LORD HAVE MERCY
DO NOT LOOK ON OUR SINS
BUT ON THE FAITH OF YOUR CHURCH.
Fr. Mike
(3/26/2010)
Dear Parishioners,
I write to you on this Passion Sunday about
scandal, scandal in the Church. This is prompted by the recent news about
priest pedophilia in
The Church’s teaching is very
clear. Sexual abuse of another person is a serious sin and a civil crime. When committed by a priest, deacon or other
minister of the Church it is doubly tragic.
It is a betrayal of a sacred trust.
Some Background:
The Archdiocese of Seattle first faced the
tragic problem of sexual abuse in the
mid 1980’s as two cases of priest pedophilia were reported to the Archbishop.
As a result of these painful circumstances, the Archdiocese of Seattle turned
to the professional community for guidance and counsel. In cooperation with
specialists in this area and community advisors the Archbishop ordered the
systematic examination of all personnel files. In addition, he asked the State
Attorney General’s Office to review all problem files from a legal perspective.
From that time to now, five core values have
governed the development and application of policies and procedures for dealing
with sexual abuse and misconduct on the part of clergy and lay ministers in the
Archdiocese.
1. The creation of faith communities where
children, youth and young adults can live and learn in safe and positive
environments;
2. Pastoral care and counseling for victims of
sexual abuse and misconduct;
3. Diligent canonical and legal due process for
the accused and all concerned parties;
4. Full cooperation with law enforcement
agencies;
5. Strong emphasis upon prevention and education
for all who serve the Church community.
These policies and procedures are regularly
reviewed and updated.
All persons working in our
parishes and faith communities and volunteers who have unsupervised contact with
children or vulnerable adults are required to undergo background checks and
participate in an annual safe environment program.
A sexual abuse prevention program
has been in place since 2007 for students in our Catholic Schools. There is
hope that it may be a model for students in public schools.
Before anyone is accepted as a
seminarian (one studying to be a priest) they are carefully screened. Every
effort is made so that those ordained as priests are well balanced physically,
emotionally, socially, psycho-sexually and spiritually.
In the process of
providing some compensation for victims no Archdiocesan Catholic Appeal funds
have been or will be used.
Our Archdiocesan efforts in
dealing with abuse cases and in preventing further abuse have been consistently
recognized as being among the best in the country. Hopefully the Church
in other countries can learn from our experience.
Some Important Points:
Spirituality and sexuality are two sides of the
same coin. They are expressions of the energy that drive us toward union. The
basic energy in the universe is love. Spirituality has to do with directing or
channeling one’s love. The spiritual journey of a Christian is that of turning
from self-love to love of God, neighbor and creation as Christ taught.
Sexuality has to do with our maleness or femaleness. Genital sex is but one
expression, although a very
significant one, of sexuality. Both spiritual energy and sexual energy are very
powerful and need to be properly channeled. Otherwise like a river overflowing
its banks they can each be very destructive.
Spiritual energy which is not properly
focused, usually through a religion, becomes a cult. Cults often end up being
destructive. Think of Jim Jones or
Sexual energy is focused through the
sacredness of marriage. When marriage is not valued sexual energy ends up being
destructive as we have witnessed in the lives of some politicians, celebrities
and sports figures.
+ When both
spiritual and sexual energy lead to sexual abuse, especially by clergy, the
results are truly devastating. It should never happen.
Keeping Focused:
Unfortunately
this is not the first nor will it be the last scandal in the Church. We might
well take to heart the words of St.
“While those who give scandal are guilty
of the
spiritual equivalent of murder,
those who allow scandals to destroy their
faith are guilty of spiritual suicide.”
It is especially in times of great sorrow
that we need to turn to Jesus who is the Lord. The Church, which is the
community of his disciples, does not exist on its own. It is the Body of
Christ.
Peter represents the Church. Jesus called
Peter both Satan and Rock. At times the Church has turned people away from
Christ. But even in its worst moments it serves as a rock for people to cling
to Christ. Like Peter, the Church is forever learning what it means to be a
faith filled disciple who follows the Lord.
+ One image
of the Church is the “bark or boat of
Peter”. Peter himself is an icon of the Church. He denied Christ but
ultimately responded by saying, “Lord you know
everything, you know that I love you.” (Jn 21:17)
Like Peter, some individuals and the Church,
as an institution, has from time to time, failed to live as Christ taught, but
Christ, the head of the Church, promised that “the gates of the netherworld
{hell} would not overcome it”. ( Matt 16:18)
Like Peter the Church in its members are always in need of repentance
and renewal.
The Church is both holy and sinful in its
members, that is to say, you and I . Because
we ourselves are sinners, we can have compassion on our brothers and sisters
who sin. Our hope of becoming holy rests in the Lord’s great mercy and his
promise to heal us.
Deacons, Priests and Bishops serve us by
being signs and catalyst for our growth as Christ’s disciples. Their words and
actions can either prompt us to draw us closer to Christ or drive us away. This
is particularly true of priests since most people interact with priests in the
context of the parish.
When deacons, priests or bishops sin and fail
to serve Church as they should, it is a tragedy and often a source of scandal,
shame and pain. Sexual abuse is one of these tragedies. While is true to say
that most priests are faithful to their vow of celibacy, which is meant to free
them to serve the Church wholeheartedly, it is very clear that the actions of a
relative few cause great pain to their victims, cast suspicion on all priests
and bring shame to those who embrace the Catholic religion.
There is a reason for everything that
happens, but for some things there are no excuses. In the early 1980’s the
United States Bishops were made aware that acts of pedophilia were not just
failures of the will but were a sickness that required special and life long
treatment. No reason is sufficient for
assigning or leaving a priest or a minister who is a pedophile in any
assignment.
We, as individuals, a society and the Church,
have yet to reach a full understanding of and a living out of our sexuality as
one of God’s most precious gifts. As men and women we must continue to grow so
that we might mature as life-giving and self-giving lovers.
In the past there have been times of great
confusion and darkness in the Church. At these times God raised up great saints
to overcome, by their holy lives, the confusion and darkness. The scandal of
priest pedophilia has caused confusion and
darkness in the Church. Such times call for HOLINESS on the part of all,
not just priests. Pray that this time of
scandal will give all of us a greater desire to serve our Lord more fully and
faithfully.
Any one who has knowledge
of Sexual Abuse or misconduct by a
member of the clergy, archdiocesan employee or volunteer is urged to call the
archdiocesan hot line at 1-800-446-7762