The recent spate of accusations of priestly sexual abuse and the concomitant reports of episcopal negligence have caused deep pain to many inside and outside the Church. As a faithful Catholic I am deeply ashamed. As someone whose family life has been impacted by such abuse (the priest who baptized me had serially abused a family member years earlier), I am offended when some in the Church perpetuate the victimization through a crass and irresponsible defensiveness. All the bad journalism in the world does not make the Pope a victim in any sense remotely comparable to those who suffered at the hands of abusive priests and litigious dioceses.
As each day brings a new devastating headline, I feel quite helpless. One day, early on in the current crisis, it struck me that the only thing I had experienced that gave me the same feeling was during a juvenile game my friends put me through at my bachelor party. At the end of a fun afternoon of paintball, I discovered they had a special game planned just for me. They had provided a costume and set up an obstacle course. Donning the costume, I would have to complete the obstacle course as quickly as possible while being shot at by at least a dozen snipers. As I sprinted out from the starting gate paint balls whizzed past me, but soon they snipers found their angle and the hits began. I only remember the first one. It was impossible to count them, but they hurt like hell (my costume didn’t offer much protection). In the middle of the course I was high on a platform and had to untie a flag from a tree branch. As I stood still, I was an easy target. The hits kept coming. I couldn’t take it anymore. I dove behind the platform and hid. The guns stopped firing. After a moment someone asked if I was alright. I managed to say “No!” From behind the platform I could see the finish line. I knew going out again would be intensely painful, but at the finish line it would stop.
To me, each new news report feels like another shot. I have lost count of them. I am standing, vulnerable, waiting for the next one. I don’t know when it will end. The pain is intense but I have no option except to take it.
The Church must fight the temptation to duck and cover. There will be no resurrection if we do not see this right to the end. Something has to die here. My question is, “What does our death look like?”
In my reading, especially over at the America blog, I have come across some interesting proposals. Here are some initial ideas that have come up in my reading and my thinking on the topic. I wonder what Vox Nova readers think of these ideas and what other proposals might be out there. We have to do something.
1. The Pope should call an extraordinary Synod of Bishops to deal with the crisis ASAP.
2. The Church and the secular media need to establish a better working relationship. For all their flaws, the media is not the enemy. We owe them a great debt. How can the Church get over its instinct to kill the messenger? How can the media be helped to better understand and represent the Church?
3. Every bishop in the world needs to meet regularly with victims and their advocates.
4. The next “Year of . . . ” that comes out of Rome should be a year of prayer and fasting for this evil. Failing that, we should all start praying and fasting anyway.
5. Fire Bill Donahue.
What other concrete proposals have you heard? Do you have any to make yourself? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these proposals?
Brett Salkeld is a doctoral student in theology at Regis College in Toronto. He is a father of two (so far) and husband of one.
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