John Patrick Grace: Toxic Abuse and Corruption Must Be Rooted out

By John Patrick Grace
Herald Dispatch
December 11, 2018

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/opinion/john-patrick-grace-toxic-abuse-and-corruption-must-be-rooted/article_6b71bd16-fccc-11e8-b3ae-bf4c9908efd2.html

Tomatoes, asparagus, peaches and other vegetables and fruits left in the refrigerator too long will start to spoil. Eating partially corrupted food may sicken, even poison, the human body. Too little attention was being paid to items that had turned rotten. We were too trusting — and never verified.

Take the above as a metaphor for what has been happening in government and in many societal institutions, including the church.

Our processes for vetting those who might rise to positions of authority in colleges and public schools, including coaches and trainers, or in churches, such as priests, pastors and lay leaders, have clearly been inadequate.

The same seems to have been true for holding such individuals accountable for their actions, whether those actions constitute physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse — or all four together.

Where should blame be assigned? And how can we reform our vetting, monitoring, reporting and disciplinary structures to keep the innocent — especially minors — safe from the threat of abuse?

The question applies equally well to the political sphere of elected and appointed officials as to the ecclesiastical sphere of ordained deacons, priests, pastors and bishops. Extend it even further into the realms of education (at all levels, from universities right down to pre-school), to police forces, the military and corporate America.

The old axiom, “One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel” still applies. And things get much worse when 4 percent of the apples are rotten — the percentage surveys have found of American priests who have been guilty of predatory sexual abuse.

Lest we limit our outrage to scandals in Catholic parishes, seminaries and schools, let’s note that Franklin Graham has estimated that cases of sexual abuse among Protestant establishments are at least as bad as among those run by the Catholic church.

Out in the secular world, the toll is apparently many times greater than in the churches. In the past year alone there were 600 cases of sexual abuse reported in Chicago public schools. Compare that with just 31 cases of such abuse reported in the Catholic diocese of Wheeling-Charleston over the past six decades.

A survey in Hollywood turned up the astonishing estimate that 94 percent of all men associated with movie making —producers, directors, screenwriters, actors and technical crew — had crossed the line into sexual abuse or at least sexual harassment.

The man who sits in the White House as our president has himself drawn accusations of sexual abuse from 19 different women — all of which he denies, despite the Access Hollywood video on which Donald Trump brags about committing sexual indiscretions with women he's just met.

Clearly, abuses of power (or authority) often go beyond the sexual sphere. At the highest levels of our government these days we are witnessing investigations into flagrant financial abuses, including laundering of mob money, bribes, kickbacks and gross campaign finance violations.

Insistence upon integrity and accountability by those who manage the courts and our other civil institutions and the ire of an awakened electorate — along with some courageous whistle blowers and forthright reporting in the media — will be the right mix to restore respect for our laws and our best ideals.

If that combination of forces triumphs over the bullies, fraudsters and abusers of persons and institutions, we will know how to properly vet those who aspire to positions of high authority in their respective domains, whether as pastors and bishops, coaches or CEOs, or as senators and presidents.

John Patrick Grace formerly worked as an Associated Press reporter, editor and foreign correspondent. He currently lives in eastern Cabell county, and is a book editor and publisher.