Church in
Crisis Commentary Reflections from the eye of the hurricane
Fr. Thomas Doyle, who worked for the popes representative
in the United States in the early 1980s, was one of three drafters of a report
given to the United States bishops in June 1985. That report was largely
ignored (NCR, May 17). Since then, Doyle has been an outspoken critic of
the bishops in their handling of the sex abuse crisis. He currently is an Air
Force chaplain stationed in Germany.
By THOMAS P. DOYLE
Jan. 6, the day The Boston Globe published its first major
story about the sex abuse cover-up, was the day the hurricane hit land, but it
was not the beginning of the storm, nor was it the peak moment. The Boston
storm has turned out to be a squall line reaching across the Catholic church.
Six months ago few would have believed the debacle would have lasted this long,
but it has. And it shows no sign of letting up. More and more corruption and
dishonesty is being dredged up. The anger has spread across all stripes of
Catholics with the staunch orthodox as disgusted as the futuristic
liberals.
The hierarchical system still has plenty of defenders who keep
repeating the same tired excuses like frightened children whistling in the
dark. The two main targets for deflecting attention from the fundamental issue
are, of course, the secular press and the homosexual establishment. Some
quibble over the distinction between pedophiles and ephebophiles, laying the
blame on a conspiracy between gays and the hedonistic critics of traditional
Catholic morality. What these people dont get is the fact that sexual
abuse is sexual abuse, whether the target is a 6-year-old boy or a 46-year-old
woman, and when the abuser is a priest the evil is compounded with a gross
betrayal of trust, which is tantamount to spiritual rape.
Probably one of the more ridiculous excuses has been to lay the
blame on the so-called sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s.
Cultural trends dont cause sexual disorders. Besides, there was plenty of
abuse going on before then. The difference is that it was more deeply hidden,
in part by a deep-seated Catholic naiveté that prevented the average
Catholic or average anyone from believing that priests would do these
things.
Members of the secular media have really taken their share of hits
from the clerical establishment from the pope on down. The slams from people in
the Vatican bureaucracy, the editors of La Civiltà
Cattolica and various high-ranking churchmen throughout the world would be
almost comical were it not for the fact that these arrogant pronouncements
further victimize the victims by directly implying that this is all an
exaggeration. Civiltà, an influential Jesuit journal, claims that
the presss treatment of the sex scandal is morbid and
scandalous and reflects growing anti-Catholicism in the United States. If
they really think people believe that assessment, then its fair to say
that their grip on reality is tenuous at best. The coverage is certainly morbid
and scandalous, because the sex abuse is morbid, and the arrogant cover-ups
have been worse than scandalous. Anti-Catholic attitudes! Theyre right in
principle but off the mark. Allowing the sexual pillaging of Catholic young
people and then lying about it while at the same time squandering millions of
Catholic dollars in hush money, thats anti-Catholic!
Several years ago Capuchin Fr. Michael Crosby wrote that the
Catholic church is a dysfunctional family. All of the classic symptoms of
dysfunction and addictive behavior are present. For years, clergy sexual abuse
of children and adults was like the elephant in the living room. Everyone
tiptoed around, and no one wanted to ask why it was there. Then the elephant
moved, and the whole house shook.
Its fair to say that the catalogue of excuses offered by the
leadership for its irresponsible reaction to the many cases of abuse, and the
attacks on the secular press, the so-called materialistic society, the
plaintiffs lawyers, the victims rights advocates and even the
victims themselves, are symptoms of corporate denial and fear.
This crisis is a massive deluge that didnt start in January
2002 or even back in 1985. It goes back for centuries -- look at what St. Peter
Damian wrote in the 11th century and how he was received by the establishment.
The eruptions that have been taking place not only in the United States but
throughout the world are indicative of the fact that more is wrong than
sexually abusive clerics. There is something radically amiss with the entire
clerical system. There are reasons why the churchs leadership has acted
as it did but these reasons are far from the hardly believable catalogue of
excuses we keep hearing.
Deep-seated fear
To have handled the problem effectively from the beginning would
have necessitated a radical shift in attitude and outlook. In a sense this is a
theological issue: Who is the church? The clerical establishment thinks that it
is the church and guards its security at all costs. The denial mechanisms we
have seen are indicative of a deep-seated fear that the structures, so long the
fortress of the clerical subculture, will change. To have responded with
immediate compassion and total concern for the victims carried with it the
immense risk of losing the security provided by the power and prestige of the
episcopate. This is the risk that goes with reaching out as Christ would have
done. It means that the value of one victim goes far beyond all the power,
prestige and monetary worth of the entire system.
A two-edged common denominator in the bizarre series of statements
coming out of certain highly placed Vatican officials, Italian journals,
prelates such as Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiago of
Honduras and others is the narcissistic obsession with the image of the
church and the scandalous lack of concern for the victims. Why?
Simply put, its because the prelates dont know the victims. The
church is people, not rules, traditions, rituals or governmental structures.
Some bishops have tried to justify their lawyers incredible hardball
tactics with victims by saying that they have an obligation to protect the
churchs patrimony. Thats a church buzzword for the money. In other
words, the money is more important than the horrific damage done to the victims
by the abusing priests.
All that most of the victims ever wanted was belief, understanding
and compassion from the bishops. Instead they got threats, intimidation,
manipulation and subterfuge. The ecclesiastical establishment couldnt
break free of the obsessive secrecy and self-absorption to take the risk of
embracing the victims.
Perhaps what is so threatening to the Vatican bureaucrats and many
of the bishops is the realization that the medieval church is finally starting
to crumble before them. This was the church that put so much stock in power,
prestige and control. The masses were largely uneducated and superstitious.
They had to be controlled because the hierarchy knew what was best for all, and
the laity was generally in a state of sin anyway. It was easy to build
kingdoms, little and big, in the church power structure.
Medieval church is dying
All one has to do is take an impartial look at the traditional
governmental model, clearly outlined in the Code of Canon Law, to see the
concept of monarchy loud and clear. That model doesnt work anymore. The
false presumption of uneducated, sinful masses is a figment of history. The
people, led by the abuse survivors, wont tolerate an institutional church
that puts looking good and the preservation of power and control above the
emotional and spiritual welfare of persons. The medieval church is dying,
terminally afflicted with the virus called clericalism.
This is all a painful reminder of the fact that the Catholic
church is centered on Jesus Christ, not any human structure. Furthermore, its
claims to reflect the word and example of Christ must be present in the real
life of the church, not just in sermons or theology books. It means little to a
wounded survivor to say the church is love unless we do it, not by
word but by action.
The credibility of the hierarchy will not be restored by mere
words -- more decrees, more public apologies, more promises of no more
abuse. New and streamlined ways of disposing of abusive clerics (and the
further tromping underfoot of due process) wont do it. The bishops need
to openly admit why there have been cover-ups and lies. Following this, their
credibility might possibly be restored somewhere in the future if they begin
now to actually get to know the victims and survivors by reaching out, one by
one, to them.
What would Jesus do? Thats not just a cutesy
motto for teens or dreamy idealists. That is the fundamental issue before the
church today. The answer is obvious. Its not one that comes out of power
or medieval panoply but genuine compassion for those who are in pain. It means
action, not just words. It also means accepting not only what Jesus would do,
but quite possibly what he is doing right now, and that is reminding us just
what his church is all about.
National Catholic Reporter, June 21,
2002
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