THE DOG THAT DIDN’T BARK

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Bishop of As-If-It-Matters-Anymore, offers Pope Benedict XVI a little friendly advice about the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandals in the pages of the Washington Post. I guess Robbie didn’t get the memo:

"Though our churches differ in many ways, we believe in the same God. As your brother in Christ, it pains me to see Catholics struggle with your response to recent allegations of sex abuse by priests. Since my denomination has also battled these demons, I want to share with you what I have learned as a bishop of the Episcopal Church."

Yeah, I know. Any Episcopalian counseling the Pope about anything at all, most of all this particular Episcopalian, involves more than a little cognitive dissonance. So in order to get through this post, I’m going to have to ignore the elephant in the room and concentrate on the merits of Robbie’s ideas.

Thing is, I don’t know what’s funnier. Gene Robinson writing this or the dolts at the Washington Post thinking that Robbie is actually some kind of respected spiritual leader and asking him to write this.

Robbie is as aware of the elephant in the room as any of the rest of you and he means to ignore it as it well. That’s why his advice to Benedict is almost completely practical.

"About 20 years ago, our church became aware of sex abuse by our clergy here in the United States. To our shame, we learned of it in lawsuits filed by victims alleging that some of our bishops had minimized the seriousness of the abuse and/or swept their claims under the rug. Some cases were related to the abuse of children; others involved male clergy who took advantage of their pastoral relationship with vulnerable women to manipulate them into sexual relationships. These men violated the sacred trust placed in clergy to focus on parishioners’ needs and to separate those needs from their own. To prevent further such abuses of power, we moved quickly for the good of the victims and of our church."

I’ve been aware of the odd ministerial affair here and there but I had no idea the problem was as extensive as Gene claims it was. And if that’s true, Gene Robinson has just done the Roman Catholic Church a huge favor.

If this sort of behavior was a major problem in a church where priests and bishops can marry and have sex whenever the mood strikes them, then the notion that priestly celibacy had anything at all to do with the Catholic sexual abuse scandals has just been torpedoed below the water line.

"Whether or not civil courts recognize a statute of limitations, the church must hold its clergy members accountable to their vows to be faithful shepherds of their people. In 1994, the Episcopal Church opened a two-year window of opportunity to hear complaints about priestly abuse of the pastoral relationship with adults. Just because an event occurred many years ago did not make it any less egregious, especially since perpetrators rarely have only one victim. We addressed all complaints through our canonical disciplinary process.

"Rather than refusing to acknowledge our transgressions, we sought to change our church’s culture — an effort that took no small amount of courage."

Courage, Robbie? I don’t think that’s the word you’re looking for. It shouldn’t take courage to do your job. Unless, of course, the problem was as extensive as you claim it was in which case all theories about the Catholic scandals go right out the window.

"In my diocese in New Hampshire, and across the Episcopal Church, we perform a thorough background check on every bishop, priest or deacon who serves under my authority. We correspond with every employer the clergyperson has ever had and every bishop under whom the clergyperson has ever served to determine whether there is a history of complaints.

"While procedures vary from diocese to diocese, we here in New Hampshire require six hours of abuse-prevention training for clergy, all other employees of the church (organists, parish administrators, maintenance workers), youth workers and elected parish leaders. A refresher course is required every five years. Events with and for children may never be conducted without two adults present and always in view of each other. This protects children from abusive behavior and protects adults who might be falsely charged. Many of our parishes have installed windows in the clergy office doors, so that no activity — even private counseling — may go unobserved."

All good ideas and one supposes Catholic archdioceses and dioceses in this country have already or will soon adopt policies very much like them. It won’t stop this sort of thing, of course. If you want to do little boys, it’s probably safe to say that successful completion of the Don’t Do Little Boys training is not going to talk you out of it.

"But the thing victims most want to hear from the church, especially its leadership, is: “I am so sorry. This should never have happened to you, especially here. We are going to do everything in our power to see that nothing like this happens again.” Victims live with their horrific experiences and know that their abuse can never be undone. And so they seek assurance that the church will change the system that allows abuse to go undetected and take action to hold perpetrators accountable. Child abusers do not deserve protection; they must be reported immediately to civil authorities and prosecuted."

True. And I’m pretty sure that the Holy Father understands all that. That’s the way I read the situation anyway.

"The Christian church — like any institution — is as capable of sin as any individual. We have been wrong before, from the Inquisition and the Crusades down to our defense of slavery (using scripture) and our denigration of women. Over time, the church has repented for these sins and sought to change its ways. The discovery of sexual abuse by clergy is another situation that calls for the church’s repentance and reform."

Gene? Not a good line of smack to run there. What you call “our denigration of women,” the Holy Father calls sticking to the words of the Bible unless we see a pillar of fire and/or cloud somewhere nearby and hear a really scary voice.

"I would not presume to instruct you. That would be arrogant. Nor would I impose upon you advice you’ve not sought."

Robbie will wait for his next speech to Integrity or Planned Parenthood before he does that. Right now, he can afford to be charitable just as long as the real victims of this sad situation are not forgotten.

"However, I believe it is misguided and wrong for gay men to be scapegoated in this scandal. As a gay man, I know the pain and the verbal and physical violence that can come from the thoroughly debunked myth connecting homosexuality and the abuse of children. In the media, representatives of and advocates for the Roman Catholic Church have laid blame for sexual abuse at the feet of gay priests. These people know, or should know, that every reputable scientific study shows that homosexuals are no more or less likely to be child abusers than heterosexuals. Psychologically healthy homosexual men are no more drawn to little boys than psychologically healthy heterosexual men are drawn to little girls.

"Sexual activity with children or teenagers is child abuse, pure and simple. Meaningful consent is impossible, by definition, for the underaged. You will not rid your church of sexual abuse by throwing homosexuals out of your seminaries or out of the priesthood. Homosexual priests have faithfully and responsibly served God throughout Catholic history. To scapegoat them and deprive them of their pulpits is a tragedy for the people they serve and for the church. Yours is a problem of abuse, not sexual orientation."

Raise your hand if you didn’t see that one coming. With Robbie, everything eventually works its way back to that one point. As Shakespeare put it, “That many things, having full reference to one consent, may work contrariously: As many arrows, loosed several ways, come to one mark.”