The Path Forward

“Sadness, Shock, Shame and Outrage.” These are the words Thomas Rodi, Archbishop of Mobile, used to begin his reflection on the scandal involving Cardinal McCarrick and the recent Attorney General of Pennsylvania’s report on clerical abuse.   I share those sentiments, but can only imagine how much harder it has been for good and faithful bishops like him, who are now “guilty by association” in the public eye. 

For these reasons, and because we live in a culture of immediacy, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops is under tremendous pressure to act swiftly to address these issues. But as important as it is to be proactive, I think it would be a mistake to respond to this horrible chapter in our Church’s story too quickly, especially if the response is exclusively the result of an internal action of the bishop's conference. 

In a recent talk with young people, Pope Francis said: “When we adults refuse to acknowledge some evident reality, you tell us frankly: ‘Can’t you see this?’ Some of you who are a bit more forthright might even say to us: ‘Don’t you see that nobody is listening to you any more, or believes what you have to say?’ (Crux, September 25, 2018) 

It’s a hard truth that many people in the United States feel that way about our bishops already. As revolting as McCarrick’s actions are, what is nearly as bad is the fact that people in leadership positions, who had the ability to engage in "fraternal correction,"  looked the other way.  In Pennsylvania, many of the bishops seemed more inclined to  “hide” the clerical abuse to protect the Church’s liability and self-image, rather than act out of concern for the victims. 

Coupled with the Vigano allegation that Pope Francis knew of McCarrick's abuse but allowed him to function as an influential Cardinal in the Church, a friend of mine--a life-long, faithful Catholic--recently said,  “My respect for our Church’s leadership is at an all time low.” 

For this reason, how the National Conference of Catholic Bishops responds to this crisis in their November assembly is almost as important as to the what they decide to do.  On the agenda currently is a vote over an “Administrative Committee” Statement, written by a smaller team of bishops on September 19, 2018, which recommends four actions:

1. Establish a third party reporting system which will receive complaints against a bishop and direct them to the appropriate civil and ecclesiastical authorities;
2. Direct a bishop’s subcommittee to develop proposals for restricting bishops who have been removed or resigned for reasons of scandal;
3. Create a “Code of Conduct” for bishops regarding sexual misconduct with adults or minors, or negligence in responding to issues related to sexual misconduct;
4. Support a full investigation of the situation surrounding McCarrick, including the abuse itself, who knew, and what people did or didn’t do about it. 

The statement ends by inviting brother bishops to join in acts of prayer and penance. It encourages other victims to step forward and promises them a pro-active and compassionate response. 

Regardless of whether this is a sufficient response in terms of the “what,”  it’s clearly insufficient in terms of a process. The bishops stand accused of covering over decades of abuse, “closing ranks” to protect themselves and their priests at the expense of victims. So having a small group of bishops make proposals to a larger group of bishops for a vote, “to protect the Church”, as one pundit phrased it, “from themselves,” will simply feed the narrative that this is a closed system which is not open to collaboration or real reform. 

For the good of our Church and the teaching authority of our bishops, we’re going to have to embrace a more inclusive process. 

I propose something akin to the Bishop’s Pastoral Letter on the Economy from the mid 1980’s. That process involved creating two “draft statements” from the bishop’s conference, each of which invited lay and expert response from across the country. Parishes were encouraged to host forums for discussion about each draft, and the results were summarized and sent to the bishop, who in turn would send them to the NCCB.  For each subsequent draft, a bishop’s committee would review the responses and incorporate key insights into the next draft, leading to a third and final statement, which ended up being the most widely read and I would argue, the most influential statement of the NCCB ever written. Perhaps the September 19 Administrative Statement, then, could be regarded as a “first draft” by the NCCB, and the bishops could invite lay reflection and proposals for a second draft, and then create a third and final statement. 

There is no doubt that extending out the process in this way will prolong the public discussion about abuse within our Church. There is also no doubt that many of the recommendations arising out of greater consultation with the laity will be more radical than the bishop’s conference might be inclined to make on its own.  I would expect, for example, a demand from the laity that they would have more of a voice in the selection of bishops, at least at the first stage of consultation. I would expect more scrutiny and a call for greater transparency in diocesan finances, with more oversight from diocesan finance councils.  I’d expect more details on what a “third party reporting system” looks like, and whether or not there was any ecclesiastical authority that could re-direct how reports of abuse were handled. I would expect, yes, renewed discussions about a married priesthood and the role of women in leadership positions in the Church. I’d expect a re-examination of priestly living, especially the question of whether it is healthy for men to live the entirety of their adult lives alone in rectories, vs. some sort of communal arrangement with priests from different parishes. 

I know that some of these issues are outside the jurisdiction of the bishops, and I suspect that most would prefer to define the scope of all this more narrowly.   But in light of the failings of too many, I don't think the NCCB is going to be able to dictate how all this unfolds, especially if they wish to regain the moral influence and authority they have abdicated. Before there is too much talk, there needs to be a lot of listening. 

In the mean time, let us pray for our bishops, most of whom are fine men doing God's work for our local churches.