I once heard a Priest admit: "although I work hard to be blameless in my interactions with children and with women, I am constantly concerned that someone will make a false accusation against me and that my ministry will be destroyed by it." Most of the Priests I know are not that deeply fearful of being falsely accused, but I suspect that the concern is genuine in every one of us. Of course, there are likely some Priests out there who are already fallen in sin, and are not concerned about "false accusations" because there is every reason for them to be rightly accused. Those are not the ones that I am writing about here.
Whenever one of my brother Priests falls into sexual sin, it is like a knife to the heart of the rest of us. What he does in this does not affect him only, it affects the entire Church. Although I am certainly concerned for those who are the victims of this kind of abuse, today I just want to speak about the impact that scandals have had on other Priests (especially those who have not broken their ordination vows!). This came to the light for me more than once in years past when I was serving at a parish where the confessional allowed the "face to face" option. Whenever a young child or a woman chose to be "face to face" rather than behind the screen, I realized the "insecurity" of the situation. No, I was not being tempted in any way, but the potential for a false accusation was there, and it was evident to me.
The horrible consequence of this is that today a Priest must be concerned about his behavior in a way that impacts his ability to reach out with genuine love and compassion to the members of his flock. If one is always concerned that his love for his people might be misunderstood (or worse, twisted for someone else's hatred), it makes it difficult to be a true "father" to his people. A wall is created between he and them. Sadly, some Priests have responded to this in an evil way: they refuse to minister to anyone in a personal manner. They basically shut everyone out and only do the easy and public parts of their calling, neglecting the deep pastoral care that so many parishioners need. Yes, it is true that Priests cannot have "friends" in the parish (this is because it is a hindrance to his ability to use his authority with his "buddies"), but there is a proper way for the Priest to love his people and let them know that he cares for them.
The relationship between Priest and parish has changed dramatically in the last few decades, and I am fairly sure that it is for the worse. It is like someone suddenly threw a number of marbles up around the altar during Mass and told the Priest, "continue with the Mass, don't look at the marbles, and certainly don't step on any of them" and yet expects him to go on with his duties without missing a beat. I will confess I have felt like this a few different times. I heard the story of a Priest who had a young lady come and ask for a private meeting because she needed his counsel on an issue. While speaking to her he began to get concerned about saying something that would offend her. "What if I make her upset and she flips out and accuses me of improper behavior?" This is not a healthy way for a Priest to care for his people (and can prevent him from even doing so!).
If someone truly wants to make a false accusation against a Priest, they will find a way to do so. And, in case you do not know, the statistics right now show that about half of the accusations against Catholic Priests today are false! Yet, false or real, Americans tend to follow the principle of, "guilty until proven guiltier", when it comes to Catholic Priests (and, sadly, "innocent with no possibility of guilt", when it comes to public school teachers!). Thus, for a Catholic Priest, false or real, once the accusation is made, his reputation is ruined, and no one trusts him (even if the accuser later admits to lying, few will accept the Priest's ministry).
I could come out publicly and state that I have never abused a child (in any way) or been intimate with a woman (other than my wife), and yet if my reputation is tarnished by any kind of accusation, then that testimony is taken as a blatant lie. This issue comes up every once in a while, and it is good for us to realize that things are not as they used to be. Every generation has a challenge that God's Priests have to go through, and this is (one of) ours: temptations for a clergyman to abuse the people (physically, morally, emotionally, liturgically, etc.) and all the consequences that go with that.
This is all to say, as I have said many times before: pray for Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. We need your prayers, desperately -- and prayer is one of the most powerful and effective weapons against the attacks of the evil one. Also, please know that there are many good Priests out there who genuinely want to care for their people, but are afraid of how to do it rightly. We are willing to accept the attacks, the insults, the hatred and prejudice, the grave misunderstandings, and even our own well being for the sake of Christ. We do not want to fail in our ministry, and most (myself included) are willing to do right, even if that means we have to take the chance of losing everything so that we can fulfill our vocation and serve the people of God's flock. We love you, please pray for us.
Commentaires