Freud & the Catholic Church

Is Freudian psychiatry a natural enemy of Roman Catholicism? The question was still warm last week, thanks to the set-to between Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen and Psychiatrist Frank J. Curran (TIME, July 28). Not likely to quench the flames of controversy was an article in the Catholic weekly Commonweal by Catholic Psychologist Dr. Harry McNeill, prewar teacher at Fordham University, now a clinical psychologist in the Veterans Administration. Gist of the article: the Church has much to learn from Freud--and vice versa. Excerpts:

Messianic Attitude. "It has become fashionable in Catholic circles to take pot shots at Freudianism and psychoanalysis. To be sure, prominent psychoanalysts from the great Viennese master down have often invited censure by their messianic attitude, by their harsh and crude condemnation of certain things commonly held sacred, by their loose and extravagant vocabulary, and by their pan-sexualist allegories. However, eminent thinkers and practitioners, Catholics among them, have, after careful examination and trial, recognized substantial contributions to psychology and psychiatry made by the psychoanalytic school. Obviously, some effort towards rapprochement and synthesis is in order. . . .

"The fact is that Church scholars have given scant attention to parvenu Freud and extremely few Catholics have ever been analyzed. People who manifestly are unaware of the true nature of either psychoanalysis or confession have often facilely claimed that Catholics have confession, therefore do not need psychoanalysis. On the other hand, it is also curious to note the term 'absolution' appearing more and more frequently in psychoanalytic literature. . . . Whatever their similarities and differences, it is high time that Catholics and Freudians got together and swapped some of their trade secrets."

Undesirable Stimuli. "First of all, Catholics would ask Freudians to throw out their bootleg philosophy and theology and provide themselves with some properly aged nutriment. . . . Freudians need to recognize frankly that to prescribe for the education or re-education of anyone, a philosophy, a Weltanschauung, is necessary. . . . They would find that [Catholicism] . . . has much to recommend it. They would find a Weltanschauung elaborated by many generations of contributors who have produced a very thorough analysis of the end of man; namely, the purpose and goal of human life.

"Freudians could derive benefit from a host of Catholic doctrines and practices, many of which turn directly on central psychoanalytic preoccupations. In connection with neuroticism they might look into the relationships between anxiety and the despair about which theologians have much to say. Theologians also have much to say about confidence and hope and the means of cultivating these good habits. ... In connection with Freud's capital concept of repression, which consists of the violent submergence of undesirable stimuli in the unconscious, they might look into its conscious counterpart, a defect of prudence which the classic moralists called inconsideratio. . . ."

Frustrated Immigrants. "Catholics too have much to derive from the Moses of modern psychiatry and his followers. To begin with, Catholics must recognize the fact and the importance of the unconscious. . . . Having realized under the promptings of Freud the implications of our own doctrines, we should take the next step and recognize the instrument, par excellence, for investigating the unconscious, namely, psychoanalysis. . . .

"Catholics might well look into the Freudian description of projection, which is the deflecting of attention from one's own shortcomings by blaming and criticizing others. It is deplorably exemplified among Catholics by our all too prevalent antiSemitism. Catholics of this country are predominantly of recent immigrant stock. ... In the nature of the case, most of them have achieved but a modicum of 'American success' and therefore feel frustrated. They are all too ready to project reasons for their failures on the more vigorous--because more recent--wave of Jewish immigrants. . . ."

Notorious Negativism. "An avenue which Catholics might travel under the tutelage of the Freudians is the genetic approach. Our traditional psychology is largely philosophical and based upon an analysis of traits common to adults. It has little to say about the distinctive stages through which man passes to maturity. Accordingly, our ethical training is too often ill-adapted to the developing child and adolescent since there are big lacunae in our differential psychology of the child and adolescent. . . .

"This is also manifest in the domain of sex education, where our negativism is notorious. We start early to speak obscurely of sexual prohibitions but impart very little legitimate positive information to the child. We ignore the fact that, unlike brute animals whose sex behavior is largely instinctual, the rational animal's sex practices are learned. . . . Catholics have much to learn from Freudians regarding sex development and the capital importance of early sexual experiences. . . . Indeed, Freudians can teach much regarding the entire role of family figures in the upbringing of a child, regarding the ideal father, mother, brother and sister relationships. They have studied these matters intensely, whereas far too much of our ascetical literature echoes the monastic viewpoint of life in the religious community. . . .

"Although it is not generally recognized by Catholics, a great deal of salutary work is being accomplished by psychoanalysts, despite the occasional cause celebre. (It would be nice if the Church could eliminate scandals too!) Catholics ought to be respectful of this work while they are catching up on a road where they have too long lagged behind. Mutual respect and good relations having been established with the analysts, Catholics can then hope to impart some of the wisdom which they feel is their own."

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