Your gift counts double until 5/31: $23,213 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!
 Off the Record

Psychiatry on a collision course

By Phil Lawler (bio - articles ) | June 19, 2003 10:25 AM

Our friend "Shrink," a regular Sound Off contributor, calls attention to the recent decision by the American Psychiatric Association not to remove pedophilia from the standard list of emotional disorders.

You knew that. But take another look at the explanation offered by APA officials. They insist that pedophilia is a disorder, even if not all pedophiles experience emotional distress because of their condition. In other words, even if you're a happy, contented pedophile, you're still emotionally disturbed.

This is significant, because when the APA decided that homosexuality should not be considered a disorder, it was because some homosexuals reported feeling no emotional distress because of their condition. If it didn't cause distress, the APA concluded, it wasn't a disorder.

Something's got to give. Either the APA will eventually conclude that a self-contented pedophile is perfectly OK, or-- let us pray-- they'll realize that emotional distress is not the only reliable indicator of emotional disorder.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($23,213 to go):
$80,000.00 $56,787.50
29% 71%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

There are no comments yet for this item.

Think with the Catholic Leaders: Subscribe to Catholic Culture Insights Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Fr. Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly: Your Letter May Help 3 hours ago
The Rise and Fall of the (American?) Church 22 hours ago
The Ideal of Pope Francis: the Servant Church May 23
The sad decline of self-government May 22
That impromptu exorcism again May 22

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8