The Bishop and the brothel.
“Catholic Bishop backs brothels”
That was the headline which captured the imagination of many yesterday, fomenting debate on a few Catholic blogs. Backing an effort to legalize brothels as a means of controlling them, Bishop Crispian Hollis of Portsmouth, England, is quoted as saying:
“If you are going to take a pragmatic view and say prostitution happens, I think there is a need to make sure it’s as well regulated as possible for the health of people involved and for the safety of the ladies themselves,” Hollis said. - Reuters
In our day of international sex-slave trafficking and the exploitation of women and children in the pornography industry, the Bishop’s support is attracting harsh criticism. The Bishop explained himself in this way:
“That’s not to say I approve of prostitution in any way. I would be very much happier if there was no prostitution in Portsmouth,” he told The Portsmouth News.
“But it’s going to be there whatever we do and it has been from time immemorial. So I think that is something we have to be realistic about.” - Reuters
I’m thinking Bishop Hollis pretty much relies on the same argument used by theologians and city governments in medieval times. Concerning prostitution, I found this quote from St. Thomas Aquinas in support of the state tolerating certain vices:
…those who are in authority, rightly tolerate certain evils, lest certain goods be lost, or certain greater evils be incurred: thus Augustine says (De Ordine ii.4): “If you do away with harlots, the world will be convulsed with lust.” - A Thomistic Case For Tolerance
Medieval tolerance.
The Middle Ages in Europe witnessed a universal paradox of tolerance and condemnation with regards to prostitution. While technically a sin (because it hinged on the act of fornication), prostitution was recognized by the church and others as a necessary, or “lesser evil” (Karras, 246). It was accepted as fact that young men would seek out sexual relations regardless of their options, and thus prostitution served to protect “respectable” townswomen from seduction and even rape. In 1358, the Grand Council of Venice declared that prostitution was “absolutely indispensable to the world” (Richards, 125). In general, declarations proclaiming the necessity of prostitution were not quite so enthusiastic. Indeed, the church did not hesitate to denounce prostitution as morally wrong, but as St. Augustine explained: “If you expel prostitution from society, you will unsettle everything on account of lusts” (Richards, 118). Thus, the general tolerance of prostitution was for the most part reluctant, and many canonists urged prostitutes to reform, either by marrying or by becoming nuns. In fact, there were many religious sanctuaries set up specifically for prostitutes who wished to quit the profession (Bullough, 183). - Prostitution in the Middle Ages
Of course, the medievals were not condoning the vice of prostitution, simply recognizing its existence from time immemorial, and the fact that regulation can be a safer alternative to an illegal black-market, or lusting men run a muck. I’m neither a scholar or an expert on the subject, but from what I understand, in countries where brothels are permitted, crime and vice does accompany the industry. Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to me that the industry should be regulated in order to limit and control the problem, while providing humanitarian care for the women involved.
Nevertheless, I believe prostitution is degrading and dehumanizing to women. I also recognize that poverty or previous abuse often forces a woman to enter the business unwillingly. Our society ought to do all it can to prevent this unfortunate lifestyle becoming the only option for the poor and vulnerable. Likewise, I am just as much opposed to that aspect of feminist thought which applauds the right of women to use their bodies for profit. I’m certain it is on account of concerns such these, the Bishop stated: “(Prostitution) is going to be there whatever we do and it has been from time immemorial. So I think that (regulation) is something we have to be realistic about.”
It is a very sensitive subject. We do not live in a Catholic culture as did the medievals, in fact, many refer to our times as the post-Christian era. Thus the danger in legalizing prostitution is that other vice will flourish, and we could follow suit by legalizing and regulating such things as recreational drug use, lowering the age of consent, and other more aborrent vices. I don’t know what the answer is.
[Go here to read an interesting article about nuns who work with the prostitutes of Rome and elsewhere. I wonder if they would be in favor of Bishop Hollis' position? Also, Fr. Tim Finigan has an excellent post with several good reasons why legalized prostitution is not a good idea.]
