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Where Two Worlds Coincide. David Berger on Repression, Transgression, and the Roman Catholic Church
1In The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault states that sex is “the point of weakness where evil portents reach through to us; the fragment of darkness that we each carry within us: a general signification, a universal secret, an omnipresent cause, a fear that never ends." (69) Foucault’s general surmise finds an almost literal correspondence in the rhetorics of many figureheads of the Roman Catholic Church, who cannot admit sexuality as an intrinsic and vital aspect to individuals affiliated with the church’s apparatus. Instead, within the realms of institutionalised Christianity, sexuality as a source of pleasure and desire beyond reproduction figures as a subversive threat haunting its order, “a fear that never ends”. The apparent “backwardness” of the Roman Catholic Church discernible in its insistence on the priests’ celibacy, its exclusion of women from prestigious ranks as well as its widely disseminated proclamations and interventions regarding “proper” sexual conduct have caused many heated debates in many countries for a long time throughout the years. Indeed, at a time of an increasing sexualisation of Western societies and overall explicitness on the matter in the media, the rigid attitude of the Church appears particularly remarkable.
2Not surprisingly then, the attitude of the Roman Catholic Church towards sexuality continues to be a controversial subject followed with great interest by the public, particularly since several recent cases of child abuse and sexual transgressions within religious communities have highlighted and sensationalised the apparent double standards regarding propaganda and practice. The Roman Catholic theologian David Berger, former R.E. teacher as well as former editor (2003-2010) of the rather conservative and prestigious journal Theologisches. Katholische Monatszeitschrift has added fuel to the fire with a book called Der heilige Schein: Als schwuler Theologe in der katholischen Kirche.[1]In this diction, “Der heilige Schein” is a pun, alluding to “halo” but also to “holy pretence”. The second part of the title translates as: “Being a gay theologian in the Catholic church. Published at the end of last year (2010) it had three reprints within six weeks after its first release and since has received much media attention. Its repercussions only have begun to become palpable. The book has turned Berger into a highly controversial figure and granted him a high profile in the media. He has since appeared on numerous TV shows, either as guest or in features on him. This summer he’s been invited to public talks and several Gay Prides in Germany and Switzerland and - not least because of the approaching visit of the pope to Berlin, Erfurt, Eichsfeld and Freiburg at the end of September 2011 - he is due to appear on several related TV talk shows and demonstrations as keynote speaker. As he tells me, the notable attention his book and person receives has, even amongst his own social circle, led to suspicions regarding the extent to which he is doing all the promotion for political or rather narcissistic reasons. Indeed, Berger’s performance betrays a common image of ecclesiastic disembodiment and rather displays an interest in physical fitness and fashion. His mediagenic looks certainly have assisted in the marketing of his story and at the same time increased the controversy around him.
3Despite or because of the turmoil Berger’s book has caused he seems to be at complete ease when I meet him. My first question therefore is how he himself values the current status quo concerning the resonance to his book: “It’s obviously difficult to overlook the situation just now,” he muses “right in the middle of combat with so much happening and no end in sight, but personally I’m feeling really good about it all. I don’t regret having written the book. On the contrary, leaving all personal concerns aside, I’m pleased that my book proves to be an important contribution to the subject of homosexuality and the church and has put this topic onto the public agenda once more.” “I’ve met a lot of interesting public figures I wouldn’t otherwise have met” he carries on “and from a personal point of view it has ended the ridiculous and tiresome role acting. Whereas I’ve always lived my private life honestly, as far as that’s possible, I can now take my boyfriend to public occasions as my partner and not as my cousin, a good friend or whathaveyou. That feels good.” (2011) Berger’s rhetoric is in apparent accordance with the “coming out” politics of recent years, both in their stress on the need for public role models and their promise of personal freedom and authenticity. In this regard he lines up with other celebrities such as George Michael, Ellen Degeneres, Guido Westerwelle and Klaus Wowereit, whose ongoing careers after their confirmed homosexuality appears to indicate both, individual truth and social progress.[2]Of course the „outness“ of stars always entails questions as to how their careers are affected by it. In most cases one can note a shift in the (public) perception after their “coming out” and their homosexuality continuously is brought up regardless of context, be it as means of praise or denunciation.
4But whereas one can note a general cultural shift in terms of “sexual liberation” politics, the Roman Catholic Church, as an institution with a self-concept of moral authority, has more or less sustained a discursive torpor on the matter. However, as becomes evident through many sex scandals involving church dignitaries and critical voices such as Berger’s, its perpetuation of and strictness on moral righteousness predominantly concerns its “performed image” more than its “lived reality”. Indeed it was David Berger’s profile on facebook that in 2007 had led to a first clash with the ecclesiastical authorities because pictures of him and his friends were said to “display his obvious rootedness within the gay subculture.” What has become a general debate on the (mis-)representation of individual lives on different internet platforms is highlighted by this case and points to the precarious boundaries of public and private self, of acting and being. To be sure, the contingencies of naturalised oppositions such as truth/pretence; mask/authenticity; loyalty/betrayal; victim/contravener - dichotomies that appear to structure the public debate on Berger’s book - become obvious but are hardly taken into account. The dominant focus on the restrictive sexual politics of the Catholic Church makes it rather easy to dismiss the topic as not pertaining to more general questions concerning the complex interplay of sexuality, gender and power. But in spite of its thematic specification, Der heilige Schein is a more encompassing problematisation of institutions, discourses and categorical boundaries and one’s own contribution to and positioning within them.
5In this scenario, ally and foe are difficult to tell apart. And while Berger appears to be confident enough to deal with the controversial reception of his book - including threats on his life - he tells of unpredictable and unpleasant encounters:
I did an interview with this guy, a journalist for Du & Ich, one of the oldest gay magazines in Germany. At first he acted very friendly, but in the course of our conversation it turned out he’s got all these contacts to the Vatican and Cardinal Meissner’s circle. In the printed version of our “conversation” he invented things I’d never said and wrote in the most derogatory terms about my story, culminating in his statement that he’s ashamed to be gay because of persons like me. I don’t know what his problem was, I’d never met him personally, but it seems that someone was seriously exerting influence on him - and the whole magazine by extension. On the other hand… I never wanted to do an interview with Bild[3]<i>Bild</i>, comparable to <i>The Sun</i> in UK, is the daily tabloid newspaper with the highest circulation in Germany and notorious for its polemic, opinion building news coverages. since I deemed their reporting practices shady. But I was assured by people working within the media that they would be fair to me. And they were. (2011)
The controversial reception of Berger’s book within the “gay community” hints at the artificiality of that “group” and its rather disparate interests and ideas. Whereas he has been invited to several Gay Prides this summer as keynote speaker, he has likewise faced much critique for having “played the game” for so long, for having wilfully participated in the sexist and homophobic politics of the Church. Indeed, some accuse him of egotism, of wanting the “best of both worlds” at the expense of personal integrity and loyalty to one or the other “quarter”. Yet he assures me that he never approved homophobic, anti-Semitic and sexist articles during the time in which he was editor for the journal Theologisches and as R. E. teacher always tried to abstain from dogmatic approaches. But at the same time he has strong convictions and, given a platform, is not hesitant to articulate them publicly.