In times like these, it is an interesting time to be in a program of ministry formation. Though we do not formally spend a great deal of time talking about the issues, it naturally comes up in casual conversation. How should we as Church respond to this crisis? Though we are not personally responsible for these actions, on one level we are all corporately responsible. After all, we are part of the Corpus Christi, that is, the Body of Christ, and when one member suffers, all suffer, and when one of our brothers fails, on some level, we have failed too. For are we not our brother's keeper? On one level, we cannot escape feeling a bit embarassed, perhaps even a bit guilty for what has been done by representatives of the Christian community to which we belong. We are all affected by these terrible actions.
From the conversations that I've had, it seems that the best way for the Church to respond in these days is to come clean, to admit its failings, to ask for forgiveness, and to to reach out the victims and their families, and to make restitution in any way possible for the harm which has been done. What is an inadequate response - and which is done by some within the Church - is to fight against the media (which, granted, might be somewhat warranted) and to defend the Church against the coverage of the scandal or to go so far as to make the claim that the Church is intentionally being attacked.
Vatican II reminded us repeatedly that the Church must be servant. Here, we can think of the example of Jesus bending down to wash the feet of the disciples at the Last Supper, or the well-known passage from Philippians 2 in which we read of Jesus' self-emptying love: "Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God, something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness, and found human in appearance he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." The Church has to take the road of humility, of repentance.
Here, I cannot help but think of the profound gesture of John Paul II when he apologized for the wrongs done by the Church during the past two thousand years at the start of the new millennium in 2000. Many in the Church criticized him for this action, saying that admitting the wrongdoings of the Church compromises its authority in the world. But instead - many others would argue - it improved our image and thus our influence in the world. I think that this action - perhaps more than any other action in recent times - has done more to advance the Church's cause and influence in the world than any other thing. I would hope that this would be the Church's posture in the coming weeks and months in the wake of this new attention to the scandal.
To close, I'd like to re-print a beautiful prayer which recently appeared in The Observer, the student newspaper serving the University of Notre Dame and St. Mary's College.
A Prayer for Healing
By Todd Velianski
Heavenly Father,
In every age you restore the innocence of creation:
In Winter you shower the dark earth with pure white snow,
In Spring you cloak the ground in new life,
In Summer you bath us in the warmth of Your Love,
And in Autumn you refresh us with the breeze of your Spirit and new beginnings.
Look with pity upon Your Church, sprung from the sacred springs of Baptism,
And restore unto Her the innocence of the virginal bride of Christ.
Send forth the cleansing rain of Your Healing Spirit upon those harmed by the actions of sinful priests, that they may have once again the joy of their inheritance as Your children.
Fill with courage our Holy Father as he perseveres amidst blind hatred and false accusations. Make him a worthy and persevering shepherd to the flock You have given him.
Have mercy even on those who deserve the least mercy — those wolves in sheep’s clothing who used their authority to harm Your children. Save them from the hellfire their actions merit, and restore the dignity of the office they abused. For no soul, however wretched, is beyond Your mercy.
Restore our innocence, O Father of Heaven, as we pray in the name of your Virgin-born Son, Christ the Lord. Amen.
Todd Velianski
freshman
Keough Hall
April 12
while it's true that the church must unite in reaching out to victims and their families and do everything possible to protect the children in her care, it's not at all far fetched to say that the media is targeting the church, and to fight against some of the ridiculous claims.
ReplyDeletethe recent article in the new york times was poorly researched, poorly written, and so full of bad information as to make any self respecting catholic cry out in protest.
add to that the fact that a catholic priest is no more likely to abuse a minor than any other religious leader, or a lay person of any religion for that matter (http://www.newsweek.com/id/236096). from 1950-1992 4% of priests were accused of sexual misconduct with a minor. in america, it is estimated that 10%-33% of the general male population has sexually abused a minor. so the catholic church is way below the average! granted, 4% of priests is 4% too much, but look at the media coverage of child abuse in general compared to media coverage of child abuse among catholic clergy. notice the imbalance?
you can also compare this to high school graduates. in 1991 17.7% of males and (wait for it) 82.2% of females reported having been sexually abused by a member of the school faculty before their 18th birthday, and 13.5% of students reported having intercourse with a teacher. a 1994 study of schools in new york city found that less than 1% of teachers found guilty of abusing a student lost their teaching license. 65% suffered no consequences of any kind, and 39% moved to another school district of their own will, and received positive recommendations from their previous employers. only 1% of the school districts to which they moved were notified of the accusations brought against them (http://www.catholicleague.org/research/abuse_in_social_context.htm). but does the media talk about this, or warn us not to send our children to school? no, it slams the catholic church for relocating priests 40 years ago and warns against the sexual deviance of every member of the catholic clergy.
here is another great article for a clear perspective on comparing statistics: http://www.psychwww.com/psyrelig/plante.html
yes, the church must accept responsibility for the damage caused by her priests, but she must also defend herself against a tidal wave of false beliefs and accusations.
While I certainly agree that the coverage has not always been fair (it has been quite hostile), and that it is necessary at some point for the Church to offer clarification, I think doing so must come much later and with due sensitivity for the victims involved. In all cases with sexual abuse, one of the most important things for the victim's healing process is to have their experience validated (as opposed to minimized or denied). I wonder if the Church's attempts to defend itself against unfair media coverage can sometimes make victims feel as though their experiences are being minimized or not taken seriously, though that is certainly not the Church's intention! While it may be true that it is not as big a problem as some in the media make it out to be (particularly when we look at the statistics of sexual abuse in the wider population), I think pointing that out can be hurtful / alienating for victims, for whom this was a very big problem. Such a statement can unintentionally make it seem as if the Church is minimizing their pain, and I am concerned with how that might further alienate victims from the Church.
ReplyDeleteThere are no easy answers in all of this, but I do think that there is nothing to be lost from taking the most humble approach (i.e., asking for forgiveness rather than defending its own name). Perhaps such an action would also help to squash some of the unfair media firestorm!
Anyway, this is an issue that affects all of us who love and serve the Church, and a very difficult one at that! The best thing we can all do is to pray.