On the Church Abuse Scandal

October 2018

This month we have asked our writers to reflect upon the recent abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, and their roles as laypeople in its healing.

Back to the Basics

Harry Scherer
Class of 2022

For believers across the world, the Catholic Church is the Rock of Gibraltar. Since its very institution, the founder of the Church used identical symbolic language to emphasize the permanence of the Mystical Body of Christ on earth. "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). Christ promised an indefectible Church, not a constantly stable Church.

It is impossible not to notice the scandals that surround the Rock and those who join him in the Magisterium. Disappointment in the ordained men, found worthy by their predecessors to be members of the diaconate, priesthood and episcopate, strongly lingers in the pews of churches across the world.

The essential thing to remember about these men is that they are not the beginning and end of the Catholic Church. All of them were given the serious responsibility to lead the flock of Christ toward the heavenly banquet, and through the sins of lust and hypocrisy, some of them have failed. The failures of some, those in whom we put our trust, does not discount from the never-changing status of the Church being the bride of Christ.

With this complete confidence in Christ’s revealed love and His unending desire to transfigure our souls, it is time for the Church to go back to the basics. The Church will not be purified and transformed by slamming unflattering photos of Cardinal emeriti on the front of magazine covers. It will not be enveloped in the love of Christ through gossip and endless discussion of the "what" of those tragic events, but on the "why" of those tragic events.

Rather, the Church will be purified by a willing submission of all the faithful to the Church that was founded by Christ. It is our mission to submit ourselves to the Church whose leaders have failed the faithful because they failed to submit themselves to the will of Christ. They did not allow Christ’s grace to pervade every niche of their ministry. Instead, they let the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life to overcome the vocation for which they were sent to this Earth.

The laity does not respond to evil with evil. Instead, we "turn over and spill the coins of the money changers and overturn their tables" (John 2:15). We must express our disappointment in some members of the clergy by asking why these events occurred, not allowing a single table of abuse of power to be upright. These were not isolated incidents. There was a systemic abuse crisis, and there is currently a systemic cover-up crisis.

The first "back to the basics tenet" that the clergy and laity must recognize is that we, the Church and her members, are in a constant spiritual battle with the devil. If we don’t see that, we have already lost. The Church is in a state of "agony", a time of violent spiritual warfare, as was illustrated by Christ’s agony in the garden.

The second is to teach and reteach the history of the Church to young people. If the only exposure that young people have to the Church is the nightly news headline, then we should continue to see a steady decline in participation in the Sacraments and a growing disinterest and animosity for the Church. If the understanding is that the Church is merely a human institution, what beauty and transcendence lies in the Church’s message?

An integral part of the Church’s message can be better understood in the writings of the saints. We are not going to be told by the nightly news broadcast that our salvation lies in Christ and His Church; we will just be inundated with allegation after cover-up after abuse. The lives and writings of the saints broaden our view of the Church and the world. The more that we read of the fearlessness of St. Stephen, the intellect of St. Thomas Aquinas, the humility of St. Therese of Lisieux and the love of St. Theresa of Calcutta, the better the members of the Church will be able to comprehend and respond to the failings of our brothers in Christ.

Third, there should be a global mission in the Church to emphasize adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Mother Theresa said: "People ask me, ‘What will convert America and save the world?’ My answer is prayer." Internal conversion of Church leadership and total faith that the Holy Spirit will aid that conversion is what is going to turn the Church around. We should be supremely confident that this crisis will be turned into good by the grace of God alone and that the Church will be able to look back at this scandal with revulsion. In whom else should we put our total trust? The media and public relations committee of the Vatican and United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are not the Alpha and the Omega.

I do not have the qualifications to make judgements regarding how the Church should respond in the media, how priests should respond, and how the Vicar of Christ should respond. At the very least, acknowledgement and public and private practices of repentance are necessary. The "sackcloth and ash" era of the Church might have to be awoken from its medieval chamber, so that the clergy can most humbly express its sorrow for the victims and disappointment in the accused.

Our final hope is that "where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more" (Romans 5:20). We can be sure in the grace that Our Father will give to His Church and the world in purifying the minds and hearts of all those affected by the sin of his deacons, priests and bishops. It is the prayer of the laity that we might acknowledge our current state of agony and that the Church be eager to renew Her message as the Rock of Christ’s Word.

