Abuse of the Abuse

The trauma of the past several years of abuse crisis in the Church have done tremendous harm.  I don’t mean to sound sanctimonious about it but these cases have set up a wall between clergy and young people – one which has its effects in how we relate to one another.  It’s a terrible thing to live with – the betrayal of trust by the few coming to bear on the many…casting its ugly shadow on those who have done nothing wrong.  I’m not trying to downplay the immense harm done by the perpetrators – I’m not trying to direct attention away from their darkness or blunt the horror of their crimes…I’m just saying that now there is a completely new playing field – one where a cleric must be wary of suspicion and must contort all his actions so as to be above reproach -  even to the creation of an off-putting distance and the avoidance of all possibility of a compromising situation…or even the appearance of one.  What is this climate of suspicion and ultrasensitivity doing to the relationship between shepherd and sheep, Father and parishioner, priest and penitent?  Maybe we should say it’s an acceptable trade-off so as to guarantee (or come as close to it as we can) that this despicable sin never happen again…I don’t know.  But sometimes I wonder who it’s serving and who is getting lost in the shuffle?  I mean what does it say when a priest has to think first about how to protect himself before he invites someone in for tea and a chat…what impact does this have on his ability to get to know those for whom he is ministering?  Has Jesus foresaw this difficulty and if so what has he to say about it – or is he just leaving it to us, his chosen ministers, to figure it out on our own?  Sometimes, it seems like that.
In today’s first reading Isaiah does everything in his power to encourage the people listening to him to mend their paths, to return to the Lord, to be cleansed from their sin.  He even says, “Come now, let us argue it out together – says the Lord.”   This indicates (to me at least) that we can bring anything - even the most divisive, ugly and unsettling realities to the Lord in seeking understanding.  But let us do so in a spirit of faith…even if that faith is weakened by scandal or misunderstanding.