The Sexual Abuse Scandal & Theology

Experts tell us that the sexual abuse scandal within the church is both endemic and systemic. Interestingly, and certainly not surprisingly Catholic teaching on sexuality has a very strong basis or focus on sin. The development of Catholic moral theology, points especially to the legacy of Augustine and this saint's preoccupation with sin. Augustine who struggled with lust throughout his life has come under increasing criticism in recent times for his excessive sexual pessimism. Augustine, a favourite of Benedict XVI, linked sex so strictly with procreation that he held as sinful all sexual activity by married couples that was not consciously ordained to procreation. During the Middle Ages, as the sexual body became to be seen as evil, the self flagellation of body hatred became the highest form of devotion. To quote James Carroll "The sexual body now became an "occasion of sin" to be subdued". Among Augustine's many teachings such as 'original sin' he believed that people tend toward evil. This theology especially on sexuality continues to influence the Church's position on such matters as celibacy, contraception, abortion, masturbation, premarital sex, and homosexual relations.

When a church is so negatively inclined toward human sexuality, it cannot possibly be expected to find a solution internally to the sexual abuse crisis it now faces. A healthier approach to sexuality must be found. But first the church will have to shed it pessimistic views on sexuality it has held as sacrosanct for so long. And that will require a brand new theology – one that rejects what was pronounced by St. Augustine and begun with Vatican II. Perhaps we should all learn to re-read and absorb one of the greatest and sensuous chapters ever written about human sexuality – The Song of Songs. It would be interesting to learn how other religions view sexuality.

Which Cardinal or bishop is going to be the first to admit that the Church's theology on sexuality is at the root of the problem? Remember it only took the Church nearly four hundred years to admit Galileo was right.

The second hurdle to be overcome by the Church, in regards to the sexual abuse crisis, is its hierarchical leadership structure and the theological basis which supports it. This structure is clearly visible when members of the clergy view themselves as elevated above rather than totally integrated with the laity. Jesus taught equality not superiority. Jesus clearly denounced earthly kingdoms during his time in the dessert. The Church seems more interested in protecting a religious kingdom with a power that reaches beyond that of the people and nations it serves. The theology of 'apostolic succession' along with the claim that Jesus came to found a separate church not only denies Jesus' Jewish heritage but also his call to EVERYONE to bring about a worldwide community based on God's kingdom values. As long as the Church sees itself as special and separate from the world it cannot be expected to look inwardly. Hence the required changes will not take place. Which Cardinal and which Bishop is prepared to accept this challenge?

One of the most natural and valuable teaching tools we possess is learning by trial. We probably learn more from our mistakes then by any other means. But we will be bound by our mistakes if we never learn from our mistakes. That is why I wanted to examine how Catholic theology may have contributed to the Church's handling of the sexual abuse scandal.

Some other facts about St. Augustine

Augustine developed a theology of just war,

Augustine struggled with lust throughout his life.

As a youth Augustine lived a hedonistic lifestyle
Augustine underwent a profound personal crisis, which led him to convert to Christianity, abandon his career in rhetoric, quit his teaching position in Milan,
eventualy gave up any ideas of marriage, and devote himself entirely to serving God and to the practices of priesthood, which included celibacy.
as a bishop he used to warn, that one should avoid mathematicians who combine science and horoscopes

He believed all people tend toward evil

students must be physically punished when they allow their evil desires to direct their actions

He also wrote "On Free Choice Of The Will," answering why God gives humans free will that can be used for evil.

Augustine's arguments against magic, differentiating it from miracle, were crucial in the early Church's fight against paganism and became a central thesis in the later denunciation of witches and witchcraft.
Augustine taught that Adam's guilt as transmitted to his descendants much enfeebles

Augustine took the view that the Biblical text should not be interpreted as properly literal, but rather as metaphorical, if it contradicts what we know from science and our God-given reason

Augustine taught that Original sin of Adam and Eve was either an act of foolishness (insipientia) followed by pride and disobedience to God or the opposite: pride came first

The sin of Adam is inherited by all human beings

He often said that any can be saved if they wish. While God knows who will be saved and who will not,
he believed in papal supremacy
Augustine taught that the eternal fate of the soul is determined at death,and that purgatorial fires of the intermediate state purify only those that died in communion with the Church. His teaching provided fuel for later theology.

