* What do you think about these sexual abuse scandals. Do you think this has damaged the reputation of the priestly vocation?
Mel Gibson Voices Strong Opinion About Church over Sex abuse
"There are many priests who are not like that and you cannot blame the institution or the principles of the institution for the actions of those who corrupt it." .."I can separate the human aspect from what's clearly about something else.."
Actor and Oscar-winning director
Mel Gibson, who plays a priest in the forthcoming movie Signs, yesterday
called for a hard line against pedophile priests.
"Quite frankly, I think that those guys who
have misused their authority should be punished hard," said Gibson, a father
of seven and one of Hollywood's highest-profile Catholics.
"It's one of the most heinous crimes you can
commit against kids."
Gibson also said corruption within the church
went much higher, but he defended the institution.
"Any institution is capable of being corrupted
and I think it's the same when it comes to ... the Catholic Church," he said.
"But there are many priests who are not like
that and you cannot blame the institution or the principles of the institution
for the actions of those who corrupt it."
Gibson, 46, who was educated at an all-boys
Catholic school in Australia, said the scandal had not shaken his faith.
"It's deplorable, yes, but ... when bad things
happen, I can separate the human aspect from what's clearly about something
else," he said. "You have to be prepared to sort of trust, even if things
look bleak or grim. It's a matter of putting your wellbeing in the hands of
something greater than yourself."
Gibson plays Episcopalian minister Graham
Hess, a man who loses his faith in God after the tragic death of his wife,
in his new film Signs, due to open on 15 August.
LINKS
Signs: official site
for the movie "Signs"
Signs: unofficial site for the movie "Signs"
Church resources Website.
SOURCE
Herald-Sun
[Full text
of Archbishop John Bathersby's article in The Courier-Mail on April 22]
ON Thursday I returned from an Archdiocesan Priests' Assembly at Caloundra.
Planned several years ago as a lead up to the first Archdiocesan Synod in 2003, the assembly attracted the largest gathering of priests since the assembly of 1983. Numbers were almost the same, boosted this time by a significant number of order-based priests. Despite a scarcity of young priests, and a disproportionate number of older ones, the gathering was filled with hope and optimism.
Falling Church attendance and worldwide sexual abuse scandals hung like a cloud over the discussions but did not destroy a sense of optimism about the Church's future mission.
Nevertheless the recent resignation of Catholic bishops over sex scandals in America, England, Ireland, Germany, and elsewhere has certainly shaken the confidence of priests and people alike, leaving us all wondering what on earth has gone wrong.
A prominent Catholic lay man said to me recently: "Archbishop it will take the Catholic Church 20 years to recover from this scandal". I thought his timeframe optimistic. At the same time there is an enormous willingness today by bishops, priests, and lay people to tackle the Church's challenges effectively, especially those of sexual misbehaviour. Unless that problem is faced openly Church attendance will continue to decline and Church witness will fail, despite the good work that the Church has done and continues to do in the midst of society at a religious and social level. The problems of the Church are not the problems of a few but the problems of all.
Sexual misbehaviour is by no means a simple problem. It is complex and multi-faceted, one part, I believe, of a larger problem that demands urgent attention. Effective disclosure of criminal behaviour, adequate and generous treatment of victims, intensive screening of and adequate preparation for ordained ministry and religious life, comprehensive education about and prevention strategies in families, and effective protocols, are all needed if there is to be an adequate response to this most horrible of crimes.
But perhaps a greater need, and I can only speak from a Roman Catholic point of view, is for the Church to have a good look at itself, not only the adequacy of its structures and the integrity of its ministers, but most importantly the soundness of its theology.
It seems to me that the problem of the Church is not so much one of predatory sexuality but of power, which has a subtle tendency to convince religious leaders that they are free of the constraints that binds lesser mortals, because of their elevated calling.
Sadly such delusions often lead to inappropriate exploitation in areas of sexuality.
To try to overturn such attitudes the Church must return to its origins, to Christ and the style of leadership He advocated for His followers. His most significant gesture, found in the Gospel of John, shows Him washing the feet of His disciples. It is a most powerful symbol for Church, and indeed all leaders, but sadly one that although recognised is often neglected.
A tension between service and power was present even among the apostles and seems to have existed in the Church ever since, not at all helped by the Christian conversion of Constantine in the fourth century.
The recent Second Vatican Council tried to remedy the situation when it proposed a theology of Church as "communion" and "people of God", where leadership was not over and above the community but rather at its heart.
It is a lesson that Church people find difficult to understand, because once inappropriate power is grasped it is extremely difficult to relinquish. Nevertheless there are significant signs of hope and the presbyteral gathering at Caloundra during the week was such a sign. Until one learns the servant model of leadership espoused by Christ the Church will continue to be afflicted by problems that undermine its mission of good news.
For me that is the very heart of the problem that confronts the Church today, whose probing by the media no matter how aggressively should not be resented but welcomed. After all, the Church does claim the high moral ground of good news, and some of the news coming out of the Churches at the present time is decidedly not good.
If the Church wishes to engage the world, as I believe it must, then it needs to come warts and all and should not resent disclosure of its dark side. For too long some Church people have used inappropriate models of leadership whose weaknesses are only now becoming manifest, sadly in the most sensitive area possible, the violation of children.
