|
Church in
Crisis Commentary Time for bishops to listen, take ordinary Catholics
seriously
By FRAN FERDER and JOHN
HEAGLE
They just dont get it. These were the words of a
68-year-old grandmother, as she pulled her sweater around her shoulders and
leaned forward into the truth of her convictions. In the last few months, her
statement became a recurring antiphon, a mantra of lament about Catholic
leadership, as we went from parish to parish, facilitating listening sessions
on the sexual abuse of minors by clergy. At these gatherings we heard moms and
dads, grandparents and youth, single parents and engaged couples -- faithful,
hardworking, committed Catholics -- give voice to their disbelief, grief, and
outrage at this crisis.
A couple of weeks ago in Dallas, we saw the first hopeful signs
that the bishops are beginning to get it. It was a somber,
chastened group of men that prayed, deliberated and finally issued the
Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
This unprecedented document represents a significant step forward
in what promises to be a long journey toward restoring trust. The document and
the debate that surrounded it revealed a quiet but significant shift in
attitude and commitment. As a body, the bishops appear to be telling us that
they want to move from denial, stonewalling and blaming to apology, compassion
and action.
Several bishops and groups of conservative Catholics have
excoriated the secular media for singling out the church and its clergy.
Ironically, it was the intense pressure of the public media, together with the
outcry of the victims and the angry groundswell of ordinary Catholics that
finally got the bishops attention. The bishops conference has been
confronting the crisis surrounding the sexual abuse of minors by clergy for
almost 20 years. What the bishops as a body could not come to from ethical
conviction or gospel values during all these years, they finally arrived at
with a collective gun to their heads.
It remains to be seen where this first step will lead. Is the
charter only a reaction to outside pressure, or is it the beginning of a
long-term response? Is this damage control or a genuine call to institutional
conversion? Will the bishops return to business as usual, or recognize the sea
change that has taken place in the Catholic community?
In this charter, the bishops state in their concluding
remarks, we focus specifically on the painful issue at hand. However, in
this matter we do wish to affirm our concern especially with regard to issues
related to effective consultation of the laity and the participation of
Gods people in decision-making that affects their well-being. This
is, in our estimation, the most significant sentence in the entire document. It
recognizes that sexual abuse -- with its need for an immediate and urgent
response -- is a painful symptom of an even deeper crisis: how (and, perhaps
more basically, if) we will choose to become the people of God.
The Second Vatican Council called for ongoing structures of
collaboration and shared responsibility at all levels of church life. In the 40
years that have intervened since its opening, we have seen little actual
implementation of this vision. If anything, during the papacy of John Paul II,
the Vatican has successfully engineered a re-centralization of power. Despite
the promise of Lumen Gentium (The Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church), the bishops have not become the collegial body of spiritual
leaders that it calls for; on the contrary, they have, for the most part, been
reduced to passive functionaries, branch-managers for a multi-national
religious corporation.
The practical guidelines of the charter call for a policy of
zero tolerance for clergy sexual abuse. It also outlines the need
for a compassionate and pastoral response for victim/survivors, and the role of
independent lay groups to monitor and enforce the guidelines. But zero
tolerance for abusing clergy is not enough. Nor is a panel of lay experts to
oversee the process. We need more than zero tolerance; we need a spirit of
abundant listening. If the bishops are serious, they will begin
developing structured, ongoing ways to listen more effectively to all of
Gods people. It is time for the teachers of the faith to
learn from the people about those dimensions of their lives that, in the words
of the bishops, affect their well being.
In 1974 and 1975, as part of a preparation for the United
States bicentennial celebration, the American bishops initiated a
nationwide series of listening sessions that culminated in the Call to Action
Conference in October 1976. This conference, reflecting the grassroots
convictions of American Catholics, proposed several sweeping changes, including
a clearer commitment to justice and peace, a more inclusive role for women in
the church, and a renewed theology of human sexuality. But instead of
dialoguing with the conference and its proposals, the bishops rejected the
entire process and circled their ecclesiastical wagons.
It is time again for the bishops to initiate a national commitment
to listen. Ideally this might even be a first step toward Vatican III. But this
time, they must take the people and the process seriously.
Time is running out for the Catholic church in this country. There
is a great deal at stake. The credibility of the church and its mission to
protect the innocent and vulnerable hang in the balance. If we do not act now,
this opportunity for conversion and grace may well pass us by.
Franciscan Sr. Fran Ferder, and Fr. John Heagle are codirectors
of Therapy and Renewal Associates, a counseling and consultation center in
Seattle. They also serve as adjunct faulty for the School of Theology and
Ministry at Seattle University. Their forthcoming book, Tender Fires: The
Spiritual Promise of Sexuality, is scheduled for release this summer by
Crossroad Publications.
National Catholic Reporter, July 19,
2002
|
|