Read other articles by Harry Scherer

As Catholics

Angela Tongohan
MSMU Class of 2021

Earlier this September, I, along with thousands of other Catholics, was surprised to hear news of sexual assault allegations against multiple members of the Church’s clergy. The allegations begin with ex-Cardinal McCarrick, and Archbishop Viganb’s accusations that at least two dozen Vatican members were aware of the fact that McCarrick was harassing and sexually molesting minors, but instead of taking action, tried to cover it up, according to USA Today. The article also states that it is believed that Pope Benedict XVI was aware of the allegations and resigned McCarrick to a life full of prayer and rehabilitation, but when Pope Francis replaced Pope Benedict in 2013, he removed McCarrick’s suspension and made him one of his most trusted advisors.

As a result, the church has become divided into those who support Pope Francis and what have been considered more liberal views and those who do not. Although the news is surprising, I do not think the Catholic church should divide into the "liberal Catholics" against the "conservative Catholics". I believe that at a time as dire as this, the Church needs to unify and show support towards the victims of assault, who have been largely overlooked by the controversy going on in the Church.

Through the dozens of articles I have read in order to inform myself of what is going on in the Church, I have read the names of guilty and accused priests multiple times, but have yet to read the name of a victim. I think this is unbelievable because according to the USA Today report, there are at least one thousand victims.

As a young person, news of sexual misconduct being exposed is nothing new, as it has been a trend lately, especially in Hollywood; however, if there is something that I have learned from reading about these allegations, it is that the focus should never be the abusers but the victims. It is not news that the youth are more open to participating in public rallies and marches. I think, as a young person, we can become more involved in bringing attention to the victims and the victims’ stories. I think we can bring attention to the injustices of sexual abuse, not only within the Catholic Church, but everywhere. Whether that be by joining rallies, posting to our social media platforms, or even by giving our respect in our own Church communities, I believe any action to bring attention towards those who were oppressed is beneficial.

It is our responsibility to show our support for those who were abused and exploited, as a people, as a community, and as a church. Whether we agree or disagree with the politics going on within the Church, we have the ethical responsibility to let the victims be heard and for justice to come to their transgressors.

To be Catholic, I think in its most basic premise, means to love. It means to love God and to love others, even if we may not know who they are. As God does for His kingdom, I believe we should strive for peace, unity, love and justice. This is not the time to get political. At a time like this, as a Catholic community, we need to show our support for the victims and those affected by the single actions of those who do not reflect our Catholic values.

I do not believe that action is reserved for young people. All people have the ability to do something to show their support. It can be anything. It can be as simple as giving the donations of the week to aid the rehabilitation of the victims who have been traumatized and are struggling to recover from the abuse. It can be as simple as praying for them and their recovery. For here at Mount St. Mary’s, it could be as simple as organizing an event or a meeting time where we acknowledge those who were abused and discuss the dangers of sexual abuse, how to detect it, and what to do. We can spread the information and teach children and adolescents what to do if they find themselves in such a horrific situation so that there are no more victims.

When I was younger, I often heard the stereotypical comments or jokes on television about young minors being abused by priests, but it is no longer a joke. It is now a very big reality. As Catholics, although I know that it is easy to point fingers and blame him or her for the problems of the Church, I think we need to recognize that it is not the fault of any single person, but rather our own fault as a whole.

As Catholics, we can no longer turn a blind eye. Because doing so is very anti-Catholic. Jesus taught us that our actions define what kind of person we are. Good actions will bring us to heaven while sinful actions are punished. He never stood by while injustice was happening. And he never left us when we were in times of need. And from his actions, we should understand what we need to do as well.

As a Catholic community we should try to uphold the same values and morals that Jesus Christ did. That means caring for those in our community and supporting those who have been victimized by sin. We should never be deterred by fear from the effects of our actions, especially when our actions are good ones. No matter how small, no matter how little we may be able to do for the victims of assault, any action to show our support, any actions to show that we, as Catholics, will not allow the victims inside our Church to be ignored, to be cast aside; to show that we, as Catholics, will not be distracted by the inner politics of our Church and realize who needs our support shows how much we love. And love, more than anything, is what the victims need.

