We now come to the long promised column on corruption in the Catholic Church. The difficulty of addressing such a topic is obvious: there are sensitive issues on either side, from victims of the worst trespassers to innocents unfairly coloured by the same brush. What's more, Catholic factions often lay mother church's sins at the feet of their enemies in the faith. Finally, borrowing from Swiss reformed theologian Karl Barth, there is "that damned Catholic 'AND!'"
As Barth well knew, Catholicism is full of "ands" - faith and reason, scripture and tradition, etc. Regarding corruption, the complication arises that those consecrated to the Church are both persons as well as instruments, their very nature altered by their vocation.
Understanding this duality is not easy. An example runs as follows: Father Theta is both "father" - a priest - as well as "Theta" - a specific man. By his ordination, God's power has made an indelible mark upon his soul. Now, Father Theta can fail or succeed as a man or as a priest, independently or simultaneously, resulting in either a beatific, lukewarm or infernal end.
Yet, in the event Father Theta commits a catastrophic moral trespass, he is still a Catholic priest after being locked up and defrocked. Not even the Pope can retract the power granted by God to Father Theta at ordination. Ergo, we are forever shackled to our vocations.
This explanation is provided to shed some light on why so many good people have fallen to the temptation to cover up scandals; the consequences are dire, and even when meted out, the fact remains that a bad pope, bishop, priest, brother, or sister is still part of the faith. Also, the strongest condemnation does not release the individuals in question from their vocation and the vows they took. Indeed, they are expected to take up their cross again and live a life of penance.
To put it bluntly, "no man is an island," as crypto-catholic John Donne wrote. When I pray for the church and the world, I am praying for both the victims and the perpetrators of the worst kinds of crimes. I am always my brother's keeper, even if he be cruel, wicked and unrepentant.
There are of course no excuses for the evils of mother church's members. I have my own sins to answer for and I speak with no authority, but for what it's worth, I am deeply sorry. We have greatly sinned, in our thoughts, words and deeds - by what we have done and what we have failed to do. I also fully acknowledge that we are worthy of neither forgiveness nor mercy; our betrayals of divine love are the greatest crimes ever committed against humanity.
Here the practical question of how to prevent future abuses by the Church rears its head. And resignation simply will not do, any more than ill-advised solutions will result in success.
Careful screening and arduous formation, programs are still the best methods of filtering out those not suited to the challenges of vocation. However, the institutions that facilitate this do not necessarily conform to the best criteria universally. The Vatican should audit all such places.
In parish life, many protocols already exist to protect minors and those who work with them. But such rules are only as good as their enforcers, and if there is an incident, everyone must be prepared to go to both the police and the church hierarchy to ensure total transparency.
What won't work is relaxing celibacy and chastity. The evidence overwhelmingly proves sexual crimes are far higher in the wider population not bound by such promises. Furthermore, these vows are inextricably linked to following Christ with total devotion, becoming His spouse.
Indeed, mother church's evil always begins with infidelity to God. While steps must be taken to prevent abuses, this problem has plagued us since Judas. The ultimate solution might very well be found in Jesus' words on that fateful night at Gethsemane: "keep watch and pray."