Augustine struggled with lust throughout his life. He had a mistress before he converted, but once he became a Christian, he condemned all forms of extra-marital sex (including his previous relationship with his mistress),

For Augustine, the evil was not in the sexual act itself, but rather in the emotions that typically accompany it.

Augustine's life experience led him to consider lust to be one of the most grievous sins, and a serious obstacle to the virtuous life

St Augustine "vigorously condemned the practice of induced abortion" as a crime, in any stage of pregnancy

At the risk of being too critical of St. Augustine - he did say many other wonderful and inspiring things.

Church Leadership

In God's creation all life begins as a small seed and grows from the bottom up.

The role of those who are called to act as spiritual leaders and pastors in the life of the Church cannot be understated whenever they speak with the voice of the Spirit. Never before in the history of the church have had so few accepted a calling so vital to the life of those it attempts to serve.

One cannot possible imagine what it must be like to interpret complex Church teachings, couched in difficult archaic clerical language, on such modern ethical questions as homosexuality, same sex marriage, sexual abuse, stem cell research, abortion, etc. against the real pain and suffering of those our clergy hope to serve. Why do some of these taxed individuals find it necessary to take refuge behind rigid and impersonal Church rulings? The Vatican in trying to deal with a fear filled world, frequently avoids Christly compassion and healing in favour of stern warnings. In failing to deal with its own internal struggles could it not be said that the Church is moving toward a more self destructive form of leadership.

An isolating and separating form of administration cannot be expected to bring necessary compassion, healing and understanding among the faithful masses. Yet, this seems to be the course which some of our Church leaders want to take.

Many leaders speak of the need for dialogue. However, within the Catholic Church, little has been forthcoming and as a result little real trust has been established between laity and clergy.

Leadership within the Vatican Church today, despite efforts by Vatican II to introduce change, remains purely hierarchical, male dominated and top-down. This follows the ongoing efforts of Pope Benedict XVI to centralize the institution politically. However, even in his efforts to control the attacks from the media regarding his involvement in the cover-ups of the sexual abuse cases Benedict has been unsuccessful in co-coordinating a successful plan of defense.

In my previous blogs 'Religious Liberty' and 'A Church in Crisis' I have tried to link comparative leadership styles prior to and after Vatican II as a possible catalyst for the church's escalating problems. Pope Benedict beginning with his role as Cardinal in charge of the CDF* was quite clear about his views on Vatican II. His influence on subsequent Church teachings and the formation of political appointments are obvious.

Pope Benedict XVI's rulings and relationship with other religions has led him frequently in conflict not only internally but also externally. In January of 2009 the Agency France-Presse released the following article under the title 'Pope's diplomatic woes pile up'. Readers will have to make up their own mind as to how it relates to Benedict's independent leadership role.

* Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Agence France-Presse 01/29/2009 11:49 PM

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI, drawing fire over allowing a Holocaust denier into his flock, has found himself in similar hot water with Muslims, native Indians, Poles, gays and even scientists during his nearly four years as pontiff.

The German pope is struggling to mollify Jews after he brought a breakaway ultra-conservative faction back into the fold of the Roman Catholic Church by rescinding the excommunication of four bishops, including one who insists that no one died in Nazi gas chambers.

Memories are still fresh of the fury Benedict unleashed in the Muslim world with a speech in September 2006 in which he appeared to endorse the view of an obscure 14th-century Byzantine emperor that Islam is inherently violent.

The academic lecture at the German university where he once taught theology sparked violent protests in several countries as well as attacks on Christian targets including a nun who was killed in Somalia along with her bodyguard.

The pope initially said he was "sorry" for having provoked reactions through a "misunderstanding."

But it was not until he travelled to Turkey later in the year that Muslims began to forgive him, after he stood in prayer alongside Istanbul's grand mufti, facing Mecca, at the landmark Blue Mosque.

Benedict made waves again the following year when he travelled to Brazil. Discussing the Christianization of the country, he said the indigenous people had been "silently longing" for Christ, asserting that European colonizers had not imposed their faith on them.

