Bad Shepherds

Understanding the clergy sexual abuse crisis

05/13/2019

John 10:1-10 Jesus said: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers." Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

Every month on the third Wednesday, we have a parish pastoral council meeting. At the end of the meeting I present a little teaching, precis in French, on various topics of Catholic faith and life. This coming Wednesday I will address the touchy topic of clergy sexual abuse scandal. Let me ask you: how are you dealing with it? How does it make you feel? What kinds of conversations have you had with other Catholics, with other Christians, with other non-Christians? One thing is for sure: no one can brush this off like it’s no big deal.

I mention this today because in John 10, Jesus not only describes himself as the Good Shepherd, he also defines what it means to be a bad shepherd. Our Lord says: “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came to that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” My precis this Wednesday will have four parts: (1) what has happened historically the past twenty years, (2) how did the official church respond to the crisis, (3) how are ordinary Catholics coping with the crisis, and (4) my personal observations on the crisis. This morning, I would like to share the fourth part, my own feelings and faith in the face of this crisis. I will make five brief points and hope they help you a little to weather the storm of this scandal. You should be aware this storm at sea has already sunk many ships.

First, many Catholics lament the fact that all the media attention is focused on the Catholic Church and seems to ignore the fact of clergy sexual abuse in other churches. It is true that this scandal is not an exclusively Catholic crisis, and affects all denominations and religions. So, why do people care more about how Catholic priests behave than other clergy? I think part of the reason is celibacy, the teaching that priests are not married. Our culture is so soaked and saturated with sexuality that celibate priests look like men from Mars, aliens from another planet. And for some people celibacy is not just different, it’s dangerous. Why? Well, because normal people have sex, and if you don’t have sex, you’re not normal, you’re abnormal, and you may be dangerous. In some people’s minds, celibate priests are already guilty of some crime; they’re just looking for the smoking gun to prove it. The clergy sexual abuse scandal was that convenient smoking gun. That’s why people pay so much attention to us rather than others.

Secondly, many Catholics are experiencing Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s classic stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and lastly acceptance. We experience grief because we have suffered a loss and that loss produces intense pain. These five stages of grief are ways we deal with that pain of loss. What did we lose? We Catholics lost a perception of the priesthood that was pristine and perfect. We want to put priests on a pedestal, kind of like where I sit at Mass. The abuse scandal has demolished that pedestal like a mighty sledge-hammer. Please find a constructive way to vent your feelings, and don’t keep them bottled up inside. After we work through the grief of loss and pain, we will see God has always called men to be priests, not machines.

Thirdly, bishops use experts in various fields of the human sciences to help them make decisions. One such science is psychology and it is rapidly changing and evolving. Not too many years ago, we used shock therapy for psychiatric illnesses, but that would be frowned upon today. Who can forget Jack Nicholson’s portrayal in “One Flew Over the Cookoo’s Nest”? I believe in the seventies, eighties and nineties, bishops sought the best expert advice of psychiatrists and psychologists who believed clergy sexual predation was due largely to environmental factors. So, bishops moved predatory priests from one parish to another hoping that change of environment would cure the clergyman. Today, we know that’s faulty science. My concern is we are judging the behavior of bishops yesterday by the scientific standards of today. I am not saying some bishops are not guilty; I just want them to have a fair trial.

Fourth, I believe many cases of clergy sexual abuse of minors is more a sin of power than a sin of lust. All sin is wrong and wounds both the sinner and the whole community. But it helps to know what the sin is as precisely as possible so you can apply the proper remedy. In some cases – although not all – the person who abuses another sexually has himself or herself been abused as a minor. As a result, they felt a deep sense of powerlessness: what could be more demeaning that being sexually abused as a minor? One tragic way they retrieve a sense of self and power is to perpetrate that behavior on someone else. And the cycle continues. Once we understand the deeper dynamic behind the deviancy, the better we will deal with the true problem, and not go on a goose chase.

And finally, we should recall Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:18, where he said, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it.” You know, we priests have been trying to destroy the church for over 2,000 years, and we have not succeeded, even though we’ll probably keep trying. And neither will the gates of hell. Why? Well, because this is Jesus’ Church and not ours. He alone is the Good Shepherd.

Praised be Jesus Christ!