Fr. Uhlenkott and Child Pornography Scandal at Gonzaga 2013

Child Pornography Raid at Gonzaga University in Spokane April 2013

Opinion and Insight

As I am one who attempts to be a humanist, I am going to comment on a few potential factors which have not been adequately addressed within the coverage of this case.  These are my two cents worth: 

1) This man was obtaining his paraphernalia from a country and region that recognizes age of consent as 16 years of age (Toronto, Canada).  It appears that he is NOT entertained by 3, 6, 8, or 12 year olds, and that makes a bit of a difference in how these stories are portrayed. 

2) While there are several cases of horrific abuses by clergy, the witch-hunt which has entertained and enraged so many people is likely to play part in biases of fairness and justice in this case.  It is not a simple matter of the blackness/whiteness of the law here, no matter how quick one wants certainty in their conclusions.

3) From a Psycho-analysis perspective, one might argue that in many cases, the Church's celibacy requirements have helped perpetuate this sort of theme throughout the Catholic Priesthoods. 

a) We very likely have a case here of a man who began his ministry in adolescence, and ceased internalized sexual (and psychological) development as a consequence of his ministry, thereby becoming a "fractured psyche". 

b) Fr. U recently underwent invasive medical procedures for testicular cancer.  Intuition might lead one to an insight that facing his own mortality has contributed further to that fractured sense of self, otherwise called here, "a fracture experience" (Menzies 2005). 

c)  If one were to dig up research on near death experiences, one might discover that often these occurrences tend to heighten sexual appetite.  It is not uncommon to see a person who has gone through a "fracture experience" act upon that appetite at the level where they left off in their sexual (and psychological) development.  The outcome can look something like this: 

Active abnegation of sexual exploration around the ages 12 through 18. ----> A near death or "fracture experience" occurs at age 40 inciting heightened sexual appetite. ----> Sexual exploration at the age of 40 begins at a psychological level shared by many 16 year olds and thus 40 year old "recognizes" or is drawn to "equal" spectrum development.

This man has not been accused of molesting children, as of yet.  He has been accused of possessing pornography that portrays people under the age of 18 and above the age of 16.  It has not been proven that he is a pedophile.  He would be considered an ephebophile at best with the information available. 

Logically, at this point, we are looking at a conflict of laws of countries, and which country is most correct?