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The priesthood's dark valley
Last Friday, at the liturgy marking the end of "The Year of the Priest," Pope Benedict XVI once again addressed the scandal of clerical sexual abuse. Some media reports had indicated that the Pontiff would offer an extensive apology. While the Holy Father did indeed "beg forgiveness from God and from the persons involved," he also quite passionately affirmed the distinctive vocation of the Catholic priesthood. Through his reflections, the Pontiff attempted to reconcile two seemingly opposed images: the "sins of priests" and the "grandeur and beauty of the priestly ministry." Such a task was not easy, but the Pope did it in a way that confounded conventional understandings of the sexual abuse scandal, not to mention my own initial reading of his remarks.
The sexual abuse crisis in Catholicism is about many things, of course. But in terms of public discourse--whether it be official Vatican pronouncements, anti-Catholic polemics, or media reporting--the fundamental issue is one of narrative or, more simply, which story one chooses to believe.
From one perspective, the sexual abuse scandal is a crisis of a priesthood and institution that are too removed from the world: celibacy, an exclusively male priesthood, as well as rigidly hierarchical notions of authority and obedience, create an insular culture that is unwilling, or unable, to see and to check its own faults and excesses. Only a priesthood that reflects and embraces the depth and breadth of human experience and identity can reform an institution that has lost its connection with those whom it seeks to serve.
From another perspective, the sexual abuse scandal is a crisis of a priesthood and institution that are too close to the world: in an age of relativistic "tolerance" without a sense of truth or the sacred, the supernatural aspect of the priestly vocation is lost as is the ability to discern and identify authentic qualities necessary for priestly ministry. Only a priesthood that reflects and embraces the other-worldly end of human destiny can refocus an institution that has lost its way in its adaptation to contemporary intellectual fashions and cultural trends.
Each of these views tells a story not only about where the Catholic Church has been, but where it needs to go in the future.
To me, the Holy Father's remarks initially read as a rather uncritical affirmation of the second narrative that placed the origins of the scandal in the corrupting influence of the world. There were familiar villains of this well-known story: the Enlightenment, with its denial of a personal God; the Devil, whose seemingly successful recent efforts to undermine the priesthood only call attention to the priesthood's importance. Against this background, the priest becomes the hero, a shepherd with a "rod and staff." In this regard, of particular importance was Benedict's emphasis on the "rod" that "protects the faith against those who falsify it." Such remarks echoed not only the Pope's distrust of the contemporary world, but also the Catholic Church's efforts to re-establish the priest as someone truly set apart from the laity.
For me, initially problematic was the implication that the sexual abuse scandal could be attributed largely to the influence of elements external to the Church itself. Equally problematic was the seeming lack of recognition of the role of the victims, as well as the laity and the non-Catholic press, in revealing the true extent of the crisis. Clearly, if the goal is a renewed and purified Church, then it has to be admitted that non-clerical voices sometimes speak the most clearly.
But as I reread the Holy Father's remarks, I realized that his message was more nuanced than I had initially thought. The most compelling image was drawn from Psalm 23 as Benedict made reference to that "darkest valley" of "death" where no one except the Lord can "accompany us." Changing the image slightly, the Pope offered a prayer: "Help us priests, so that we can remain beside the persons entrusted to us in these dark nights."
The word "entrusted" recalls the hierarchical sense of priesthood that the Pope certainly does wish to reaffirm. But the use of the word "beside" qualifies that sense of hierarchy, by evoking an image of companionship in a shared journey through the "darkest valleys" of human life. Indeed, it is a sign of God's "audacity" that he has entrusted himself to weak and fallible human beings to make Himself known.
This Pope will most certainly not offer a confessional apology for the sexual abuse scandal in the manner that an elected official would. Expressed in complex theological language, the Pope's reflections do not have the kind of immediate resonance that many think is necessary given the scope of the crisis. But close attention to how the Pope is framing discussion also shows that his views cannot be easily subsumed within the standard narratives of the sexual abuse scandal. What comes through most clearly is Benedict's awareness of the extent of human frailty and of the absolute necessity of God's love and mercy. Recognizing the import of this observation does not in itself reconcile the competing narratives regarding clerical sexual abuse. But it does offer a necessary point of departure as the priesthood travels through a very dark valley.
