Viewpoint
The Catholic church confronts its future
By JAMES E. POST
Cardinal Bernard F. Law’s
resignation as archbishop of Boston and the Vatican’s official ap-proval
of the “Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with
Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons” marks the end
of one chapter, and the beginning of another, in the unfolding story of the
clergy sexual abuse scandal.
Throughout the United States and the world, the wounds of the
Catholic church must heal on many levels. Relationships among bishops and the
priests, survivors and laity will take time and special efforts to repair. In
particular, reconciliation between the Catholic church hierarchy and survivors
of clergy sexual abuse will require that justice be done through the fair
settlement of legal cases. It will also require the hierarchy’s sustained
commitment to education programs, therapy for victims and their families, and
dialogue.
Catholic leaders -- clergy and lay -- with whom I have spoken
foresee a decade or more of hard work to reestablish stable relationships among
priests, survivors, laity and bishops. In Boston alone, the hundreds of
lawsuits are likely to take upwards of five years to resolve, even under the
most optimistic scenarios. Throughout the United States, church attendance,
regular financial support and Catholic philanthropy are all down now -- in some
dioceses, by 20 percent or more.
Bringing those levels up by regaining trust will take more than
well-written policies and promises. It will take action. Bishops, priests, and
laity must define a new set of terms about how Catholics will participate in,
and actively support, their church.
There are several practical steps that bishops and laity should
take to begin the process of healing, reconciliation and reunification:
Create advisory boards that aren’t just for show.
Existing governance structures in each diocese -- including pastoral councils,
finance councils and advisory boards -- need to be reinvigorated or
reconstructed. Right now, a typical diocese’s finance committee is run by
lay people who are likely to view their appointments as honorary.
Instead of mild, deferential laity who value these honorary
appointments, lay boards must be populated with tough-minded, independent
thinking Catholics who will “speak truth to power,” telling bishops
what they need to know, rather than what they want to hear, particularly
regarding budgets, administration, financial planning and personnel. Each
person serving on a lay board is a steward for the interests of all Catholics
and must resist succumbing to the insidious effects of “insider”
status and privilege.
Let the sun shine in. Secrecy and authoritarianism created
the conditions in which sexual abuse could flourish within the church.
Currently, some dioceses have newly created review boards meant to evaluate
sexual abuse allegations. These boards are made up of lay people whose names
have not been revealed.
Such “secret” review boards are an unacceptable
contradiction in terms. Bishops must not undermine their stated commitment to
openness by resorting to concealment. As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
once said, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” Sunlight and the open
participation of the laity are the only ways to cleanse and purify the
church.
Don’t allow wiggle room. Rhetorical commitment is not
sufficient. There must be vigorous definition and implementation of child
protection policies beyond the norms approved by the U.S. bishops and the
Vatican. For instance, bishops can go beyond the final revised norms in terms
of rolling back the 10-year statute of limitations and making sure that the
influence of lay review boards is not diminished. The bishops also must not
slow proceedings down deliberately, underfund policies and procedures, or
appoint weak personnel for implementation.
Listen to those who’ve been wounded. Bishops must
learn to bring people together, to listen as well as speak, and to respect the
anger, hurt and sense of betrayal felt by millions of decent Catholics.
Overrule backsliders. Local parishes need strong lay
involvement in parish councils, finance councils, and committees that oversee
clerical and lay personnel, child protection policies and pastoral activities.
Bishops need to press sincerely and unequivocally for these forms of lay
influence, and they must overrule pastors who resist it. In particular, safe
parish programs must be adequately funded and competently staffed.
Find the money, even if it hurts. Fulfilling all of these
commitments -- therapy for victims, staff for safe parish programs, tough
advisory panels and, yes, lawsuit payouts -- will cost money. In some dioceses,
there may be more insurance money than is currently thought. Where there are
shortfalls, however, the church might need to make the painful, but necessary,
sacrifice of mortgaging its extensive properties.
Months ago, when we saw donations dropping in Boston, Voice of the
Faithful set up the Voice of Compassion-Boston Fund. This fund was intended to
send tens of thousands of dollars in diverted donations back to the same
Catholic charities the Boston diocese supports, but through a system that
tracks exactly where the money goes, modeling the concepts of accountability
and transparency. As of this writing, however, the archdiocese of Boston has
rejected our first quarter donation; but its semi-independent agency, Catholic
Charities, has accepted it. We envision the Voice of Compassion-Boston Fund as
a template for the creation of similar funds throughout the United States and
we believe that exerting moral and financial pressure around financial issues
will ultimately make dioceses more accountable and transparent.
When people tell me a 2,000-year-old church can’t change, my
response is that the church has always adapted to changing conditions. If the
church were truly incapable of change, it would still be insisting that the
Earth revolves around the sun. It would still be condoning slavery and
condemning Jews. From justice for Jews, to teachings on slavery, to the concept
of limbo -- the church does know how to adapt to changing cultural conditions.
I see no reason why principles of transparency can’t be incorporated into
the living church. This is not about doctrine. It’s about the human
administration of the institution. The church’s centuries-long survival
demonstrates that it can adapt. It must do so again now.
James E. Post is president of Voice of the Faithful in Boston,
Mass.
National Catholic Reporter, February 14,
2003
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