Read other articles by Angela Tongohan

To pave the future

Morgan Rooney
MSMU Class of 2020

After spending my time reading about the abuse that has taken place in the Catholic Church, not just now but for decades and most definitely centuries, I struggle to even begin to describe the emotions that I feel, only imagining what the victims endured and are feeling to this very day and for the rest of their lives. After reading about this and hearing endlessly about it, I felt and still feel an overwhelming amount of disgust, furiousness, heartbrokenness and mostly an overwhelming feeling of disappointment in those who provoked the abuse that took place. For one, it was just a moment of bodily pleasure, yet for another it is an overwhelming event turned into a memory that, unfortunately, will never leave them; a burden that will weigh them down forever because their mind has lost its innocence.

As a child growing up, the Church is supposed to be a place of peace and love. A child should learn love from their peers and their elders; whether that be other children, their teachers, parents or most certainly their religious leaders. As men of God, these religious leaders hold an important role in the Church: To be role models. Many do a great job and have a strong influence on the members of the Church and elsewhere, through charity, guidance, prayers and sacraments. In my eyes, and I’m sure the eyes of many others are seeing the very same: the men who have committed these crimes and grave sins are not men of God, but only cowards who are not living out the message of Christ’s love that the Church teaches. They are only pretending in the eyes of the public, and are selfish behind the scenes, committing disgusting acts to fulfill their own sick desires. A true man or woman of God works not only for the good of themselves, but the good of others by trying to spread Christ’s love through action, word and thought.

Of course, we all know that not one person is perfect on this Earth. We all make mistakes and we all sin every day, including those who are put on in these leadership positions. As perfect as a character may appear to be, he or she will never be flawless, even though it is something we all strive to be. Now, it is our job to learn from these mistakes we have made and try to heal the wounds, no matter how deep, that we have created. As members of the Catholic Church, both young and old, man and woman, it is our job to make our best attempt to heal the deep wounds that were cast onto the most impressionable within the walls of the Church that has had a huge piece of all of our lives.

I certainly would not say that I am in a place to be angry with the Catholic Church as a whole in any way, as it has brought peace, love and comfort into many people’s lives. Many individuals, however, have claimed to be of a holy nature, yet wore a mask the whole time, not owning up to any part they may have played in not bringing these cases to justice. Sometimes it is more important to bring injustice to attention to put us in a position to make the world a better place than to highlight the things that are already flourishing.

This is not something we can simply move on from. "Forgive and forget" is not something that can be so easily said as this is not something that can be forgotten. We, however, can learn from these tragic events just as we learn from our own mistakes and the mistakes of others. That is the moral of many stories which we heard as children. There are so many examples I can think of just off the top of my head: "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", "Little Red Riding Hood", "The Tortoise and the Hare". These stories found their way into most of our childhoods because we learn something from them. We learn from the mistakes made by the characters in each of the stories so that we do not make those same mistakes. Although, most of us reading this are much older than an impressionable child, the stories and the moral messages they witness still apply.

Why do we still speak of old wars when they are filled with so much sorrow? Because we do not want the sorrows of these wars to be repeated in the future. It is important to know how we got to the point we are at now in order to avoid taking any steps backwards. From what we have learned, 50 years from now, these events will be, and should still be in our distant memory with the hope that they will never happen again. What we want is to create a better world for the generations to come where these injustices do not happen. It does sound like a far-fetched idea at this point, yet it is a goal we all must strive for.

It is important to know that by speaking up against these actions, you likely could be preventing it from taking place in the future. Although I understand that many victims may prefer to stay anonymous, it is important to bring these issues to the attention of the public with the intention of preventing further trauma.

Lastly, we need to make sure to listen to those who have had the courage to come forward. The "Me Too" movement, made known by the media in the fall of 2017, showed the affect that support from community members has in bringing justice to the abusers and the victims. It is our task now to be that community of healing for the injured in our midst. The responsibility is in our hands to pave a better future free of sexual abuse and misconduct.

