Thoughts on the Clergy Abuse Scandal

My good friend and former student, Fr. Jim Goins wrote the following:

Celibacy only works when the celibate submerges sexual desire into a deeper desire for union with the Divine. Sexual repression, on the other hand, is lethal and corrupting of the entire community. The abuse scandal still swirling around the priesthood is a failure on many levels, including priestly formation. Candidates for priesthood must be taught to be men and not kept at the emotional level of an eighth grade boy. The vast majority of priests are able to move from boyhood into manhood and perform well as celibate priests. Still, the widespread instances of abuse suggest a systemic failure within our seminary system.

Even though most priests overcome the challenges of celibacy, mandatory celibacy is, in my opinion, an increasingly unproductive law of the Church. We must be allowed to ask if the discipline of mandatory celibacy is now sending the wrong sign to the world: a sign of sexual isolation and nefarious behavior. A married clergy is not without its own problems but would signal the intention of the Church to bring its clergy into the rich life of our moral center: the family.

What follows is not meant as an excuse for the actions of the Church. Rather, I hope to simply point out the reality of how society once treated sins and crimes against children.

Secrecy was not invented by the Roman Church. Until the mid 70's, the standard response to revelations of child abuse was to keep the matter private. It was believed the child would be seen as 'damaged goods' and the family shamed beyond repair. Catholic Bishops kept these secrets because they were taught that secrecy was in the best interests of the child. Shocking now, I concede, but, at the time, all institutions within society conspired with the silence.

The Church's habit of sending offenders to treatment rather than turning them over to the law now strikes us as odious. However, for years the best minds of psychology taught that such disorders could be treated and the men safely rehabilitated. As it turns out, the advice was absolutely wrong. Until the late 80's or early 90's, Bishops believed they were acting 'progressively' by spending small fortunes on men who 'suffered' from attractions to children. Would that they have acted counter culturally.

Finally, we must acknowledge that, despite the extreme damage done by the Church's failures, real progress has been made to keep children safe in Catholic parishes and schools. We are currently doing more background checks, more training, more monitoring than any other institution. Out of the ashes of this scandal, something good is emerging. Let us pray it is not too late.