Scandal Shouldn't Define Church, The Telegraph-Journal, April 13, 2010

Scandal Shouldn't Define Church

The Telegraph-Journal
April 13, 2010

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/1015279

For nearly a thousand years, in Latin and then in the vernacular, these words have been spoken by faithful Catholics as a part of the mass. It's a prayer that recognizes one's wrongdoings to God and to the community, and its utterance signifies a desire for forgiveness, solidarity, and a sincere intention to try to do better tomorrow than yesterday. Never before has there been public pressure on the leadership of the Church to live up to the meaning of these words.

The Church in Ireland is the latest victim of what Maclean's referred to as an "epic scandal": the sexual abuse of children by priests, the intentional or incompetent mishandling of those priests by their superiors once allegations were known to them, and thousands of damaged or destroyed human beings left in the wake of decades of inconceivable wrongdoing. Wrongdoing in what abusers have done, and in what those with oversight failed to do.

Bishop Bernt Eidsvig listens during a news conference, in Oslo, Norway, last week. Norway's Catholic Church has received new allegations of clergy abuse after revealing that its former bishop had admitted to molesting a minor in the early 1990s, a church official said. The current bishop, Eidsvig, told The Associated Press on Friday that he had received e-mails alleging new cases of abuse, but said the nature and seriousness of the claims remain unclear.
Photo by Heiko Junge

Catholics are shaken, and non-Catholics are shaking their heads. Sex abuse scandals are raging not only across Europe, but in Africa, and in North America; sadly, closer to home than anyone would want. Bishop Raymond Lahey, recently Archbishop in Antigonish, is now facing allegations of doing more than just looking at pictures of victimized children.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd writes of "church's hideous - and criminal - indifference to the welfare of boys and girls in its priests' care." On Saturday Night Live comedian Jason Sudeikis plays the devil berating the Vatican ("I love evil, alright? But priests messing with kids? That crosses the line. That's just sick."). Though Pope Benedict has been unequivocal in his condemnation of the vile actions of pedophile clergy, questions have arisen about what he knew and decisions he made earlier in his career.

Who doesn't remember their feelings when we first learned of Mount Cashel, wondering at the evil and shuddering at the horror as that story of abuse unfolded 20 years ago? Who would have predicted those stories would be repeated over and over again until our hearts were sick? Perhaps only the multitude of victims, their silence gradually lifting as the years passed.

About 55 per cent of New Brunswickers call the Catholic Church their own. Many now look to their leadership for guidance at this troubled time, and some have found that guidance lacking. There are those that are past disillusionment. People of conscience feel some mixture of sorrow, revulsion, disgust, anger, and betrayal at these stories.

But regardless of the headlines, it's important to remember that the abuse and the scandals are not the Church.

It's important to remember the good clergy, the real clergy, men of integrity and kindness who now shoulder the burden of stereotype and suspicion. They are the ones entrusted by their congregations to do good in this world and prepare for the next, a calling they meet with honour. Despite the rampant revelation of evil in their midst, they are still the vast majority.

This is not the face of the church most New Brunswickers know. This does not take from the good work of the priests and nuns who founded schools and hospitals and churches throughout this province. This is not the hope of baptisms, this is not the background of the wedding photos, this is not the prayers at funerals. This is not the dusty Bible into which the names of family members and the important dates of their lives were inscribed with care over generations. This does not reflect the community which draws Catholics on Sunday mornings. Scandal should not define the Church, no more than cancer should define the identity of an afflicted individual.

But it's also important for the Church to be honest with its shortcomings if it is to change. For all its divine intentions, it is an organization of people, not angels, and terrible things will be done by some of those people. It's not enough to say things used to be done differently, or that no one really knew what to do with pedophiles decades ago. There's never been a moral excuse for putting children in harm's way. There's no justification for aiding and abetting child molesters. Not now, not then, not ever.

And at mass this Sunday, as at last, as for a thousand years, Catholics will pray for their sins. What has been done is done, but what we've failed to do yesterday we can change for tomorrow.