Responding to scandal

by Editor · March 12, 2014

Over the past decade or so, the Catholic Church worldwide has taken a thorough and not unmerited beating over scandals of sexual abuse and their cover-up.

It is right that priests who are found guilty of crimes in civil and/or Church law should be punished in proportion to their offence by the respective authorities. There can be no exemption from justice.

No matter how much the Church has worked, and still is working, to put things right, there remains a public perception of the Catholic Church as a haven for sexual predators, and a mistaken but persistent prejudice that Catholic priests are disproportionately inclined towards sexual abuse of children.

So the news that another allegation of sexual abuse by a priest will come to a South African court in April, will have been upsetting to Catholics.

Many Catholics might have been confronted with the news by colleagues, friends or even family members; some of them may well have used the allegation as a stick with which to beat the Church.

The prudent response is to stress that the Church has learnt very sorrowful lessons from past errors and injustices, and has taken many steps to ensure that minors are safe within the Church, and that any allegation of abuse is treated seriously and in full cooperation with the law.

The Church�s concern must be first for the survivors of abuse and their families.

It must be consistently restated that there can be no tolerance for sexual abuse of any kind in the Catholic Church, or elsewhere. Such violations, especially when committed by people in privileged positions of trust, are contrary to the Gospel values we Catholics espouse.

Our concern must also extend to the great majority of priests who have conducted their ministry with undiminished integrity, but may now be regarded by many with mistrust as a result of the transgressions of their brother priests.

The current case in the archdiocese of Pretoria has been handled flawlessly in accordance with the law and the Church�s protocols governing sexual abuse.

The archdiocese has not offered an opinion on the merits of the case, and will begin its own investigation only once the civil case has run its course.

Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria, in an interview with The Southern Cross, emphasised that the Church�s �essential priority�is the protection of children�.

The archbishop also issued a timely pastoral letter which gave the faithful courage in a difficult time, and asked for prayers for all involved. This includes the complainant and the priest, their families and friends, priests, parishioners and so on.

In our prayers we must also include the archbishop, on whom rests a heavy burden.

We must heed Archbishop Slattery�s call not to engage in �gossip, exaggeration or innuendo�, and wait for the truth to emerge in court. It is not our place to determine whether the priest is innocent or whether the complainant is truthful.

Without making reference to the current case, it is necessary to keep in mind that the human failings of Church officials do not compromise the salvific mission of the Church, the Real Presence in the Eucharist, or any of the essentials that define us as Catholics.

The Gospel calls on us not to sit in judgment and urges us to find forgiveness.

Invariably a priest is rightly held to higher standards than others, because he represents Christ in the Mass.

At the same time, a priest is also just a man, susceptible to sin as all humans are. Even when he is publicly exposed as a sinner, and full rehabilitation in his ministry is impossible, in his brokenness he cannot be simply cast aside.

In such cases, the faithful are confronted with the question of whether the revelations of sexual abuse annul the offending priest�s body of pastoral work.

One may think of Antony�s speech in Shakespeare�s Julius Caesar: �The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.� More than any court sentence, ostracism or calamity, this may be the true and harsh penalty for the abuser priest.

As Christians we must pray for the survivors of sexual abuse and all those affected by it � but we must also spare a prayer for the spiritual healing of the offender. Difficult though it may be for some, it is the Christian way.