Julián Carrón, the president of Communion and Liberation, in a letter to La Republica, has written the most profound reflection on sexual abuse in the Church I have seen so far.
None of us has ever been as dismayed as we are in front of the heart-wrenching story of child abuse. Our dismay arises from our inability to respond to the demand for justice which springs from the bottom of our hearts.
The request to assume responsibility, the acknowledgement of the evil committed, the reprimand for the mistakes made in the handling of the affair – all of this seems to us to be totally inadequate as we face this sea of evil. Nothing seems to be enough. And so we can understand the frustrated reactions that have been coming forth at this time.
This has all served the purpose of making us stand face to face with our demand for justice, acknowledging that it is limitless, bottomless – as deep as the wound itself. Since it is infinite, it can never be satisfied. So the dissatisfaction, impatience and even the disillusionment of the victims are understandable, even after all the injuries and mistakes have been admitted: nothing can satisfy their thirst for justice. It’s like entering into an endless struggle. From this point of view, the ones who committed the abuse are paradoxically facing a challenge similar to that of the victims: nothing can repair the damage that has been done. This in no way means that their responsibility can be lifted, and much less the verdict that justice may impose upon them; it would not be enough even if they were to serve the maximum sentence.
(snip)
It is the Pope who, paradoxically, in his disarming boldness, has not fallen prey to reducing justice to any sort of human measure. To begin with, he admitted without hesitation the gravity of the evil committed by priests and religious, urged them to accept their responsibility for it, and condemned the way certain bishops in their fear of scandal have handled the affair, expressing his deep dismay over what had happened and taking steps to ensure that it not happen again. But then, he expressed his full awareness that this is not enough to respond to the demand that there be justice for the harm inflicted: “I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated.” Likewise, even if the perpetrators serve their sentences, repent, and do penance, it will never be enough to repair the damage they did to the victims and to themselves.
Benedict XVI’s recognition of the true nature of our need, of our struggle, is the only way to save our full demand for justice; it is the only way to take it seriously, to take it fully into consideration. “The demand for justice is a need that is proper to man, proper to a person. Without the possibility of something beyond, of an answer that lies beyond the existential modalities that we can experience, justice is impossible… If the hypothesis of a ‘beyond’ were eliminated, that demand would be unnaturally suffocated” (Father Giussani). So how did the Pope save this demand? By calling on the only one who can save it, someone who makes the beyond present in the here and now, namely, Christ, the Mystery made flesh. “Jesus Christ … was Himself a victim of injustice and sin. Like you, He still bears the wounds of His own unjust suffering. He understands the depths of your pain and its enduring effect upon your lives and your relationships, including your relationship with the Church.” Calling on Christ is not a way to seek a hiding place to run off to in the face of the demand for justice: it is the only way to bring justice about.
If the universe is irrational, life is meaningless. A universe without justice is irrational. But how can wrongs ever be righted, how can justice ever be fulfilled. Sexual abuse brings into focus the evil in ever wrong action: the good creation has been damaged, and can never be repaired, because the past cannot be changed.
When a person who has done wrong (and all are sinners) faces this, he knows that the wrong he has done in his life is irreparable. No matter what he does, he can never meet the demands of justice. Justice can never be satisfied, and a universe without justice is irrational and meaningless, and life is not worth living.
Unless justice can be satisfied, life is meaningless. But man can never satisfy justice, he cannot restore life to the murdered, innocence to the defiled. Only an uncreated power not bounded by space or time can do that, and can do it in a way that we can only dimly begin to understand.
Christ bears the wounds of his unjust suffering for all eternity, but now they are glorified. What does that mean for us, for the human sinners and the human victims? – eye has not seen not ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what it means, but the faith that it means something, that somehow in the end God will vindicate all victims, that He will right all wrongs, that He will wipe away the tears from every eye, is the faith of a Church that now sees but in a glass darkly.
Very Girardian.
Beautifully said. Only in Christ does it all come together. Wasn’t it Camus who, believing there was no God and hence no ultimate order or meaning, said every person must justify to him/herself why NOT to commit suicide. Ah for the old atheists like him who, unlike the superficial and silly Dawkins and Hitchens, faced all that God’s non-existence implied.
Jesus said” Behold, I make all things new.” We can have the confidence that our Lord will restore everything the way it should be.
Maybe this is an answer for those who feel the pain of having to look at the evil of child sexual abuse by clergy. But for those who suffered it ? Turn to god ? A consistency in these cases is that the predators used god, and their positions as representatives of god, as PART of the abuse, as a justification of the abuse to their victims. You would tell victims to turn to god for justice ?
If one looks at the sexual abuse of youth by clergy in so many countries, known to highest leadership through documents from courts and other sources, and listens to the early voices of those abused and their parents, the request in so many cases was to notify those in charge to do something so that other youth would not suffer.