By
Mathew N. Schmalz
|
June 14, 2010; 9:40 AM ET
| Category:
Benedict XVI
,
Papacy
,
sexual abuse scandal
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Posted by: allaboutwho | June 16, 2010 5:31 PM
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Try as you may Mr.Mathew N. Schmalz, but all of your rhetoric does not hide the facts - That the Catholic Church and their "Holy" Father have failed to do that which God commands - to humble themselves, to take personal responsibility, confess their sins publicly, truly repent cleansing their institution of all of the molesters, rapists, pedophiles, etc. and ALL of the sick fools that have protected them. They MUST STOP placing blame on others. They MUST STOP making excuses. They MUST STOP ignoring the depth and horror of their crimes. Trusted members of their institution have committed sick and depraved acts of complete destruction against fragile and innocent soles, and in response the Pope, the Church, the Cardinals have ALL lied about the issues, harbored the guilty, and have greatly committed the sin of pride by only caring about themselves, their positions and their precious UN-BIBLICAL institution rendering themselves just as guilty as the depraved, perverted priests. There will be NO REAL apology until the pope himself rents his robes adorns himself in nothing more than sackcloth and ashes, falls prostrate before God AND the world and begs for forgiveness. And every puffed up
Cardinal must follow suite or be dishonorably excommunicated.
Posted by: jhp2616 | June 16, 2010 4:05 AM
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There is not much to analyze and pontificate about this crisis. Notwithstanding my view that all religion is nothing but sham. The people at the top of the hierarchy are quite aware of it and continue to perpetuate it. That said, there were some sexual predators who came to be so call priests and even nuns, may be. Who could not control their sexual drives and molested the young and silenced them using their authority. When this came to light to the church authorities, the authorities like anyone else tried to cover it up, just like BP tried to do with the oil spill. They even abandoned their own so called moral preachings against the homosexuality. Unlike a secular organization they have used every device offered to them as a church to cover it up. Now that damn has broken, they are still trying to put forth all kinds of rationalizations forward. Mr. Ratzinger would do well, by just shutting up and tell the secular authorities to dig through the garbage they have produced and take away the guilty. The wind bag does not need to endlessly apologize or anything. He should just say RCC like every other religious institution is Bah-humbug and go away.
Posted by: Secular | June 15, 2010 9:48 AM
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Pope Ben, when will you tell of the guilt of the RCC administration on their guilt of the cover up of these crimes of sex of children to protect the image of the RC church? It is time for a new pope and then Vatican III to turn the church around.
Posted by: usapdx | June 15, 2010 9:34 AM
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The Pope still does not get the problem if he elevates the priesthood so high that he, and the rest of the Catholic Church hierarchy, cannot believe priests can also do evil.
The greatest harm to the Church and to the faithfulness of the faithful was in the handling of the sex abuse cases. It was the higher ups- including the current Pope before he was Pope and the prior Pope - who did not forthrightly, clearly, and quickly remove those who had abused children. For years the Church in Rome protected the priesthood at the expense of local parishners - both the children and their parents.
Pope Benedict should be pressing forward the importance of the non-priest Catholic faithful who brought the problems to light. He and the Cardinals in Rome should be seeking ways to strengthen the role of the non-priest local Church membership in its leadership role locally and in its relationship with the Bishops.
Posted by: amelia45 | June 14, 2010 9:06 PM
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You quote the Pope's prayer for priests to remain beside the persons entrusted to them in the dark nights. In the midst of a child abuse scandal continuing on six continents, no metaphor for priestly activity could be more inappropriate and revolting in light of plausible information available worldwide. Is it perhaps true, as some suggest, that he "just doesn't get it" yet and his words may be less profound than you take them to be?
Posted by: JackB5 | June 14, 2010 7:53 PM
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I recently read a novel called On This Rock by Dave Leonard. While it's clearly fiction it makes a point that Catholicism is very different than other mainstream Christian religions. The author clearly believes this is because the Catholic Church was founded by pagans and nonbelievers. A radical theory for sure but if you read the book with an open mind it makes sense.
Posted by: markerickson85 | June 14, 2010 5:07 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
I too found the "dark night" an unfortunate, offensive metaphor. Also, I am sure that the columnist is well aware there are many more narratives than the two he lifts up. I don't think that the Pope is especially brilliant to evoke the middle ground of priestly humanity. I am not Catholic and am not well versed in the kind of theological difficulties this might raise, but surely it is central in this narrative? Do we think that being in the world or removed from the world are the axis that best describes questions of sexual prediliction, individual responsibility, human decency, organizational responsibility? Such abstruse narrative renderings of this profoundly human form of evil are in themselves a part of the reason that the church has been unable to respond. And that, too, is all too human. In the 90's perhaps we might still be stuck with that kind of debate. This dark secret has been exposed to the light for many years now. And it is only the latest eruption of human darkness in the heart of the church over the centuries. Why does the pope respond as if the church has just become aware of it? Why do we need narratives of modernity to explain these most time honored mysteries? And why on earth would they be needed in order to judge the lack of human compassion the pope has shown?