There is a facet of the Catholic Church sexual abuse cases that has gotten lots of discussion in private conversations but has gotten lost in all the public concern about money and property holdings. We need to talk more openly about the damage done to the victims by people who were supposed to be mentoring their spiritual growth.
I have never thought of the crisis as being a financial accounting problem, rather a moral one.
This appalling situation concerns the power and secrecy of the perpetrators; beyond that it cries out for healing of the victims, penitence by the Church and the acknowledgment of the victims’ pain in ways that are sincere and meaningful. It is well known in therapeutic circles that predation is not now and never has been about sex. It is about power. To ensure the maintenance of power there must be secrecy. The two are inextricably linked in this situation. Unfortunately, power and secrecy have long been the dominant administrative style of the Church hierarchy.
In sexual abuse cases, they serve to protect the perpetrator and to keep the sin from reaching daylight.
Predators are spiritually weak and damaged people, some victims themselves. They are attracted to powerful roles where there is an abundance of those who are trusting and innocent.
As cradle Catholics we are taught to think of God as a divine Father, that obedience to God’s plan is essential to our salvation and that acquiescence to spiritual leaders is right and just. When these religious authorities speak on matters of faith and morals, they are acting within their realm of expertise and so deserve our respect and consideration.
However, this attitude of deference has led them to expect slavish and unquestioned obedience in all matters, even where it is not logical. Therefore, when we allow the designation, Father, to be used for those leaders, we empower them significantly. That so very many men are worthy of that trust is beyond doubt.
Except what about the not so honorable? We must try to imagine what happens to the heart and soul of an innocent when a trusted, revered and ordained man called “Father” behaves immorally toward them. What does that teach about God? What does it teach when Church authorities must be forced by law to remedy the situation?
The wicked act may damage so badly that it may be lost to conscious thought. The survivor may not want anything to do with God, may not ever enter the Church again and not even be sure why. In most cases, these memories, forgotten or not, eventually do surface and express the need for healing.
At that point, the time is right to reach out compassionately to acknowledge the pain and the sinfulness of the transgression. It can be a powerful moment that brings faith and healing.
A positive outcome of this type may be the exception rather than the rule. More often the victim is disbelieved everywhere, and sometimes severely punished for their involvement, by parents and relatives, certainly by the perpetrator and now by an unyielding Church.
Besides the lack of compassion, a teaching window has been lost. It might have been used to show the healing touch of God the seriousness of the sin, and to teach by example the need for confession and repentance.
At the very least, I would have expected the call for a liturgy led by Bishop Brom and focused on healing of the spiritual life of the individuals as well as the Church as a whole.
However, money remains the issue. Money may help with therapeutic choices to allow the victim the healing that must be done on several levels.
Given the circumstances, civil suits are about the only way to establish accountability for the crime. Now, in San Diego, survivors continue to be victimized by the very process that tries to offer redress. That the hierarchy of my beloved Church, with its profound theology and rich liturgical tradition, is party to this serious failure of justice is heartbreaking.
At this point, good solutions are few. The lack of openness and willingness by powerful churchmen to adequately consider the human side of this matter is a big obstacle. There is concern that not all bishops are complying with the new policies set down by the group as a whole. It is commonly held that one is unable to speak about power to the powerful, because they can’t hear the defects in their own policies.
While it is too late for any credible moral support from the diocese, there is still time for the hundreds of disappointed, disgusted and angry Catholics to make their opinions known.
Catholics will always vote with the only avenue open to them, money. Due to the inherent power and secrecy existing within the closed society that is the Catholic hierarchy, it is a reasonable solution.
If participating Catholics throughout the diocese withheld their regular contribution until a settlement was reached, it would take place swiftly.
As things stand, I expect Bishop Brom will thwart mediation and allow settlement hours before the first case goes to trial. Established patterns are hard to change.
” University City resident Judith Bethel is a professional sculptor, mother, grandmother and cradle Catholic who spent 20-plus years working for the Catholic Church as an artist. During that time, she had a good look at the inner workings of the administration and enough advanced study of Church theology to know how far afoul of church teaching this has gone.