That theme comes through loud and clear in so many of the personal stories and letters.
What happened? In so many cases nothing of substance and worse, the avoidance of scandal and publicity allowed the stables to remain filthy with transfers, with or without attempted rest, reflection and/or ?treatment, because the public never came to understand that there were predators, counting on their elevated status, to continue their abusive patterns.
Justice for the victim of each instance of sexual abuse may not be possible in this world. But justice for the power abuse, either by acts of commission or omission, is more possible, isn’t it?
Canon Law has changed over the years and church law and process can change again. Those responsible for the “power abuse” (as opposed to those who were themselves sexual abusers) have suffered no personal consequences, have they? Why not? One unintended and serious consequence is the disregard or suspicion for statements of moral purpose from ordained leaders today!! What a tragedy for the majority of the ordained. Where is a call for justice involving structural change that would include a more open, fully accountable and transparent leadership?? Instead there is a steady mantra that tells us “it is over” from the lawyers, the P.R. pros and Diocesan offices.
It is hoped that an aware public will understand that priests are human too and capable of serious sin in the choices they may make. No “invisible pedestals” granted to clergy as has happened for too many years that allowed predators a “free pass” with youth.
And we can all encourage reconciliation and healing for all of the faithful. However, that requires dialogue, serious listening, and some changes that will discontinue the “power abuses” that made matters worse and for far too long.
Reconciliation demands: a truthful statement about the nature of the wrongdoing; a request for forgiveness by those guilty or responsible admitting their role in the wrongdoing (and not just for the sorrowful feeling shared by many about the consequences on the victim/survivor); and dealing with the matter of repentance that in this instance would contemplate an opening of the process in each locale with accountability beyond that offered by the ordained. That is what might be contemplated in a true pilgrim church that is guided by the Holy Spirit. Peace and healing to all.
Jane, I can well understand your anger and resentment toward people who abused God’s name to engage in their perversion. I would like you to consider these ideas:
1. God does not look askance at such abuse, especially when done by people who ostensibly hold authority in His name. I suggest you read 1 Samuel 2, 12-25 and 27-36. It talks about how two sons of the high priest abused their authority, how the high priest did nothing…and how all were punished severely by God. Also, read Ezekiel 34, in which the prophet condemns in no uncertain terms the “false shepherds” who have exploited the flock of Israel.
2. Also, try to remember that Christ Himself endured all sorts of physical and psychological abuse during his trial, beating and crucifixion. In bearing human sin on the cross, Christ felt the full affect of that sin. So Christ — who sits at God’s right hand — understands the pain and anguish of the innocent far more than any of us can understand. He sides with the victims, not the perpetrators who have blasphemed His and His Father’s name!
3. Scripture constantly asserts that, as St. James said, the essence of true religion is helping widows and orphans in their distress. “Widows” and “orphans” represent those who are the most vulnerable. Those who exploit them will be judged most severely.
Jane, I understand that citing a few biblical passages will not erase the pain of what has been to others and what might have been done to you. I just want you to understand that God is for the victims and againstthe abusers, regardless of what lies those abusers have told and keep on telling.
Your brand of justice lies in the belief in some invisible being in the sky along with the likes of hocus-pocus.
What of those who don’t believe in your god?
What of those who want justice here on earth so that the abusers suffer while in flesh?
What of those whom the church has turned her back on with the hope they will just go away?
What about the Vatican honoring those who have abused or been complicit it their crimes?
The kind of justice I wish to see may be out of reach, but giving a bacillica in Rome to a cardinal who skipped of of town to avoid a grand jury hearing is not the direction to take.
The kind of justice I wish to see may be out of reach, but giving a bacillica in Rome to a cardinal who skipped of of town to avoid a grand jury hearing is not the direction to take.
Nameless 1, I wholeheartedly agree with that assertion. I was sexually abused, myself (not by a priest or in a religious context). But God is not some “invisible being in the sky” who specializes in “hocus-pocus.” Either He exists or He doesn’t. If He exists, then His personality and character either matches Scriptural revelation or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, and if He doesn’t, then your points are well taken. But if it does, and if He does, then His moral authority must be taken seriously. And if His moral authority is to be taken seriously, then people have the moral obligation to defend the innocent and protect them from the perverted. If that means lawsuits and criminal investigations, so be it. If that means imprisonment for bishops and archbishops, so be it.
In any event, Nameless 1, I don’t think we’ve heard the last about this centuries-old scandal (I say centuries old because St. Alphonsus Ligouri suggested that child molesters in the clergy be castrated). By the time all the dirty laundry gets aired, and that might take a long time, Catholicism could wel have less moral credibility than
Nazism, Fascism and Communism combined.