Following a decade of being placed on the defensive by the sins of pedophile priests, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops have issued a pastoral message that condemns the sexual abuse of children.
Since the Catholic Church has been so fast to condemn any “sin,” it seems almost odd that it has taken so long for the sexual abuse of children to be declared immoral. The Church has always been against vices such as abortion, pre-marital sex and birth control, which in some minds are lesser evils than sexual abuse.
According to the Associated Press, in the statement, which was formally released yesterday, the bishops acknowledged their own vulnerability and damaged credibility concerning pedophilia. For many years, abusive priests would traditionally only receive counseling and then were sent to new parishes, where the abuse sometimes continued.
It is hard to believe that Catholic priests would partake in the sexual abuse of children, but it is even harder to believe that the Catholic Church would excuse such actions. While counseling may help a few individuals, it is not a cure-all for everybody. Pedophile priests should be totally removed from the situation, not sent to another parish.
“While forgiveness is often seen as charitable and Christ-like, all acts of child sex abuse are morally evil and only God can absolve abusers,” said the bishops in the document, “Walk in the Light: A Pastoral Response to Child Sexual Abuse.”
“We emphasize that the community, including the family, needs to call the abuser to accountability,” they added.
Does this mean that abuse will no longer be swept under the carpet and hidden by strict Catholic families as it has been in decades past? If so, this is definitely a step in the right direction. There is no excuse for child abuse, regardless of the nature, and abusers should be held responsible for their actions.
The missive, developed by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees on Marriage and Family and Women in Society and in the Church, also declared that it is better for families to break apart instead of leaving children at risk in an abusive situation.
The Catholic Church has never formally condemned divorce, but it has always looked down on it and has barred divorced individuals, who did not receive an annulment to their marriages by the Church, from being remarried in the Catholic Church. If a divorced individual remarried without seeking an annulment, official Church law says that the person also cannot partake in the Sacraments, such as Communion. With this in mind, the statement is surprising. However, it is one that needed to be made.
The Catholic religion needs to be willing to adapt, and realize that life in actuality is not as easy as in theory.
“The Church is finally responding to the reality of people’s lives,” said Elena Cardeña, Catholic campus minister.
She added that it is more reasonable for a family to split if the family unit is better preserved by the breakup. In some situations, like an abusive father who goes on a rampage and shoots his wife and children, divorce is a better option.
In Cardeña’s experience, only one priest, who was very traditional, told a woman to stay with her abusive husband who had sent her to the hospital three times with injuries stemming from his beatings. He believed it was her duty as a wife to bear that burden. All other priests consulted told the woman to get out of the relationship.
Though Catholicism is a traditional religion with a strict belief system, the Church is slowly increasing its willingness to adapt to the changing attitudes of society. This week, U.S. bishops have shown this flexibility by both condemning pedophilia and acknowledging that the break up of a family can sometimes better preserve the family unit. The missive should be commended, not as a blow to the Catholic faith, but as a step in the right direction.
