Sexual abuse in the Catholic church - what reform is possible?

Massimo Faggioli, a theologian and contributing editor at Commonweal, brings a fresh perspective to many different church issues.  I don't always agree with his take on every issue, but I always find his articles for Commonweal to be both insightful and provocative.

For a couple of weeks now, Faggioli's article "A Report with Ramifications", on Australia's Royal Commission's report on institutional sexual abuse, has been on Commonweal's website.  Faggioli notes that, while the Report summarizes the Commission's investigation into the sexual abuse of children in a number of different organizational settings, more than half of the cases that were investigated took place in Catholic institutions.  And of those in Catholic settings, a priest or religious was the accused perpetrator in about three-quarters of the cases.

Faggioli reports that, understandably, the report is highly critical of Catholic institutional governance, and makes some specific recommendations for institutional reform.  Some of the criticisms and recommendations have been reported in the mainstream media, and church leaders have promptly responded that at least some of them are non-starters.  It's difficult not to conclude that one or two of the recommendations overreach.  But as Faggioli reports them, some of the recommendations, while representing a departure from the status quo, should not present any insuperable doctrinal barriers.  In my opinion, a number of them are at least worthy of further consideration.  Let's take a look at some of them.





Clericalism.  Faggioli notes that the report is bluntly critical of the dysfunctional aspects of clerical culture.  Here is Faggioli quoting from the report:

The theological notion that the priest undergoes an ‘ontological change’ at ordination, so that he is different to ordinary human beings and permanently a priest, is a dangerous component of the culture of clericalism. The notion that the priest is a sacred person contributed to exaggerated levels of unregulated power and trust which perpetrators of child sexual abuse were able to exploit. Clericalism caused some bishops and religious superiors to identify with perpetrators of child sexual abuse rather than victims and their families, and in some cases led to denial that clergy and religious were capable of child sexual abuse. It was the culture of clericalism that led bishops and religious superiors to attempt to avoid public scandal to protect the reputation of the Catholic Church and the status of the priesthood.

The report surely goes too far here in attributing all that is wrong with clericalism to the ontological change that occurs at a priest's ordination.  Even so, it tries to put its finger on a key area that is in need of reform.  My view is that the path to clerical reform is not in doing away with the clergy, but in purging the clergy of clericalism - of the sense of entitlement and the tendency toward self-protection at the expense of the people whose spiritual welfare is the clergy's primary responsibility.  Changing a culture is not easy, but with strong leadership it can be done, and certainly must be attempted.  Bishops must set clear expectations that their clergy will not be shielded from the just legal consequences of crimes of sexual abuse. Perhaps part of this would entail a deeper reflection on and appreciation for the medicinal aspects, for the victim, the perpetrator and the community, of the just punishment of abusers.  And formation of new clergy must include deep reflection and conversation about the clerical culture and the risks of attendant dysfunctional attitudes and behavior.  A cleric's first loyalty should be to the people of God he serves, to which any loyalties to brother clerics must be subordinated.

Confession.  Probably the single most sensational recommendation from the report is that the seal of the confessional should not exempt clergy from mandated-reporter requirements.   In other words, the Commission recommends that, if a priest learns of sexual abuse in the course of the sacrament of reconciliation, the priest must report it to the appropriate civil authorities, even if that would violate the priest's sacred promise to keep confessed sins confidential.  Faggioli rightly seems to see this as problematic: no rational person is going to confess a sin that also constitutes a crime, if he reasonably believes that his confessor will turn him in to the civil authorities.   But the report also makes an astute distinction - here is Faggioli quoting the relevant passage:

During our public hearings … it emerged that Catholic archbishops and canon lawyers were unclear about whether information received from a child during the sacrament of reconciliation that they had been sexually abused would be covered by the seal of confession

In my view, this lack of clarity on the part of church officials is dismaying.  My understanding is that the purpose of seal of the confessional is to protect the person who is confessing.  Declining to report abuse that is reported in the confessional by the victim does not protect the victim, but rather the perpetrator - and as the perpetrator is not the penitent in that instance, the confessor should not consider himself prevented by the confessional seal from reporting the abuse to civil authorities.   If my understanding of the confessor's obligation is correct, then I don't know of a doctrinal reason that the church couldn't adopt a policy whereby any abuse learned of in the confessional must be reported - with the sole exception of those instances where the perpetrator is the one confessing.

Clerical celibacy.  The other attention-attracting item coming from the report is the Commission's recommendation that clerical celibacy be made optional.  Faggioli's discussion of this is pretty interesting.  He's rightly skeptical:

the causal connection the report makes between priestly celibacy and sexual abuse is too facile, perhaps even populist and ideological

Faggioli goes on to make a number of observations about clerical celibacy that are well worth reading and considering, several of which seem to come down to this: even if we reject the report's purported link between celibacy and abuse, we can use the report's recommendation as an occasion to revisit the question of clerical celibacy.

In the course of noting these things about celibacy, Faggioli makes an interesting point which he doesn't pursue but which may be food for further thought: "canon law still stipulates that the Church look for vocation among the celibate and for the celibate".    I had never thought about this before, but it's a good observation: when priests and bishops are trawling for possible seminary candidates, the pool of young-ish men they consider are those who are already living a celibate life.  We're defining "celibacy" in a very broad way here, essentially to mean, "doesn't seem to have an attachment to a girlfriend nor a dating life".  In my personal observation, such adult men aren't very numerous.  If they are practicing Catholics, they also tend to be acutely aware that they're being viewed by many people as potential priesthood candidates.  (I believe the same tends to be true for single adult women in the church.)   In no way do I wish to impugn the fitness for the priesthood of any single, celibate young man, but simply wish to note that, if that is the starting population from which to draw candidates, it's a pretty small pool.  To be sure, whether the pool of potential candidates can be greatly expanded while keeping the requirement for celibacy sacrosanct is not easy to see.

Faggioli reminds his readers that the Australian bishops are planning a Plenary Council for the first time in nearly a century, and rightly states that, as things stand now, the Plenary Council can not happen without this report being one of the agenda items.  And it seems to me that the Australian church can tackle most of the items highlighted here without requiring permission from the Holy See. 

Faggioli concludes by noting that the church isn't known for self-reform; reform usually is stimulated by outside events and agencies.  The entire article is well worth reading and considering.