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A time for prophetic leadership and accountability
Q:Should Pope Benedict XVI be held responsible for the escalating scandals over clerical sexual abuse in Europe? Should he be investigated for cases of abuse that occurred under his watch as archbishop of Munich or as the Vatican's chief doctrinal enforcer? Should the pope resign?
The first and foremost goal for all of us must be the prevention and elimination of the sexual, physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual abuse of children everywhere, all of the time, for the rest of time.
We cannot in good conscience begin this discussion without acknowledging the tremendous hurt and harm, agony and anguish that has been caused by the sexual abuse crisis. The first response by anyone who belongs to the Church must be heartfelt, penitent, unremitting apology.
For American Catholics there is no consolation in the confirmation of what we have known all along: namely, the sexual abuse crisis is not uniquely American. Our season of Lent is long and protracted, and the heartbreaking discussions, discouragement and dismay are as fresh these weeks as they were in 2002. There are multiple opinions-- constructive, emotional, factually inaccurate, prejudicial, insightful and heartbreaking. Whether one's objective is to exonerate or excoriate the pope, surely what matters most for those who belong to and care about the Church is that the outcome be a genuine commitment to penitence and penance, stronger accountability, deeper humility, exemplary managerial and governance oversight practices, openness, restored trust and credibility.
Leadership is hard; prophetic leadership is harder. Few of us ever find ourselves in a position commanding the world's attention with the opportunity to make a dramatic difference and positive contribution. A leader is called in these extraordinarily difficult times to act with total integrity, courage, self-possession, humility and grace. With the sexual abuse crisis and concomitant managerial failures coming to light in Europe, Pope Benedict XVI has the opportunity to address the sexual abuse crisis directly, personally, comprehensively and prophetically. Strong leaders accept personal and corporate responsibility and do what is necessary to make recompense and restore credibility. Catholics are yearning for leadership that reaffirms the aspirations of the Church, Christ-like servant leadership, based on foundational principles of integrity, honesty, openness and transparency. The world is looking to the Holy Father for his response to the unfolding crisis, and he has the chance to offer that on a global platform of profound consequence.
What is essential is that the Catholic Church manifest the highest standards of ethics, accountability and integrity. Standards of excellence in the Church's temporal conduct, contemporary best practices and the extraordinary managerial expertise and competency of the Church's laity, especially women, should be utilized. This scandal is as much a scandal of mismanagement as it is of sexual abuse, and there are countless individuals who wish to assist the Church with this important work, to ensure that there are modern, proven, transparent and effective measures comprehensively in place. In fact, for Catholics it is our baptismal responsibility to be part of the solution. To say nothing, to do nothing, to contribute nothing is to be complicit.
It has been eight years since the sexual abuse scandal first came to light in the U.S. And while the scandal was never uniquely American, the Church in Europe and elsewhere would do well to look to the example of the Church in the U.S. for practical solutions. There are profoundly significant measures that have been developed and undertaken by committed Catholics--laity, bishops, priests and religious--to adopt best management practices, protection policies, widespread training and diocesan audits. To be commended in particular is the valuable work that continues by the National Review Board, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Office of Child and Youth Protection and the Bishops' Committee for the Protection of Children.
For its part, the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management has been working tenaciously, faithfully and effectively to strengthen the managerial, financial and human resource practices of the Church in the U.S. since the first public sexual abuse scandal came to the world's attention in 2002. Comprised of senior executive leaders from all walks of life, all of whom are Catholic, these women and men, lay, religious and ordained have promoted and advanced a culture of excellence, ethics, accountability, transparency, best practices and stewardship in parishes, dioceses, religious communities and Catholic nonprofit institutions. And while the mission of the Leadership Roundtable was never explicitly about the sexual abuse crisis, it is fundamentally dedicated to strengthening the temporal affairs of the Church, positively affecting underlying conditions that may have contributed to the scandal, and solving contemporary demographic challenges facing the Church.
In the spirit of being part of the solution to the challenges facing the Church we love, one specific approach might be to convene a synod on the abuse crisis itself, comprised of laity (especially parents), religious, clergy and bishops. The aim would be to highlight areas of shared responsibility and to strengthen canonical norms addressing Church management.
So few among us have a global platform of influence. The pope does. Furthermore, no other institution in the world has a larger global network for humanitarian purposes than the Catholic Church. For all the abuse, sin, criminal acts and neglect, and failure of leadership, there is also the example of millions of Catholic men and women who daily demonstrate their faith in action. These works include educating the poor; caring for the sick; championing human rights; alleviating suffering; promoting reconciliation, mercy and peace; advocating for economic and social justice; visiting the imprisoned; caring for the elderly, indigent, undocumented, and disabled; advancing environmental stewardship, promoting the common good, extending charity and defending life.
