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1. The ecclesial culture of abuse:
The fundamental challenge of religious leaders across faith systems is to
examine how abuse of power through the sexual misconduct of clerics is
reinforced by their interpretative documents and traditions. Such an examination is formidable because
it goes to the core of structural and institutional identity as evolved
over time, claims on originating sources, understanding of ordained and lay
leadership, and mandates of mission and purpose. Rigid truth imperatives impede understanding
about theological positions on matters related to human sexuality such as,
for example, gender equity and the role of women within faith traditions,
sexual identity, sexual preference and practice in relational intimacy,
requirements and choices of sexual expression in clerical leadership, and
the psychology of sexualized power in faith communities. The idea of such conversations is met
with suspicion because of the perception that the invested leaders, who
position themselves often through closed and secret procedures of
appointment, are the very ones guarding these sensitive doctrines and
practices.
2. Entitlement: The consequences of entitlement within
the leadership of faith traditions and on the faithful themselves are
pervasive and profound. Entitlement
seems to be endemic both to the structures of religion and to the
psychology of believers. By
definition entitlement is appropriating for oneself privileges of position
for personal advantage at the expense of others. It can shield leadership from
accountability, intimidate faithful into compliance, and put vulnerable
people in harm's way. The model of
Church as "pilgrim journey and listening community" where each
person is equally accountable to everyone greatly reduces the likelihood of
the abuse of privileged position.
3. Vox
populi: It is creedal that the leaders of faith
traditions listen to the voice of the people, the wisdom of the faithful,
in an attitude of equality, learning, and prayer. Patronizing and condescending administrative
posturing within any ecclesiastical tradition, regardless of its structure
and understanding of the role of ordained leadership, not only compromises
the origins of belief but blurs positions of power with personal ambition. It is the sensus
fidelium
that instructs and guides the service of leadership authority measured
first by relational respect and gender equity in every detail of service to
humanity. Leadership of faith
traditions at all levels, ordained and lay, is
legitimately expressed only on the foundation of human respect. Regular listening forums within faith
communities can generate a culture of disentitled humility where leadership
trust is earned and monitored.
4. Power of perception and position: Clergy and religious frequently, if not
typically, are quite unaware of their relational "power," and
often do not appreciate how they are perceived by the faithful within their
congregations or, for that matter, by people at large. They can express genuine surprise and
consider themselves even powerless and ineffective toward achieving their
pastoral goals. Such lack of
awareness can jeopardize relational integrity by minimizing appropriate
differences in wanting to be perceived as just another guy or crossing
lines of professional propriety with indifference or distortions of
transference and counter transference.
Power is often more a matter of how clergy are perceived by others
than how they perceive themselves.
In any case it is imperative that clergy be clear about who they are
in their various roles and the relational requirements these roles impose
on them. Power derived from the
authority of pastoral appointment is rooted in the community of the
faithful and in the service of their safety, freedom, and growth.
5. Information disclosure:
Prevention requires offender disclosure.
Victims demand justice. Faith
sources propound truth. Violators
and criminals need due process.
Secrecy itself is the likely slide of continuing offending behavior
because there is no apparent external accountability to the faithful when
personal internal controls fail.
However, the collusion of autonomous leadership that puts the public
image and other vested interests of the institution above the safety and
well being of vulnerable people belies the very
essence of religion as "salvation." The "I know best" mentality of
leadership that protects its own at the expense of all else is not just a
matter of the bad judgment of a poor leader but a very good picture of a
critically flawed understanding of ministry and power.
6. Gender equity: At the very least abuse is about
individuals who are vulnerable in how they use power and how they accede to
persuasion. At another level abuse
is about attitudes that permeate religious culture. Abuse doesn’t just happen. It points in the direction of role
expectations deeply ingrained and frequently tied to "sacred"
sources that theologically shape religious institutional identity and
practices. Even when unwitting, such
practices perpetuate gender stereotyping that is subjugating and demeaning
of women while garnering the leadership of men. In communities of faith (as well as in
society at large), the symbols and language of leadership can be profoundly
condescending toward women who may be handicapped by a spirituality and
habits of dependence that can make them especially vulnerable to being
abused.