Read other articles by Morgan Rooney

My burden and yours

Shea Rowell
MSMU Class of 2019

As a young person and member in the Catholic Church, what is there to say? What could words do to heal the breach in trust that the sexual abuse scandals have caused? Many have responded with hope, rightly reassuring the laity that the offending priests and bishops do not represent the majority of loving clergymen who have not only lived without offense, but also work tirelessly to repair the damage done by others. Others emphasize that our faith does not depend on the holiness of priests, but on Christ as our hope and sustenance, to whom we direct ourselves in renewed prayer and devotion.

As a layperson, it is easy to point a finger at the guilty priests and bishops, expecting that the matter will be resolved when they are removed from their clerical offices. While this is a necessary step, we must go further to achieve true healing, acknowledging the responsibility we, laypeople, have for the welfare of our communities. True, the church is not comprised of that handful of priests and bishops who have hurt the vulnerable in their care and hidden their crimes; it is comprised of all of us. All of us, therefore, have failed.

In a homily just weeks after the allegations were exposed, a Norbertine priest in Western Pennsylvania shocked me by saying that each person in the church shares some part of the responsibility for creating the culture in which such crimes can exist. My first thought was, "How could I be responsible for so much pain and sorrow?" As an individual, I am not; as a member of Christ’s flock, however, it is my responsibility and yours to notice our companions when they go astray. The lost sheep, injured, hurt, and mourning, are my brothers and sisters, and I have been blind to their pain.

In the Gospels, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees, the Jewish leaders of the time, for the same failures we have fallen into. A Jew Himself, Jesus did not discredit their faith, their laws, or even the authority of Pharisees as leaders. Instead, Jesus criticizes their priorities: the Pharisees cared more about the appearance of holiness than holiness itself. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus warns the Pharisees, "Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you" (Luke 11:39-40).

This passage speaks to the situation we face today. Instead of caring for others with the true love of Christ, we have turned our focus on our reputations. By hiding the evils which we have committed, we have put forth an image of piety to the world, all the while allowing sin to consume us from the inside. As dark as this seems, there is hope. When Jesus censured the Pharisees, he gave them a second chance, the opportunity to change their ways. The criticism of Christ here is not a condemnation, but an invitation to accept the redemption of repentance and change.

This is the challenge all Catholics must embrace if the Church is to heal. We must direct our focus, more intensely than ever, to the sacraments that can heal: reconciliation and the Eucharist. Christ is calling us not only to wear our flaws, failures, and scars publicly, but to dedicate ourselves vigorously to repentance. Reconciliation will bear fruit in a variety of ways. First, it is a public admission of imperfection. While the words spoken in confession may never be repeated elsewhere by the priest, the simple act of walking into the confessional testifies to our fallen nature as human beings and the flaws we have chosen as individuals. Second, it is a message of hope. No one walks out of confession in despair, as the sacrament is a fountain of God’s mercy and forgiveness. Such an experience unites us to God’s love and gives us the grace and inspiration to resume the fight against sin, confident that Christ is beside us on the battlefield. Finally, it allows humility to spur our actions instead of pride. By receiving the sacrament of confession, we admit that the only way we can hope to unite ourselves with Christ is to do what He did: "For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). We acknowledge our sin, unite it to Christ’s redeeming sacrifice, and hope that, through forgiveness, we might spread His goodness.

For all Christians, Christ’s teachings are the center of our lives, His life is an example for us to follow, and His death is our only hope to rise. In these times, when sin and evil surround us so openly, we must turn to Christ’s precious Body and Blood as the source of our redemption. The sacrament of the Eucharist unites us to Christ and to the community of the faithful – there’s a reason we call it "communion!" In Christ, we are united, and we give ourselves to Christ and to each other by receiving the incarnation of His love. Communion is where we go to meet each other in our joys and share the burdens of our sufferings. Communion is where we heal, and where we find consolation in the pure and personal love Christ has for each of us.

As the members of Christ’s Church, we cannot go on without looking at ourselves and acknowledging our own sin and failures. We cannot ignore the pain our brothers and sisters are suffering, and we have a responsibility to take part in their healing through loving friendship and prayer. Today, we are called to repentance; today, we are called to communion. Today, we call out to Christ, seeking now more than ever His healing love and mercy.

Read other articles by Shea Rowell

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