For me that is the crux of the problem, partially revealed by the close attention of the media at the present time, in which I believe the Holy Spirit is not absent.
Until the Church moves closer to the ideal chosen by Christ and elaborated more recently at the Second Vatican Council, then it must do everything in its power to overcome present problems with all the honesty, transparency, and resources that it can muster.
To do anything less is to betray the mission of Christ who came that all people, especially the little ones of the world, might have life and life in its fullness.
By Archbishop
John Bathersby
-------------------------
Further Reflections
on the issue of Abuse: (PWK)
Sexual abuse is a despicable violation of the principles and vision of Jesus Christ. The fact that there have been individuals who have professed to be "followers of Jesus" and then have acted in ways that are totally opposite to Christ’s commands is an unspeakable evil.
To many people, those who work in public roles in the church are considered to be the "public face of the church." If individuals violate the trust given to them and act in ways that are totally opposite to the message of Christ, then this will cause devastating scandal and often life-long emotional scarring. Many people feel that the actions of these individuals actually leads to them doubt the truth of the message of Jesus.
Two things need to be said as clearly as possible. 1) Christ’s message is as true as ever, and the horrific actions of sexual abusers are intolerable because they betray in every way the message and intention of Christ. They have hurt the very people Christ has demanded us to treat with the utmost respect and care. We must do everything possible to ensure that the risk of abuse is eradicated. The Christian message is clear. Jesus came to show us what God is like. Jesus had a particular concern for those who were weak and vulnerable and those who were on the edges of society. He came to invite all people to live in harmony with God and each other. Jesus offered us all a new vision for peace and justice. He reserved his most powerful condemnation to those who would put stumbling blocks in front of those who were most vulnerable. Rightly so!
2) Sexual abuse is about a criminal abuse of power and an inequality of power. It is understood that this criminal sickness is not something that can be left simply to be "kept under control" by the perpetrator, and the only effective remedy is to detect and permanently deny that person from any contact with potential victims.
More than ever before, the church needs people of absolute integrity and a thirst for justice who can be priests and leaders in the community and who make it their special care to exercise authority and power in the model of a servant (following the example and command of Christ) and who will not tolerate any abuse, including the most awful of all abuse sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
Sexual abuse is never to be tolerated or ignored and we have watched in horror at the results of the disastrous cost of people sweeping the issue under the carpet. The cost is the high incidence of multiple re-offending.
By far the vast majority of priests and religious have been people who have lived exemplary lives of service and care. They have been faithful to the vision of Christ and have been wonderful signs of God’s love in the world. We still need these people to serve the church and I believe we will find many prepared to live this message.
Those who have abused people have done untold damage to those innocent victims and have also tainted the good reputation of the vast majority. Yet nothing can take away the good work of good people. Nevertheless, the abuse is a disaster and cannot be ignored. Those many who work for the church today (and who live holy and pure lives) have as their first concern justice and truth and so they often put aside concerns about whether people wrongly assume them (by inference) to be possible "abusers in disguise" in order to do the job they love so much, living the gospel and serving others.
It must also be said that sexual abuse has been found throughout society, and yet this fact makes it all the more evil.
Statistically, it is believed that ninety percent of sexual abuse occurs in homes, with the highest category of offender is surprisingly well-known to the victim: that is, a family member or friend of family or a partner of the parents. This is not to downplay the horrific effect of abuse by a person in a trusted public position. However, it is important to see that sexual abuse is a serious problem for the whole of society. Wherever there is power or inequality of power, there is the real potential for that power or inequality to be abused, and with devastating long-term results.
Frighteningly, the vast majority of sexual abuse occurs in situations where the perpetrator is categorised as a paedophile. Orientation is not the predominant factor in offenders. In fact, many offenders could be decribed as having a predominantly "heterosexual" orientation (albeit distorted) and their victims may be either male or female. This is because the dynamics involved in sexual dysfunction are more complex than issues of orientation and attraction and also involve issues of emotional maturity and issues of power. So, a sexual predator may very well appear to be involved in some form of adult sexual relationship at the same time as committing untold damage to a young victim. The real issue is not celibacy verses marriage or heterosexuality verses homosexuality, but of the existence of serious sexual dysfunction, repression and stunted emotional maturity or distorted sexual attraction. Again, abuse can often be related to people who feel the need to exert improper and dangerous power over others and who normally feel lacking in personal power and so move into abusive expressions of dominance. Experts have said that it is very hard to detect a pedophile, since this person may present as trustworthy and seemingly well balanced, and may seem to be a respectable "family person" but actually be quite dangerous. They can be seemingly well-balanced husbands, wives, or partners and work as office workers, teachers, religious ministers or a limitless number of professions.
Thus, sexual abuse is not caused by celibacy, (that is, remaining single for the purposes of serving the wider community). Nor is sexual abuse to be connected with homosexual orientation!Predatory individuals do seem to attempt to get into jobs or situations that allow them access to potential victims and every effort must be made to detect and weed out such characters and at the same time put into place safety checks so that vulnerable people will not be exposed to the risk of such people. Places of isolation and secrecy are to be avoided. One strong thing to come from facing this terrible issue is that people are hopefully more vigilant, rightly less willing to take things on face value and constantly on the lookout for any indications of an unacceptable risk of abuse.
PWK.