What about the victims

It is ironic that the deluge of media revelations of the sex scandal in the Church has failed to put the spotlight on the distress of the victims.

While the US press, notably the Boston Globe, did the Church a great service by revealing a grievous state of affairs, the secular media has undermined that good work by turning the news into a stick with which to beat the Church on other issues. The victims of abuse have been mostly relegated to the minor role of what the film director Alfred Hitchcock used to call “the McGuffin”, the mere thread on which the central story line–here a big scandal–hangs.

Besieged by a frequently bellicose media, Church leaders have mostly been on the backfoot. Some, but not all, have expressed profound regret for mishandling allegations of paedophilia in the past. Others have taken refuge in legalisms and attacks on the media, some even in self-pity.

All the while, many survivors of clerical sex abuse speak about feeling “forgotten by the Church”.

Of course, the Church has paid out vast sums of money in “compensation”. In as far as these payments are not contingent on the abuse survivor’s silence–lest it be seen as hush money–the material side of contrition is proper, even essential.

Unambiguous admissions of accountability and sincere apologies are equally indispensable. These must, of course, come from the responsible bishops themselves. In this, the Church in England and Wales is shining a beacon in having a Mass, concelebrated by all the region’s bishops, next month for the survivors of abuse.

Individual acts of repentance do not suffice, however. The whole Church has to acknowledge responsibility–from the high reaches of the hierarchy to the laity–for tolerating (never mind encouraging) a culture in which the abuse of children by Church personnel could occur unchecked.

The Church must unequivocally condemn a culture in which the reputation of a priest took precedence over the well-being of a child.

Bearing in mind Jesus’ uncharacteristically severe injunction against those who harm children, a collective mea culpa seems obligatory. What a sign of contrition and healing it would be if the pope were to offer a public Mass devoted to the victims of abuse.

Many victims of sexual abuse relate that they blame themselves for their violation. Alas, many Catholics–unable to bring themselves to believe that a priest could commit depraved acts–helped to perpetuate this inexplicable sense of guilt. Indeed, some continue to do so today.

Survivors of abuse must be told what right-thinking “non-victims” may hold as self-evident: sexual abuse is always a crime, and the victim is not to blame. The scandal does not rest with the survivors of abuse, but with the perpetrators and those who protect them.

It is likely that for every case of clergy abuse that has emerged, there are many more that remain hidden.

If the Church is indeed committed to purifying itself from the disgrace of sexual abuse, perhaps now is a good time to consider a process along the lines of South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission.