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| Synopsis: Exploring the socio-religious
roots of celibacy around the globe, CELIBACY provides new insights into
the current controversy, featuring interviews with current and former
celibates of the Catholic, Buddhist and Hindu faiths, as well as historians,
scientists, psychologists and others. The timely America Undercover documentary
is directed by Antony Thomas who also directed HBO's A QUESTION OF MIRACLES.
"The Crisis," as the Catholic Church refers to the wide-ranging scandal, invites many questions. Given that the sex drive is the most powerful human urge, is sexual denial healthy? Why is celibacy compulsory for the clergy in Catholicism? What is the effect on those who choose to accept it in the name of religion? Filmed in ten countries, CELIBACY examines sexual abstinence in major eastern religions, as well as the Catholic Church. Buddhists and Hindus revere and often urge celibacy, especially among nuns and monks, but it is not enforced. The documentary visits a Buddhist convent in Tibet, where the "de-feminization" of a young girl takes place during an initiation rite; a wrestling gymnasium for young Hindu men, where the sex drive is meant to be sublimated, redirected and transformed into bodily strength and energy; and one of 200 Eastern Orthodox convents in Romania, where young women take part in a ritual marriage to Jesus Christ, renouncing sex for the remainder of their lives and making Jesus the recipient of all their passion and love. The Roman Catholic Church has taken the tradition of renouncing all sexual acts, including thoughts and desires, to its most extreme form. Celibacy became mandatory for the Church clergy in 1139, but its enforcement has never really been effective. With the recent revelations of sexual abuse cases in at least ten countries, including the U.S., and virtually every state, the requirement that clergy must be celibate for life is being challenged. Legal settlements are now estimated at more than one billion dollars, and the crisis has contributed to ongoing widespread defections among priests and nuns, as well as taking an immeasurable toll on thousands of the faithful. Some 200,000 priests have renounced their vows since 1960, and the intake of new priests is shrinking dramatically. CELIBACY features interviews with current priests, laity who were sexually and physically abused, and former clergy who did not maintain their vows of celibacy. Neuroscientists and psychologists, including a former Benedictine monk, offer a scientific perspective. In Rome, Archbishop John Patrick Foley, Vatican spokesperson and President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, offers a rare official on-camera comment. Segments include: *A pedophile priest who eventually resorted to surgical castration when his sexual urges didn't abate after he joined the priesthood. *Neuroscientists (using the latest brain-imaging techniques), psychologists (one of them a former Benedictine monk) and a sex therapist, who offer scientific perspectives on how the mind compensates when the sex drive is suppressed. *A devout priest who has observed the use of pornography and clandestine homosexual and heterosexual relationships of other priests. *A former parish priest and Franciscan nun who left the church to marry and raise a family together. * An adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse in suburban Philadelphia. *Priests lamenting the lack of sex education in seminary training, which left them ignorant of their biological urges and in a state of perpetual adolescence. Production Credits: Antony Thomas' credits include five other America Undercover documentaries for HBO: 2001's A QUESTION OF MIRACLES, 1997's BODY DOUBLES: THE TWIN EXPERIENCE 1996's TO LOVE OR KILL: MAN vs ANIMAL, 1993's BY SATAN POSSESSED: THE SEARCH FOR THE DEVIL and 1992's NEVER SAY DIE: THE PURSUIT OF ETERNAL YOUTH. CELIBACY is a co-production of HBO and Carlton Television; written, produced, directed and narrated by Antony Thomas; co-producer, Carleen Ling-An Hsu; director of photography, Jonathan Partridge; editor, Mcdonald Brown; sound recordists, Simon Farmer and Paul Nathan. For HBO: supervising producer, Nancy Abraham; executive producer, Sheila Nevins. Airdates: It premiered on HBO on Monday, June 28th, 2004 |
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