I wonder how my old neighbor, Josie, would feel if she knew the extent of the sexual abuse perpetrated against children and parishioners in the Catholic Church. Our neighbor in Sonora when I was growing up, Josie was as devout a person as I have ever known; she burned candles for me when I had my appendix removed. Josie’s life was one of selfless service to her fellow travelers all day, every day. Her memory is a testament to the power of faith, of belief in something greater than oneself, regardless of religious denomination. The fact she happened to be Catholic was incidental to the commitment she made to personify the spiritual life. This woman, if she were alive today, would doubtless be hard pressed to come to grips with how an institution in which she placed so much faith could have drifted so far from the principals upon which it was founded.
The news, released today, that Pope Francis has expelled the former cardinal and archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick, from the priesthood, after he was found guilty of sexually abusing minors and adult seminarians, should be shocking on its face. But, since it’s just the latest event in an unfolding saga that has mired the church in controversy for decades, its shock value has been diminished significantly. One is forced to wonder what comes next? How many such damaging revelations can an institution withstand before its foundations begin to shake?
As difficult as it is to contemplate where this may all lead, however, the true human cost of these revelations always seems to be lost in the shuffle. While admitting culpability is admirable, if long overdue, what can the Church do to right the wrongs resulting from years of sexual predation? McCarrick was dismissed for, among other things, soliciting sex during confession “with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power.”
How do you make right the broken spirits and destroyed psyches of victims who entrusted their fates to the likes of this man?
McCarrick’s crimes were first brought to public attention last June, following a hearing in which it was proven he had abused an altar boy practically 50 years ago. What mental mechanisms must one employ in order to justify actions that violate the trust of the most helpless and vulnerable for the purpose of personal sexual gratification?
Just how does a person come to terms with the kind of revelations that have come out in recent years concerning the extent and breadth of the sexual predation evidently extant in the church hierarchy? How does one wrap their brains around the immeasurable damage done to minds and bodies, hearts and souls, by those whose access to their victims depended on taking advantage of the unquestioning faith of their followers for the fulfillment of their forbidden fantasies?
And why was this man, McCarrick, allowed to continue abusing children for almost half a century without consequence?
As a retired Child Protective Services social worker, I found it particularly disturbing when I learned how the Catholic Church routinely failed to report sexual abuse among its ranks over decades, in direct contradiction to our agency’s mission to protect children from abuse.
To his credit, Pope Francis recently made a call for a unified response to “this evil that has darkened so many lives.”( NYT, 2/16/19)
The Washington Archdiocese said in a statement “Our hope and prayer is that this decision serves to help the healing process for survivors of abuse, as well as those who have experienced disappointment or disillusionment because of what former Archbishop McCarrick has done.” (ibid)
One of McCarrick’s victims, who was eleven when the former cardinal began abusing him sexually, said “nothing can give me back my childhood,” adding “I am happy that the Pope believed me. I am hopeful now I can pass through my anger for the last time.” (ibid)
After his defrockment, the former cardinal lost his church-sponsored housing and financial benefits. One life ruined in exchange for countless other lives destroyed.
A fair bargain?
Not by any measure!
Tim Konrad
sonora2sonoma 
Leave a comment