Addicted to porn: Understanding this destructive behavious

Notes: Canadian churches, including the Anglican Church of Canada, are beginning to deal with the issue of clergy involvement with child pornography. In December 2009, the Rev. Robin Barrett, an Anglican priest in the diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, was charged with five counts of possession and distribution of child pornography. "Sam Mikhail, a psychologist and clinical director at the Southdown Institute in Aurora, Ont., said addicted clergy compartmentalize their dual lives to cope with serving parishioners while privately feeding a harmful compulsion. Southdown, a non-profit facility that opened in 1965, treats clergy with a spectrum of mental health problems." "Barrett's case is the first time the diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador has faced child pornography. The incident has led the diocese to overhaul its sexual misconduct protocol, which dates back to 1996. 'When it was written, we were (dealing with) sexual harassment, exploitation, rape', said Archdeacon Sandra Tilley, who heads mission development in the diocese. 'The issue has broadened with the Internet, so we are revising the protocol'. Barrett's arrest was 'a shock to everybody', she added, and the diocese brought in an expert to help clergy understand the scope of the problem. The church needs to talk about the damage done by pornography, said Tilley". Includes inset column of statistics titled "By the numbers" about commercial child pornography.

Subjects: Child pornography - Canada; Pornography - Canada; Pornography - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada; Clergy - Sexual behavior; Clergy - Mental health; Anglican Church of Canada - Clergy - Sexual behavior; Barrett, Robin (Robin Clayton), 1959-; Anglican Church of Canada. Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador; Tilley, Sandra; Southdown (Emmanuel Convalescent Foundation, Southdown, Aurora, Ont.); Mikhail, Sean