Staying in the bedroom

In light of the fact that much of the bishops' time will be devoted to thinning the communion line of dissenters--with most issues being of the bedroom variety--the following is perhaps not surprising from Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane (whose diocese, incidentally, is now in bankruptcy because of sex abuse claims):

"There is a mocking reduction of sexuality, debasing it from God's beautiful gift of creation to little more than casual chemistry and inconsequential recreation."

Skylstad gets props from CtotheL in his opening address for taking on the "debasing personal attacks" that have characterized much of church debate of late, but let's be honest: Is our culture's sexual excess really the demon that needs exorcising right now? Our country is involved in two wars with religious overtones, the income gap has become a chasm, our church leadership has absolutely no credibility, the priest shortage (and access to the sacraments) is bordering on crisis both here and abroad, the HIV pandemic is showing no signs of abating, and many dioceses are financial ruins.

Pop culture's sex addiction is the least of our problems, especially when study after study shows that most people are choosing monogamous, committed sexual relationships, and the age of first intercourse for teenagers has stabilized and is even showing signs of (upward) improvement.

Of course, sex is always the straw person to go after when one wants to avoid real issues.