Catholic Bishop, and anti-gay activist, claims that priest who was found handcuffed and with a ball gag in his mouth was just relieving stress. Oh, THAT'S what they call it!

Father Tom Donovan

Courtesy of Wisconsin gazette:

In early January, Father Tom Donovan dialed 911 and described himself as being stuck in a potential medical emergency. Police respondents found him wearing a bondage-style mouth gag and handcuffs. 

Despite the implications of being discovered in such a situation, however, Paprocki, who is fighting marriage equality efforts underway in his state, said Donovan merely practiced self-bondage to relieve stress. According to Paprocki, the situation underscores the hardships of clerical life. 

“The unfortunate result of such patterns of life – in no way limited to the experience of Catholic priests – is that persons often find themselves seeking patterns of ‘self-medication’ to soothe emotional turmoil,” Paprocki wrote. “Alcoholism, the use of illicit drugs, compulsive gambling, sexual acting out and the use of pornography are some of the more common manifestations, none of which were present in this situation. Instead, according to the clinical therapist, Father Donovan is suffering from a psychological condition that manifests itself in self-bondage as a response to stress. The clinical therapist also confirms that the strict absence of illicit sexual behaviors, relationships, and patterns reveal that this self-bondage is to be understood as non-sexual in nature.” 

Donovan is currently on a leave of absence from his stressful job.

Well I think this explanation seems perfectly reasonable. I mean who DOESN'T go home alone, strap on some bondage gear, shove in a ball gag, and put on a pair of comfy handcuffs, after a stressful day at the office?

People can be so judgmental!

I do have one question however.

Where were the keys to the handcuffs?

I mean I am no expert, but I do believe that most handcuffs come with two sets of keys. So where were the keys to these?

In fact you know they make toy handcuffs for kids which have a safety latch on them in case some child gets stuck and loses the key. Why not simply use one of those? Same effect without the risk?

I mean I 'm just saying that this way it almost seems. if somebody were suspicious I mean, that perhaps there was another party involved who might possibly have left with the keys which forced the priest to make that truly embarrassing phone call. 

My favorite part of this story is how they try super hard to make sure that people don't think it is about anything sexual. This from the police statement:

Father Donovan appears to have been completely forthright with me in his account of this event, which is consistent with the public record. In the face of the embarrassment of these revelations, the subsequent attention of the press, and the widespread distribution of misinformation found on the Internet and elsewhere, he asks for the basic respect of accurate reporting of the event, the correction of untrue defamatory information arising from unsubstantiated rumors and claims, and the privacy now to heal from the trauma of this event and the original stress that precipitated it. 

Although the psychological explanation of non-sexual self-bondage provides some context to what occurred, yet the details of this incident are understandably disturbing. 

Yeah okay.  Though, and I hate to be nit picky, doesn't ANY form of bondage have a sexual connotation to it? I mean isn't the point to be aroused, or stimulated, by the idea of being restrained? 

I'm just saying.

But hey what a man of the cloth does when he is off the clock is no business of mine, so long as it does not involve any under age children that is.