WASHINGTON (DC)
National Catholic Reporter
Nov. 6, 2019
By Jesse Remedios
In order to best address the twin crises of clergy sexual abuse and leadership failure, a report released Nov. 4 by Georgetown University recommends placing victim-survivors at the center of the response and confronting clericalism.
The report titled, “Lay Leadership for a Wounded Church and Divided Nation: Lessons, Directions, and Paths Forward,” was created by Georgetown’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. It reflects and summarizes key ideas and proposals from a June 14-15 national convening here of more than 50 mostly lay Catholic leaders from across the United States.
According to the report, participants engaged in candid and strategic discussions on four linked goals: sharing lessons learned from the clergy sex abuse crisis, strategizing on directions for reform and renewal; examining neglected costs of the crisis, and exploring how principles of Catholic social thought can help advance protection and accountability.
The report outlines 10 strategic directions that emerged from discussions at the national convening:
In explaining its first strategic direction, the report writes that the “failure to listen and believe victim-survivors” were the “original sins of the sexual abuse crisis.”
“As the church seeks repentance, justice, reform, and renewal, we must listen to victim-survivors, their families, and all those affected by clergy sexual abuse. There are still not enough victim-survivors in the rooms when decisions are made,” the report states.
The report also states that the clergy sexual abuse crisis “cannot be discussed honestly without recognizing the toxic culture of clericalism.” Clericalism, the report argues, can lead to abuses of power and contributes to institutional cover-ups.
“We need a new culture of candor that calls on laypeople inside and outside of ecclesial structures to challenge the insular and self-reinforcing culture of some chanceries and ecclesial institutions,” it states.
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