By Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D.


I am an ex-Irish Christian Brother, ex-priest, survivor of sexual abuse, and advocate for thousands of sexual abuse victims for over a decade.  Recently, I saw the movie, 50 Shades of Grey, but not for reasons one might suspect.  I saw the movie because a preview I read mentioned that the title character was a victim of childhood sexual abuse.  I was not interested in being titillated with images of intimate sexuality, nudity, or pornography.  I was most intrigued by how the film would depict the life of a childhood sexual abuse victim, and I was not disappointed.

The movie I saw on opening night in a packed New York City theater was not about sex, despite all one might read about 50 Shades of Grey.  The fifty shades of Christian Grey were unfortunate shadows hovering over a young, handsome man who seemingly had never received any counseling, psychotherapy or sympathy for the sexual violation of his innocence as a boy.  The movie was about the “break” in the psyche of Christian Grey which led him to fear intimacy, vulnerability, passion, and friendship.   Christian Grey needed an intervention by a compassionate advocate to help him understand how his life had ironically cycled out of control despite his efforts to control everything and everyone. 

50 Shades of Grey is not a movie about kinky sex.  There is hardly anything sexual about the movie.  It is about abuse of power and its aftermath.  Christian Grey, a wealthy, handsome young man at the peak of his manhood is incapable of developing an intimate and meaningful relationship with a beautiful young woman who tries everything (including becoming somewhat of a sex slave) to get to Christian’s soul.  What she did not realize was that her boyfriend’s soul had been murdered as a child and, as a result, he could not emote as most normal human beings can emote.

I am hoping psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals will view this movie and weigh in on its psycho-social and psycho-sexual implications.  The “toys” that Christian Grey possessed (women, cars, helicopters, ropes, chains, handcuffs, etc.) never brought him peace, security, or satisfaction.  They exacerbated his profound loneliness, a loneliness that can be traced back to his childhood when an adult’s sexual abuse isolated him from the rest of humanity and made him feel shame and guilt.

I haven’t read a single review, summary, or article that warns prospective viewers that 50 Shades of Grey might be triggering to those who have suffered childhood sexual abuse.  Nor have I read a single article deciphering the reasons why Christian Grey had 50 shadows hanging over him.  In fact, the titillation factor seems to have taken over for the millions who have read the book and seen the movie, but as far as I am concerned, there was nothing titillating about the movie.  There was sadness, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder in the film, at least that’s how it struck me.  I felt sympathy for both characters because the female could not get through to the male to prove her genuine love, and the male was incapable of being loved through no fault of his own. 

When I left the theater after watching 50 Shades of Grey, I was disappointed that the real spark of love between Christian and Anastasia was never formalized in a love scene or in an act of intimacy.  I had a hope as the movie progressed that Anastasia and her obvious love for Christian would bring him around, but he was not capable of accepting her love.  I wondered as I sat through the movie if Anastasia would get to the heart of the matter and recommend to Christian that he be seen by a trauma specialist.  Perhaps had Christian been able to trust (one of the principal traits taken away from a childhood sexual abuse victim) Anastasia, he could have come around.  Unfortunately, that never happened, and he continued to live in his isolated world.

Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D.
Road to Recovery, Inc. (offering compassionate counseling to victims of sexual abuse)
P.O. Box 279
Livingston, NJ 07039
862-368-2800

By Catholic Whistleblowers Steering Committee

Catholic Whistleblowers appreciates the efforts of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to hold accountable those bishops and religious major superiors who have failed to deal with priests who have sexually abused minors. We especially commend the two members of the Commission who are victims / survivors of clergy sexual abuse, Irishwoman Marie Collins and Englishman Peter Saunders, for their strong and publicly stated commitment to truth, justice, and healing.

Yet, we also note that the Commission does not need to reinvent the wheel. The Code of Canon Law already provides the way for Pope Francis to deal with these bishops and religious superiors.

Indeed, the pope has power and authority over all of the Church which he is always able to exercise freely (cc. 331, 333, §1 and 590, §1). And nothing in Church law prohibits the application of Church law by the pope regarding bishops and religious superiors.

Simply said, the actions that a diocesan bishop can take regarding a priest against whom there is an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor also are available for the pope to use in holding accountable bishops and religious superiors. To begin, the allegation against the bishop or religious superior would be that through his culpable negligence he has harmed people by not dealing with the abusive priest (c. 1389, §2). Next, just as the diocesan bishop would begin a penal process to investigate the allegation, so too the pope should begin a penal process regarding the bishop or religious superior to investigate their actions (cc. 1717-1731). Then and so as to prevent scandal , while the investigation is going on, just as the diocesan bishop can do regarding the priest, so too the pope can temporarily remove the bishop or religious superior from office and prohibit him from the public exercise of ministry (c. 1722).

Of course, the investigation must run its course so that justice may prevail.

Hence, Catholic Whistleblowers calls upon Pope Francis to use his already existing power and authority to hold accountable those bishops and religious major superiors who have failed to deal priests who have sexually abused minors. Doing so will help to prevent further scandal and to begin the long road to rebuild trust among the people in the Church’s leaders.