Column
by
Archbishop John G. Vlazny
|
Archbishop's
Column by Archbishop John G. Vlazny |
This moment of tremendous suffering
and anxiety will pass
1/31/03
In the final chapter of St. Paul’s magnificent
letter to the Romans, he
offers this final admonition: “I urge
you, brothers and sisters, to keep
an eye on those who cause dissensions
and offenses, in opposition to the
teaching that you have learned; avoid
them. For such people do not serve
our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites,
and by smooth talk and
flattery they deceive the hearts of the
simple-minded. For while your
obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice
over you, I want you to be
wise in what is good and guileless in
what is evil. The God of peace will
shortly crush Satan under your feet.”
When I read those words recently, it dawned
on me that Paul would probably
offer a similar admonition to us here
in the Archdiocese of Portland as we
bear the burden of the sin of child sexual
abuse by those whom we trusted
most in our own faith community. For the
past several months some lawyers,
reporters, victims and a host of other
interested parties have been
decrying both the evil of the crimes committed
and the ineptness or, worse
yet, the duplicity of the Church’s response
to these tragic events.
Understandably, dissensions among us have
arisen, disregard for legitimate
authority is on the rise, the smooth talkers
seem to have all the answers,
and the “wrong folks” regretfully remain
in charge.
Everyone knows that “divide and conquer”
is an old strategy when engaged
in battle. I don’t mean to exaggerate
the situation, but let’s face it.
The Catholic community, particularly now
here in the Archdiocese of
Portland, is engaged in a real struggle
with evil. All the evil is not
outside our community. Some of it is buried
deep in our own hearts.
Whatever past personal struggles with
Church policy and practice that were
submerged in our subconscious have re-emerged
with vigor and venom.
This is truly a moment of darkness for
all of us, but I assure you the sun
still shines. I have been telling people
that there is a huge dark cloud
hanging over us now in Western Oregon.
The consequences of these storms
still remain uncertain. Everyone wants
to know what will happen. What
financial losses will we experience as
a result of all these claims? Some
think I know and I’m not telling. The
only consolation I find in that
accusation is that I, at least, know that
I don’t know!
The secular media has shared with the people
of Oregon far and wide that
the Archdiocese of Portland is now dealing
with more than 100 claims of
child sexual abuse by the clergy. All
of these allegations have been
raised during the past year, resulting
from the extensive publicity
generated by reports of similar scandals
on the East Coast last winter.
Like Jesus himself, we have deep compassion
for those who have been
victims of such a terrible violation as
is indeed the sexual abuse of a
child.
Because the allegations all seem to result
from events that occurred
between 20 and 60 years ago, attorneys
and archdiocesan staff have
expended considerable time and energy
in the process of sorting things
out. The stories of victims need to be
heard. In an effort to compensate
victims justly for their suffering and
for the care they require, the
archdiocese has undertaken a thorough
study of its available assets.
Prudential strategies have been developed
to safeguard the mission of the
Church during these dark hours and to
make certain that resources
distributed to the Church by donors for
restricted use are protected.
Child abuse is very wrong and sinful. Victims
need care, even many years
after the abuse occurred. But it is also
true that some lawyers will
benefit disproportionately from representing
their clients. Some reporters
have written or spoken about these matters
with prejudice or
misunderstanding concerning the Catholic
Church. The spotlight is on our
church now because we are big, we are
interesting, and we have been around
for 2,000 years. Some, sad to say, wish
that history would come to an end.
It won’t, of course, because the story
of the Church is written by the
Holy Spirit, not by us.
We do need to remind ourselves that the
vast majority of those who abused
children sexually have never served or
operated in the name of the Church.
Most abusers take advantage of members
of their own family where trust is
high, and the good name of the family
seemingly justifies the conspiracy
of secrecy about such matters. Interesting,
isn’t it? Similar conditions
used to prevail in the Catholic family
until these recent revelations
opened the eyes of all to the devastating
effects that irresponsible trust
and secrecy can have upon victims.
As your pastor, I have been troubled by
stories coming from priests and
parishioners around the archdiocese, many
of which reflected a diminished
sense of Catholic solidarity and little
concern for the common good or the
pain and just compensation of victims.
One pastor expressed particular
concern about the declining contributions
of parishioners who were
unwilling to make donations that might
somehow compensate victims, either
justly or unjustly. A parish pastoral
council had an extended discussion
about what could be done to safeguard
parish assets during this time of
litigation. Another pastor had been advised
to raise funds for a parish
project through a separate foundation
unattached to the archdiocese and
the archbishop. People of another parish
were troubled and seemingly
angered that the archdiocese wasn’t making
full disclosure to parishes
about its present troubles and the foreseeable
consequences of litigation.
My friends, when similar occurrences take
place among your friends and
neighbors, I offer you the same admonition
that Paul did when he wrote to
the Romans long ago, “I want you to be
wise in what is good and guileless
in what is evil.” This is a moment of
tremendous suffering and anxiety for
many of us. But it will pass. It really
will. We like being in control,
but we are not this time. We pray, “deliver
us from evil,” but sometimes
evil happens. Just talk to some of the
victims.
The sufferings of this church are real,
but when I think of the sufferings
of others in years past, like our older
citizens during World War II, when
their lives had to be put on hold, or
our Jewish sisters and brothers
during the time of the Holocaust, or the
Catholic community that worshiped
and gathered underground during the Communist
era in Eastern Europe, I
realize that a church suffering for the
sins of some of its own will also
survive and be stronger and holier and
wiser as a result.
When I was a kid, I heard the saying, “When
the going gets tough, the
tough get going.” We can handle this.
We are not a weak or insignificant
church. Sisters and brothers, be steadfast.
Stay together in faith and
mutual respect. Be a truly Catholic church,
bonded together in the
solidarity of our fellowship and mission.
Take to heart St. Paul’s bold
assertion: “The God of peace will shortly
crush Satan under your feet.”