While we’re on the topic of St. Thomas Fifth Avenue priest Mark Schultz, who recently was arrested over allegations of sexual assault, we underscore our opposition to him being around children. Additionally, we do not believe he is suited to serving as a priest.
Beyond the allegations against Schultz involving sexual misconduct, we are mindful of an important distinction. Specifically, there is a huge difference between marriage equality and adultery/random sex.
In Schultz’s case, he reveals in an essay written in December 2011 — less than a year before Schultz married his husband, pornographer Erich Erving — how he and Erving like to have casual sex, preferably with strangers. Screen cap below.
How do we know we have the correct Mark Schultz?
The answer is easy: When the essay was posted in July, 2020, it included the following byline:
Fr Mark Schultz is Curate for Children, Youth and Family Ministries at Saint Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church in Tucson, Arizona. He studied divinity at Berkeley Divinity School and the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale Divinity School from which he received his MDiv. He’s also an award-winning playwright, a resident at New Dramatists in New York, and holds an MFA in playwriting from Columbia University. His husband is a printmaker. A member of the Society of Catholic Priests and a mildly sentimental Arsenal FC supporter, Fr Mark is also a musician and has an abiding interest in Christian mysticism, Georges Bataille and his circle, Lovecraftian horror, and plaid.
To be clear: We support marriage equality and the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in the life of the church.
That said, neither marriage equality nor inclusion is the same as adultery, and we do not believe that a priest who has casual sex with strangers is called to ministry.
And yes, we believe that adultery remains a sin.
And yes, we believe that clergy, by virtue of the vows they make when ordained, should be held to a higher standard.
Even when the church de facto often imposes minimal or no standards.
Moreover, a publicly professed adulterer who is married to a porn producer is not a suitable role model for youth and children.
And, in Schultz’s case, neither he nor his pornographer husband should live in the church-owned building that houses choir school students.
Finally, we’re aware that this post sounds harsh and judgmental. But apparently folks at St. Thomas’ need things spelled out for them.
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