Ten days later he sought to make amends with a Vatican statement recognising that "unjustifiable crimes" had been committed during the European conquest of Latin America.

In Poland, homeland of Benedict's media-savvy predecessor John Paul II, the pontiff had to make a speedy about-face after he picked a former collaborator with the Polish secret police, Stanislaw Wielgus, to head the Warsaw archdiocese in December 2006.

The pope was forced to accept Wielgus's resignation a month later.

More recently, gays were up in arms over the pope's suggestion that homosexuality is as much of a threat to the survival of the human race as climate change.

Asserting that gender theory blurs the distinction between male and female, the pope called for "an ecology of the human being" to protect mankind "from self-destruction."

Gender theory explores how society designates fixed roles to people based on their gender, and many gay groups say it promotes tolerance and understanding.

The pope's remarks followed hard on the heels of the Vatican's refusal to join a UN appeal for the universal decriminalization of homosexuality. More than 80 countries have laws against homosexuality.

Other controversies have erupted from incidents that cannot be considered outright papal gaffes, but avoidable all the same.

In January 2008, the pope cancelled a planned speech at Rome's Sapienza University after science professors and students protested that it would violate the secular university's autonomy.

Many scientists fault the intellectual, tradition-minded pope for a series of positions he has taken that they say subordinate science and reason to faith.

In particular, opponents to his visit recalled a 1990 speech in which the pontiff, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and head of the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog, seemed to justify the Inquisition's verdict against Galileo in 1633.

It is with Judaism, however, that Benedict has had the most frequent unfortunate brushes.

During a visit to Auschwitz in May 2006, he portrayed his compatriots not as knowing accomplices in the Holocaust but as victims "used and abused" by the Nazis, whom he labelled a "ring of criminals."

Last year the pope defended the memory of Nazi-era pope Pius XII at a mass to mark the 50th anniversary of his death and urged his rapid beatification -- a step along the path to sainthood.

He later put the controversial pope's dossier on hold.

Also last year, Benedict authorized the use, in certain conditions, of the old Tridentine mass in Latin that was mothballed by the reforms of Vatican II in the 1960s. The tradition's Good Friday liturgy includes a prayer for the conversion of the Jews.

Responding to the ensuing controversy, Benedict did not eliminate the prayer, but rather modified it to implore God to "enlighten (Jews') hearts so that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ, the saviour of all men."

A Church in Crisis

In his epilogue to his 1976 edition of 'A Concise History of the Catholic Church' author Thomas Bokenkotter concludes "Ten years after the closing of the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church remains in the grip of a crisis that appears to have no end in sight. And now (1990 rev. edition) twenty-five years after the Council, the end is still not in sight". A further twenty years along these writings remain eerily prophetic reading the problems Bokenkotter identified so long ago i.e., "the increasingly sharp polarization between liberals and conservatives as they wrestle over their conflicting views of the relation of freedom to authority; the difficulty of settling such disputes by reference to Vatican Council II, the frightening erosion of the priesthood, the alienation of many baptized Catholics – especially the youth, the loss of the Church's credibility in moral and sexual matters, the difficulty of updating Catholic doctrine, the near desperate financial straits of many diocese, etc., etc.

Today these same problems remain unanswered, but the crisis has escalated to a point that is almost unprecedented in Roman Catholic Church history. Many people are calling for Pope's resignation about his handling of the sexual abuse cases both as Pontiff and his years as head of the CDF. I will leave it to the experts and history as to the question of his involvement. However, there is little doubt that Benedict XVI's autocratic rule together with his desire to reverse the reforms of Vatican II has been a major factor contributing to the lack of resolve of this ongoing crisis.

Attempts to establish any form of middle ground have been unsuccessful. Collegiality has become almost totally ineffective since the majority of Bishops among the Roman Curia were selected on the basis of their conservative views. Considering that more than one-hundred liberal theologians were silenced since Cardinal Ratzinger came into power, under Pope John Paul II, speaks volumes for those who have tried to introduce change.

