Prostitution

Fr. Depaul Censka, a garrulous and gregarious Friar Tuck look-alike, prowls the seedy sections of Chicago at night in a unique ministry which is unappreciated at best and deplored at worst. He describes it as: "being around for the sake of 'people of the night' - prostitutes, homosexuals, transvestites and lonely people who have needs which our 'straight' society hardly recognizes."

Depaul is a member of the Franciscan Community at Catholic Theological Union As part of his work, he invites faculty and/or students to go with him through night "on the stroll", as he terms it, to learn what's happening out there. Having been after me for two years to join him, he finally challenged me with: "You are into suffering. Okay, come and see a kind of human suffering which is un heralded and scarcely touched." Finally, on a cold night before Christmas, I gol up my courage and told him I would go. "Good," he said, "put on your old clothes, leave your watch at home, and I'll pick you up at 10."

As we ride to one of the spots that is a part of his "parish", he describes for me the 'institution' we will visit. In his rapid, colorful, documentary style, he tells me that this particular place has endured since the Depression, has never had a "bust", and is one of the busiest brothels in this area. The 'bar' he says only serves soft drinks, but that touch of innocence is only a ploy to elude the State liquor laws which govern days to be open, scrutiny on what takes place behind the neon sign, and strict closing times. It is open all year round and closes only on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. With perfect detachment, he catalogues quite graphically the kinds of services rendered, the costs, the was the owners pay and mistreat the women as well as the horrifying circumstance: of this way of life. Finally, as we pull into the parking lot, he matter-of-factly informs me to put my wallet in my side pocket, and not to be alarmed by what see or the kind of solicitation that wIll happen as soon as we enter.

By this time, I was hoping we'd have a flat tire or some kind of instant disaster, but when there was no such divine intervention, I took deep breaths, whispered a prayer and entered. It was dark, smoke-filled. At first, I could only se the outlines of bodies sitting and standing around a large, oblong bar which circled a small stage up against the wall in the center. On stage, a young womai was stripping off the remnants of her 'costume', looking somewhat bored and making a clumsy attempt at a seductive dance. Depaul plowed along toward an open spot at the bar and, trailing him, I noted the women crushed between bodies, hustling drinks, and overheard fragments of unprintable conversations. No sooner had we found seats and ordered a mandatory soft drink at $3.00 each than two women put hands on our shoulders asking "want to have some fun?" We politely declined and were left alone, but those whom he has befriended and helped, as they passed by, furtively acknowledged him with a glint of appreciation. At which time Depaul elaborated more in detail what the conditions of these friends are and the particular binds they are in, keeping them at this profession.

At a point, there was a lull, things got very quiet and the stage was empty. Then a noisy group of newcomers entered, mostly young men between 20-31 years of age. For a while, nobody joined them. Suddenly, one of the bartenders, with crude expletives, yelled for the women to get moving. Some raucous, reluctant responses from the back rooms, punctuated with the same over-used expletives, echoed back, but soon the activities resumed. A somewhat emaciated, scantily-clad teenager took the stage and the other women, not occupied in the back rooms, plunged into the cluster of newcomers.

I had a terrible feeling of sadness. Sadness, first of all, for these young, trapped victims. And even sadness for the sorry males who buy into this system. I wondered what problems, loneliness, frustrations or deviations bring them to this. I could only feel loathing for the bartenders orchestrating it and whoever else behind the scenes - pimps, mobsters and public officials who make a living from it.

Having completed this part of my course, we leave. Depaul then takes me on a tour of the key parts of the city where the 'sordid action' of the night takes place, vividly describing each species, informing me of the thousands who frequent these places in Chicago every night. He laughs as we ride past the darkened Cathedral and Cathedral rectory, in the heart of the sin zones and remarks "the people out here ain't gonna knock on those doors - and they won't be popping in for a visit or early Mass, so somebody better be out hunting them. So many of them are hurting."

We wind up at 3:00 A.M. in the All-Nite Diner - a place he says "where you will see all the types gathering - it's their church." Out front, an attractive 'woman' stops and asks about a mutual friend, a prostitute. Depaul converses with her. As we enter, he turns to me and says: "Beautiful lady, huh?" I say: "Yes"; he replies, "She's not a 'she'!"

We sit down, order our food, he fixes me with his eyes and says: "I suspect you are thinking about the place we visited, and are wondering 'How Can a Place like That Be Stopped?' That's the usual first reaction to prostitution. Then comes 'let's mount a campaign! First off, close these places!...get to the press!...to the politicians!"' He pauses and chuckles: "Certainly it would be good if such establishments did not exist. But that won't stop it. The problem is elsewhere. I believe, after my twelve years experience with such places, that they exist because the 'battle of the sexes' exists in so-called normal society. In other words, such establishments do not exist on their own but They Reflect What Is Going on Throughout The Rest of Society. For example: the discrimination of women by men in the working place; in our political process. Consider how long it took women to get the 'right' to vote, and they are still not represented in the highest echelons of democracy - it's selective democracy at best! In our own churches, where women have been the major attendees and have staffed every conceivable educational and charitable organization, they still are not in positions of power. Equality? ---Hardly! There is more than sexual prostitution; there is also political prostitution and pulpit/church prostitution. One form contributes to the existence of the other. The multiple duplicities of society are reflected in prostitution."