7. Seminary curriculum and
seminarian screening and formation: Seminaries are in urgent need of
sound human sexuality courses that are integrated with the ongoing spiritual
development of seminarians. The
substance of these programs ought to include basic current information on
human sexuality from a psycho-social and developmental perspective that
addresses fundamental issues of personal development and self-identity,
sexual needs and lifestyles, relational health, spirituality of sexuality,
caring for the care-giver, etc.
Essential to balanced development programs for seminarians is a
process (time) for personal conversation, learning, and integration in an
environment conducive to reflection and wholesome social exchange with
women and men. Although there are
clear early warning signs for obsessive and predatory behaviors, many
inappropriate sexual contacts can be circumstantially-based and not
identifiable through testing procedures or otherwise anticipated. In addition to observation and
discussion, vocation discernment must include a responsible background
investigation and a sexual history.
8.
Victims and support resources:
Victims of sexual misconduct by clergy and religious can experience
severe and prolonged consequences, not only because of the breach of
relational trust but also because of the subsequent inappropriate official
response and lack of adequate follow-up for personal and professional care. As a result victims are often
marginalized in their communities of faith and made to feel that the
original behavior and subsequent disruption in the community following
disclosure are their fault.
Appropriate attention to the well-being of victims and their
families is crucial to the health of individuals and communities. The first requirement of justice is that
responsible authorities listen to victims and respond with openness and
compassion.
9. Relational respect and boundaries: Apart from the development of policies
some of the top leadership in faith traditions are
quite reluctant to take proactive measures to minimize power abuse within
their organizational structures.
Such action, they would say, can be seen as attracting unwarranted
public attention in a way that distorts the overall picture by casting
unfair suspicion on all clergy in greater or lesser positions of power,
thus putting the leadership even more unfairly on the defensive. Informed awareness of faith leaders and
congregations alerts the faithful both to the possibility of individual
human failure, regardless of one's office or responsibilities, and to
procedures for minimizing any likelihood of institutional neglect.
10. Human sexual awareness: Understanding and integrating a healthy
human sexuality for both the clergy and the faithful are core dimensions of
prevention of sexual misconduct.
What is healthy sexuality, and what are the elements of a balanced
theology of human sexuality? What is
a healthy spirituality of sexuality, and how is it expressed in choices
within marriage, friendships, and celibacy?
How have theologies contributed to unhealthy attitudes about
sexuality that can increase vulnerability to being both abusive and abused? How do unhealthy attitudes about human
sexuality rooted within religious traditions contribute to abusive
behavior? What is a wholesome
understanding of sexual preference, and how can religious traditions affirm
minority sexual identities in addition to heterosexuality?
11. Congregational education:
Faith communities can deal responsibly with whatever life dishes out. They must not be shielded from any
information and especially the kind that can put them in harm's way. A healthy community can deal responsibly
with known individuals who could otherwise endanger the safety of others,
but such a community is highly vulnerable to abuse when real dangers are
concealed for any reason. The
authority of leadership rests with the (faith) community in a relationship
of trust, openness, and disclosure.
Congregations require ongoing education, specific awareness, clear
explicit guidelines, and appropriate vigilance as a process of prudent
alertness and accountability that comes from within and that holds everyone
equally responsible for the values of relational respect.
12. Empirical research: A good deal of data is
emerging about clergy sexual misconduct even though access to this
information is often made unnecessarily difficult. The behaviors and the conditions appear to
be quite similar across religious traditions and within the Judeo-Christian
experience. Sexual misconduct within
the leadership of religious traditions is a failure that is long-standing,
pervasive, compromising of cherished beliefs, destructive of faith systems,
and devastating to people. There is
also a considerable amount of misinformation and premature judgments based
on spurious statistics and irresponsible comments by high profile voices
that prejudice fact. What is
urgently needed is a thoughtful and systematic examination of offender,
victim, and response data in order to understand especially what it is that
is common within and among the traditions to aid prevention. How are institutions of religion and
people vulnerable to abuse? Where
does it come from in the faith-filled societies that are based on their
understanding of high moral values of leadership and interaction? And what are the lessons of such primary
research for prevention?
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