It is deeply Catholic to believe that from death comes new life; that redemption is possible; and that personally and communally we can transform suffering and brokenness into grace and blessings for others. In the spirit of promoting the dignity of the human person and in accordance with the Church's preferential option for the poorest, the most defenseless, and the most vulnerable, let us pray that our generation's Easter is a new day where all of the world's children are sacred and safe.
By
Kerry Robinson
|
April 1, 2010; 3:04 PM ET
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Posted by: areyousaying | April 5, 2010 9:27 PM
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Think about it. Why are monotheistic traditions (Christianity and Islam) unable to live in peace in pluralist societies?
It costs 145 billion dollars to operate global Christianity, records a book on evangelization. The Church commands 4,000,000 full time Christian workers, it runs 13,000 major libraries, it publishes 22,000 periodicals, it operates 1,800 Christian Radio and TV stations. It runs 1,500 universities and 930 research centers. It has 250,000 foreign missionaries and over 400 institutions to train them. These are 1989 numbers. No wonder Church needs Nazi gold looted from Jews of Europe and drug money to support this gigantic multinational operation.
Mahatma Gandhi wrote: "Only the other day a missionary descended on a famine area with money in his pocket, distributed it among the famine stricken, converted them to his fold, took charge of their temple, and demolished it. This is outrageous." (quoted in Harijan: November 5, 1937).
Sexual abuse and corruption in India's Catholic Churches
http://myexperimentsagainstprejudice.blogspot.com/2009/02/church-sex-and-scandals.html
Posted by: futuralogic | April 4, 2010 5:03 PM
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There is no heaven of glory bright, and no hell where sinners roast. Here and now is our day of torment! Here and now is our day of joy! Here and now is our opportunity! Choose ye this day, this hour, for no
redeemer liveth!
The only way to cure the cancer of catholicism, and stop the pedophilia, is to begin each ceremony of ordination to the deaconate with castration. Let any priest who wants to be celibate make a gift of his balls to jesus.
YOU ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN A NEW BLOG…
…that tackles Church abuse, separation of Church and State, Atheism, Buddhism, Existentialism….
Posted by: Schaum | April 4, 2010 3:36 PM
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Kerry: Thank you for your well thought out article. I am the National Secretary of Voice of the Faithful. We are active and loyal members of our church. Our mission is to be faithful to the spiritual good of our church while being well aware that structural change is desperately needed. Our approach is to provide solutions not condemnation. We recently sent a 13 page document to the Pope and other members of the church hierarchy to implement changes in the selection of bishops. Currently, bishops are selected by a small group of hierarchy in secret sessions. Our recommendation is to open the process up to the wider church, including the priest of the church and the laity. It is our belief that this will open up the bishop selection process and make it more transparent forcing the church to receive the advice of its members and not just its select leadership. Much of the current sex abuse cover up was fueled by misguided loyalties and forced secrecy. The faithful deserve better. You can review our web site at votf.org for more information.
Posted by: DrNick2 | April 2, 2010 4:53 PM
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Kerry, I like your proposal for a national synod. In fact, the hero of my novel, "Cardinal Mahony" (a fictional Cardinal Mahony) is, at the end of the novel, leading the American Church toward a Fourth Council of Baltimore, one in which all of the delegates come to the Council with active voice to write new rules for the American Church -- a constitution, if you will, modeled on the U.S. Constitution. I am writing a sequel where all this happens (or does not happen). Fiction is a fine thing, to help us start thinking out of the box, but, frankly, I'd rather report on the real thing. Maybe this is a golden time for the U.S. Church to call that synod.
Posted by: ROBERTBLAIRKAISER | April 2, 2010 12:40 PM
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Very well put Kerry!
Posted by: OneCatholic | April 2, 2010 9:02 AM
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Kerry's insights are right on target. Their are countless individuals around the world who have been hurt by priests and further harmed by the bishops's mismanagement. The pope, as leader of this Church, has the power and prerogative to institutionalize change in how the Church deals with sexual abuse by priests and Church workers. The adoption of the US model, in which cases are reported immediately to law enforcement officials and victims are treated with pastoral care and concern, should be implemented globally. The laity must be involved, and the Church needs to learn from its past failures, to help stop the abuse of minors in all segments of society.
Posted by: Mike20036 | April 1, 2010 4:07 PM
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Enough!
Enough Catholic sniveling, weak apologizing, demonizing the victims and lame whining "Others do it, too"
Know and recognize the symptoms of a priest "grooming" or molesting children:
http://sexual-abuse.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_pedophiles_groom_victims
Report suspicious behavior by priests to the FBI, the US Attorney or the National Child Abuse Hotline:
http://www.childhelp.org/pages/hotline
1-800-4-A-CHILD
DO NOT report the problem the the diocese, Catholic DAs or police departments with Catholic lieutenants, captains and/or chiefs.
It's time we put this church on notice that their pervert molesters and their criminal accomplices will now be reported to and investigated and prosecuted by US Justice. It's time to take a stand and say enough.