Haggard scandal renews sex therapy debate

After a gay prostitute accused him of repeated sexual contacts, Haggard confessed to "sexual immorality" and resigned earlier this month as pastor of his 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado. He gave up the presidency of the National Association of Evangelicals.

"There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life," he wrote to his congregation. "Through the years, I've sought assistance in a variety of ways, with none of them proving to be effective in me."

Haggard did not specify how he had sought help or describe the healing-and-restoration program he vows to pursue now -- but did say he deserved to be "disciplined and corrected."

Clinton Anderson, director of the American Psychological Association's Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Office, found Haggard's statement dismaying.

"There's a profound sadness that someone should be saddled culturally with such a negative attitude toward a part of themselves," Anderson said. "From our vantage point as psychologists, his self-repulsion is not necessary, it's not justified."

But California psychologist Joseph Nicolosi -- a leading advocate of reparative therapy -- said critics' second-guessing of Haggard was inappropriate.

"If this man is saying, 'This is a part of me that I abhor,' why can't we respect that?" Nicolosi asked. "Why do we have to attribute that to something external and take away the dignity of the individual to express how he feels?"

Nicolosi is president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, representing therapists who believe it's appropriate to help clients try to change their sexual orientation. Some take a secular, psychoanalytical approach; other allies of the group favor prayer-based counseling.

Nicolosi suggested that he could help Haggard if the evangelist was prepared for "deep, emotional work."