I broke in at this point (no easy task when Depaul is on a roll) and asked how Church authorities and others react to his work. "I've had tough times with some clergy and others but when people object to my associations with prostitutes, I usually pose two questions for their serious reflection:

"The first question Is: What Is Our Attitude Towards a Person? Do we have in us the mind of Cod regarding the dignity of a human being? Do we consider EVERY human being as creations by God, in God's image, redeemed by Christ's life and death, and destined for eternal glory? Or are there some beings less than worthy of our time, talent, attention and appreciation? Does an adjective describing a person get in our way of really loving that person? For example, look at that black man over there with the "Mr.T" haircut. Does his being black, or having that hairstyle become more important than the person? Speaking of 'black', look at the tragedies that blackness, skin color has occasioned. Despite the sad history of the race riots, so many have yet to learn as we witnessed the other day when the young black couple were bombed out of their apartment in the all-white neighborhood."

"There are similar examples in the problem of OLD lording it over the YOUNG....or YOUNG over OLD....or U.S. citizens considering others as ‘the focus of evil' and 'the evil empire' and the mounting of armaments against the enemy'! What happened to Christ's command: 'love your enemies!'? So, is it any wonder then that we cannot countenance PERSONS involved in sexual lifestyles we disapprove of - and we let the adjectives like whore, slut, pervert, get in our way of Loving Them Primarily as Persons? What they do is secondary."

I firmly believe, and it is based on countless experiences with persons in prostitution, that if the primary emphasis is their personhood, and all the dignity and respect that is demanded by those facts is afforded them, then the lifestyle of prostitution is greatly diminished and at times eliminated. Look at the way Jesus treated women - with such reverent dignity - at a time in history when women were considered chattel. The account of the woman about to be stoned for adultery is more than a lesson on mercy. It's a magnificent portrayal of reverence for a person. Where is the reverence for women as PERSONS in advertising, television shows, movies, where they are constantly portrayed as objects of pleasure? That their worth depends upon looks and shape and dress? From your work with disabled women, you know that no one of them, despite brains and talent would get a job as a television reporter, or a receptionist for a prestigious firm.

"Another astounding experience in my ministry is that of being ministered to by the person one thinks of as the object of ministry. I have become aware that prostitutes have a great deal of goodness, loyalty, care and selfless love. They have taught me many lessons for my own life. When I hear their stories, I am reminded of the old dictum 'there but for the grace of God go I.'"

"When I talk this way, I am not condoning prostitution and all that goes with it. I am only emphasizing that need to understand the dignity of each person. When I speak to parents about giving sex education to their children, I tell them that the most important fact of life to be communicated is their worth and dignity as persons, no matter what they look like, or have, and that they should never demean themselves, nor let anyone else demean them, nor should they ever demean another. Of course, they won't have any impact on their kids unless they act that way themselves."

I interrupted him at this point and hesitantly asked: "Well, what you say applies to prostitutes as much as it does to others. Why don't they drop out of that scene and do something else?" With face twitching, eyes glistening, he dropped his knife and fork, quickly swallowed his last morsel, downed his cup of coffee, and blurted out:

"You're jumping the gun on me! The second question I put to people is: what positive alternatives rather than punitive actions do you suggest? Most times persons in prostitution are punished - embarrassed, harassed, incarcerated, blackmailed, and at best, shunned. These punishments, more often than not, force persons in prostitution to remain in prostitution. The 'reasoning' is that once a person falls, there is just no way that person in prostitution can become rehabilitated. Society keeps the person down; condemns them to their trade. Sad to say that is often the attitude of many Christians, but it is hardly the attitude of Christ. Most of the women in prostitution cannot get jobs. Many come from wretched home and neighborhood environments. One of the women I help has three children in a Catholic school and she is determined to give those kids what she never had. Many are forced to stay in the profession by the males who keep them in bondage by fear and poverty.

"Many heroes in the annals of religious and non-religious organizations earned their halos by going out to the prostitutes and getting them jobs, housing and alternatives in life. This year is the 150th Anniversary of the Good Shepherd Sisters. Their founder, St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, befriended women 'in the life' of prostitution, providing shelter, education and work, and her followers have been doing the same every since. Do we offer alternatives or do we demand punishment?"

Abruptly, he said: "Let's go; I want to show you one of the places where prostitutes are taken in, supported, and rehabilitated." En route, he waxed eloquent on the quality of love in the persons running this house...As we drove through the darkened streets of the city, I glanced at this character in his mis-matched clothes, shabby buttons missing jacket, untied shoelaces, as he enthusiastically went on about the beauty of the people he has met in his work. Suddenly, I felt I was back in the 13th century when the founder of his Order, Francis of Assisi, no fashion plate himself, was accustomed to go 'on the stroll' to the poor and the prostitutes, and the words of his prayer drifted into my consciousness: "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace, Where There Is Hatred, Let Me Bring Love; Where There Is Injury, Your Pardon, Lord....Where There's Despair in Life, Let Me Bring Hope; Where There Is Darkness, Only Light; and Where There's Sadness, Ever Joy."