| The priesthood has been embarrassed and pained by the recent events -- where not only has the extent of child sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy been publicized, but a shameful pattern of cover-ups and reassignment by dioceses been as well disclosed.
What has been the focus of public attention is the sexual aspect of the crimes. But, as an observer of the Church over the years and a practitioner of psychology, I suspect subtler but perhaps even uglier culprits at work here.
Child molestation -- and, in particular, when done by a priest -- is an abuse of power. What should be shaking the Church is not the expression of digressive sexuality but the betrayal of power. The reverence that the child deserves is betrayed by one who professes to be an agent of reverence.
Another culprit at work has been the habituation of compromise. In a sense, the Church has been the recent victim of ministry without integrity. Sexual deviance in the form of perpetration upon children by some clergy, and paternalism and clericalism, in the form of the lack of transparency in the Church’s response to abusing priests, have highlighted an area of dis-integrity, causing dis-integration on a variety of levels.
There are some psychological dynamics that have fostered this disintegration. Unrealistic demands on sexuality, coupled with unrealistic role expectations, harbor an environment where compromise is excusable. Once compromise is welcomed in an important area of life, the more easily it can extend itself to others. Certainly not every cleric sexually abuses children; at the same time, many clerics have developed a personally acceptable pattern of compromise. When such individuals are expected to be and called on to be moral guides, often an overly rigid system of morality is presented, to compensate for the internal disintegration.
In response to the crisis in the Catholic Church regarding the sexual molestation of children by priests and, particularly, the cover-up by the hierarchy, the Bishops of the United States met in Dallas. The charter they developed and the process of the meeting, were revolutionary. A holy wedge has been driven into the clericalism and paternalism, that have been oppressing the Church for centuries and limiting the efficacy of Vatican II, and the secrecy and clandestineness that have surrounded it. There was a call made and an initial effort delivered for transparency. They proclaimed a return to the spirit and unfinished business of the Second Vatican Council.
It is clear, then, that this is not an easy change for the Church, nor will it happen overnight. The abusive structure of power is pervasive, reaching even to the molestation of children by priests. What comes from clericalism and paternalism is not the liberation of power but the oppression of control.
As we acknowledge our own poverty and powerlessness, from the hierarchy to the person in the pew, we discover a brand new power waiting to overtake us. We have discovered the Spirit, insistent that structures topple and a new wind take over. We can reach with confidence to our champion, who has been our champion for the ages.
The Church is challenged to really listen to the people, and, especially, the poor, and to renew its ministry. The real power of ministry is the power to serve. And the time is here for the Church to renewed by the Spirit and open the ranks of its clergy to married people and women.
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