The question many people ask today is what led to a culture within the Church that resulted in so many cases of sexual abuse? While the Catholic Institution remains secretive and defensive about their role in this ugly matter experts tell us that the problem is systemic and endemic.

Could a particular style of administration really have been responsible for creating the current crisis? Readers will have to judge for themselves. (While a number of high ranking officials of the Church have come to the defense of the Pope many can be easily identified for their well-known conservative views).

Here follows a quick summary of the elements in the change in style of the Church promoted by the fathers of Vatican II as seen by John W. O'Malley S.J.:

From commands to invitations

from laws to ideals

from threats to persuasion

from coercion to conscience

from monologue to conversation

from ruling to serving

from withdrawn to integrated

from vertical and top-down to horizontal

from exclusion to inclusion

from hostility to friendship

from static to changing

from passive acceptance to active engagement

from prescriptive to principled

from defined to open-ended

from behavior-modification to conversion of heart

from the dictates of law to the dictates of conscience

from external conformity to the joyful pursuit of holiness

O'Malley goes on to say: "When those elements are taken in the aggregate, they indicate a model of spirituality. This, they say, is what good Catholics should look like and this is how they should behave. That means the elements indicate what the Church should look like and how it should behave. This is a significant model-shift. This is a teaching of the council. Moreover, those elements taken in the aggregate seem to express something that can be called "the spirit of the council." By examining "the letter" in this way we are able to arrive at "the spirit." The medium in its genre and vocabulary conveys a remarkably coherent message that transcends the particularities of the documents. The form conveys content".

It should be noted that Fr. O'Malley at no time ever suggests in his book 'Vatican II Did Anything Happen? that had the style of Vatican II been fully adopted the current crisis would have been avoided. At the same time O'malley never used this criteria for making the judgment and weight I have given it.

In conclusion, I take full responsibility for these views and want to express my sincere desire to bring a more balanced understanding to this crisis

on Church and an examine of conscience

The recent (Nov. 10,2009)  editorial by the National Catholic Reporter, 'Nostalgia is not a path to the future'  highlights the ongoing struggle between conservatives and progressives within the Catholic Church [and other faiths] by quickly identifying its primary source. The article goes on to say that church leadership “have worked quietly yet assiduously during the past 40 years to roll back what has been accomplished. The regression is usually couched in Orwellian churchspeak, which lavishes praise on the council even as its intentions are reversed. Or sometimes in this parallel universe the argument is made that nothing really happened during the gathering of the world’s bishops over a four-year period to redirect the church and its mission”.

Readers of this blog will be astounded if not angered by some of  the vindictive responses to this incisive article submitted by a host of NCR readers. While it is doubtful that the Vatican will quickly succumb to the pressure for change it cannot continue on its present course to reverse or rewrite history. From a lay point of view, we can also no longer remain in denial about the struggle within the institution. Almost daily we are confronted by ethical and moral issues that deeply affect our spiritual and secular lives. While we may remain divided over the path that the Church must take into the future, we must also consider the ‘bigger picture’ of how we need to relate to our neighbour in our multi religious community. As God clearly offered salvation to all humankind, we too must respond in kind to those he places in our path. Accordingly, perhaps we could entertain a more inclusive view of religion by reflecting on the following examine of conscience:

• Have I failed to look for God outside my religious institution?

• Have I put the institution, along with its dogma and doctrine ahead of my heart?

• Have I sincerely tried to find God and neighbour outside my church?

• Have I allowed church dogma and doctrine to become instruments of division?

• Have I engaged in persecution of others to defend my faith?

• Have I created a dependency on church leaders rather than on God?

• Have I forgiven people of other faiths and denominations?

• Have I accepted that the Truth ultimately exists only in my heart rather than on paper?

• Have I honoured my ego above the God given True Self?

• Have I practised my faith outside my religious community?

• Have I accused others of failing to accept my definition of faith?

• Have I accepted that the only person I can change is me?

• Has my faith grown over the past few years, along with my capacity to forgive, understand, heal, and listen?

• Have I accepted that God’s salvation is extended to all humankind?

• Have I accepted that God is more interested in my potential than my wrongdoings?

A Church retreating into the past cannot hope to be a secure structure in the present or offer a promise for tomorrow.