Mental Health & The Children of Priests.
In almost every instance of the existence of the child of a priest, the phenomenon of coercive control is present. Coercive Control is often disguised linguistically, families convince themselves that the child/adult child should behave in a manner that supports secrecy and tells nobody about their true identity. This puts enormous pressure upon the child which, over time, can cause depression, confusion and a multitude of anxieties. The Catholic Church agrees that from a safeguarding perspective, children of priests are to be considered beneath the term ‘vulnerable adults’
To deny the natural right of a person to know their genetic origin is to deny a part of the essence of who they are. To deny this right and to call this denial “what is right for the child”, doubly insults the child.
In a world where home DNA testing is commonplace, even if all the protagonists (parents) are dead and the secret is considered buried, it may still emerge via DNA testing. The mental health of an individual will live in a shadow and never flourish if part of their self is also shadowed, hidden or concealed beneath a rock of shame called “the right thing to do.”
To deny the child of a priest their true identity is to sew a deed of doubt within them that will quiver and eventually foster anxiety and depression as they search for their true self, hidden in black, behind sealed lips. It is a form of bullying and control and Coercive Control is a crime in many developed countries.