Abuse: Let the healing begin

When Pope Benedict met five survivors of clerical abuse—representative of all victims of predatory Church personnel—he communicated a powerful message: today, the Church sides with those who have been abused.

It is a message that will be welcomed by those who have suffered abuse and by their families, and one that must be absorbed by the Church at every level.

Too often the cries of those who were abused fell on deaf ears. In America, the epicentre of the global scandal, Pope Benedict opened his arms to the abused, in the United States and everywhere.

The pope’s apology, and his criticism of abusers and bishops who failed to protect them, was momentous. There can be no doubt of his sincerity; he repeatedly dealt with questions of abuse throughout his American visit. The pope had many missions in the US; healing the still raw wounds of abuse occupied a position of priority.

We must not think that this is the end of an agonising chapter in the Church’s life. The healing will take a long time and much work. A mindshift of attitudes remains necessary, even as we are united in condemning all abuse and the neglectful conduct of some bishops in endangering young people.

Too often, Catholics are inclined to respond to allegations of abuse not with empathy, but with a knee-jerk reaction, even accusing those who say they were abused of conducting attacks on the Church.

Pope Benedict told us unequivocally that this response is not the Church’s way. He counselled empathy when he told the US bishops: “No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse. It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention.”

If there can be scrutiny of the pope’s words in the US, then this concerns the cautious diplomacy with which he censured those bishops who were responsible for not taking predatory priests out of circulation. It is an understatement to say that the very many cases of abuse were “badly handled”. Some of these bishops were certainly naïve and incompetent in dealing with predatory priests, but others were guilty of gross, even criminal negligence.

There would have been nothing inappropriate in making a more forceful acknowledgment of these bishops’ failings. The Church must understand that the anger of many is directed at those who had the authority to safeguard the victims of abuse, but failed to do so, sometimes wilfully so.

It would be fanciful to believe that no minor will ever be harmed by a representative of the Church again, even if all due precautions are taken. Today, however, the Church pledges greater vigilance.

We—parents, community, bishops—must empower those who have been molested to report the abuse. The processes that follow must be scrupulously and observably fair, to accuser and accused alike. Disciplinary protocols, such as those adopted in Southern Africa, are important in creating these conditions.

Here the diocesan Profess-ional Conduct Committees must meet regularly to ensure that every case has been dealt with impeccably; that no cases are being left untreated; and that the protocol governing the Church’s response to allegations of abuse is accomplishing its aims, and propose correction if it isn’t.

But more than that: certain mindsets within the Church still need to be reformed to heal the wounds of abuse. And it is in this respect that Pope Benedict’s words and actions in America must guide us.