), American professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts *J. Thomas Mc ...
's 2015 film ''Spotlight'' as crucial in the ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
s
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
–winning 2002 investigation of predatory priests and the decades-long cover-up of their crimes by the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...
. The 1995 book is shown onscreen in its bright-red-covered hardback edition when the investigative team meet the first victim, Phil Saviano, the founder of the
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
chapter of
SNAP Snap or SNAP may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Snap'', the original release title for the 2013 film ''Enter the Dangerous Mind'' *''Snap'' (TV series), a CITV programme * ''The Stanly News and Press'', a newspaper in Albemarle, North Carol ...
. As a favor to McCarthy, actor
Richard Jenkins Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American actor who is well known for his portrayal of deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher on the HBO funeral drama series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005). He began his career in theater at the Tri ...
, who starred in McCarthy's 2007 film '' The Visitor'', performed uncredited as Sipe's voice in three phone calls, each based on real-life conversations with Spotlight reporters, including a conference call that is a turning point in the investigation: Sipe made the metric calculation that 6% of priests are
pedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...
s, which the investigative team's subsequent research verifies.


Abuse in Burlington diocese

In a May 2009 study, Sipe found that there were extensive problems in the sexual behavior of
Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
, Catholic clergy. He examined the records of 102 priests "whose records were available" between 1950 and 2002. He claimed that, of this group, 23 priests were sexually involved with children under age 13, 15 were reported for involvement with married women and 19 were said to have had sexual relationships with adult men. He asserted that 49 could be said to have a homosexual orientation.


Research on homosexuality

A number of small-scale studies by Sipe and others have not found evidence that homosexuals are more likely to break the vow of celibacy than heterosexuals.


Statements

Sipe has said, "There are a pope or two who have resigned, several hundred have been murdered, but it's a very stable organization from the top down. What other monarchy do you know that's lasted for 2,000 years?" Contrary to Sipe's calculations, only seven popes have been murdered, with another 28 martyred in the church's early days; indeed, there have only been 266 popes. According to Sipe, "the most valuable development since 2000 has been the open exposure of the misbehavior of priests and religious. This has been one element that alerts not just Catholics but members of other religious groups to the potential sexual dangers posed by men and women in positions of power over young people. The church has contributed to the education about child abuse and the need for prevention of abuse and to provide education for protection for all children and the vulnerable. Unfortunately the efforts of the Catholic Church have been forced on them by the public outcry, victims’ testimony, and the legal system that calls bishops and religious superiors to account for their gross neglect, conspiracies to conceal crimes, and fraud to keep abuse secret. It is an ongoing fight to keep the church honest. Catholic laymen and women (Governor
Frank Keating Francis Anthony Keating II (initially born as David Rowland Keating) (born February 10, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003. , Keating is one of only five governors in Okl ...
and Chief Justice Anne Burke) who have worked closely with church officials say that the bishops do not want to change, but only want 'business as usual.' The encouraging thing is that people do not accept the word of bishops as true, necessary or important anymore. Over thirty percent of men and women brought up as Catholic no longer identify themselves as Catholic."Richardsipe.com
interview.


Books by Sipe

* ''Courage at Three AM'' (a book of poetry), FriesenPress, August 3, 2017, 72 pages * ''A Secret World: sexuality and the search for celibacy'',
Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
, 1990, , 324 pages * ''Sex, Priests, and Power: anatomy of a crisis'', Routledge Mental Health, 1995, , 220 pages * ''Celibacy: A Way of Loving, Living, and Serving'', Liguori Publications, 1st edition (May 1996), , 197 pages * ''Psychiatry, Ministry, and Pastoral Counseling'' - Paperback – March 1, 1984 , 384 pages * ''Celibacy in Crisis: A Secret World Revisited'', Brunner-Routledge, New York and Hove 2003, , 368 pages * ''Living the Celibate Life: A Search for Models and Meaning'', Liguori (November 2, 2004), , 192 pages * ''The Serpent and the Dove: celibacy in literature and life'',
Greenwood Publishing Group Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...
, 2007, , 262 pages. * Abuse by Priests: Why? (Audio Cassette)


See also

* James F. Colaianni *
Pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...
*
Priest shortage In the years since World War II there has been a substantial reduction in the number of priests ''per capita'' in the Catholic Church, a phenomenon considered by many to constitute a "shortage" in the number of priests. From 1980 to 2012, the ratio ...


References


External links


Richardsipe.comHamline.eduBishop-accountability.org

Seattleweekly.com
"Breach of faith"
Seattleweekly.com
"A real charmer"
UKvocation.orgNapac.org.ukTimberlakepublishing.comAndrewmurray.org.auPDX.eduUNI.edu
;Court
APH.gov.auLAcounty.govReardonlaw.com
;Scholar
Sagepub.com
extract
Oxfordjournals.orgSagepub.com
reprint ;Interviews

transcripts.

;Books
Sex these days: essays on theology, sexuality and society
by Jon Davies,
Gerard Loughlin Gerard Patrick Loughlin is an English Roman Catholic theologian and religious scholar. He is Professor of Theology and Religion at the University of Durham, England. He is the author of ''Telling God's Story: Bible Church and Narrative Theology' ...

The Silence of Sodom: Homosexuality in Modern Catholicism
by
Mark D. Jordan Mark D. Jordan (born 1953/54) is a scholar of Christian theology, European philosophy, and gender studies. He is currently the Richard Reinhard Niebuhr Research Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School and Professor of the Studies of Women, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sipe, Richard 1932 births 2018 deaths People from Robbinsdale, Minnesota American Benedictines American male writers Laicized Roman Catholic priests 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests Writers from Minnesota Catholics from Minnesota