The Catholic Church Should Follow the Protestants

By Peter Wolfgang Published on September 17, 2018

The Catholic Church is bleeding from a thousand self-inflicted wounds. Not just because clergy abused minors and many others, including vulnerable seminarians. Because bishops covered up their abuse — especially when the abusers were fellow bishops — and didn’t stop them when they could have.

How do we ever come back from that? How can the Church ever restore its credibility after what we now know? One way. Don’t wait for Caesar to come to you. Go to him first.

Go to Caesar

One Protestant church has already shown the way. In its recent special report on how Protestant churches have dealt with sexual abuse, World Magazine highlighted one church that “offers a model of how to respond to abuse accusations.”

When confronted with an accusation of abuse by a former minister, Tates Creek Presbyterian Church in Lexington, KY, understood seven things. (The emphasis is mine.)

1) They understood that when you have credible evidence of a crime, you remove the suspect from his position and report him to the authorities: “The presbytery removed him from office and sent his confession to law enforcement.”

2) They understood that you don’t keep your own members in the dark: “Even though Waller had been gone for 12 years, Tates Creek immediately had a meeting of elders, hired an attorney to go through the process, and emailed its congregation about what happened.”

3) They understood that it is better to go to law enforcement first instead of making them go to you: “Tates Creek elders unanimously voted to begin an independent investigation and to report findings to the police.

They Understood

4) The church understood the importance of transparency and repentance: “Senior Pastor Robert Cunningham released an extensive public statement, answering three major questions: Is this really sexual abuse? … Was anyone in leadership aware this was taking place? … What steps are we taking in response?”

5) They understood the effect these actions would have on both the abusers and their victims: A sexual predator will leave the church. “No predator is going to stay in a church like that, because they know that they’ll be caught. By that same token, a survivor or victim will be able to come forward to a leadership like that because they’ve handled it right.

6) They understood the importance of humility: “The last thing we want to do is ‘pat ourselves on the back’ and then the investigation reveal that we have much to confess,’ he [the pastor] wrote. He promised ‘transparency’ when the investigation is over.”

7) Perhaps most important of all, Tates Creek understood the importance of placing righteousness over reputation: “Cunningham asked his congregation to ‘resist the temptation’ to be concerned about the reputation of the church: ‘I am determined that we prioritize righteousness over reputation. … And above all, remember that our God is faithful to bring beauty from ashes, redeeming what sin has laid waste.”

Tates Creek’s Amazing

Everything that Tates Creek did when faced with an accusation of clergy abuse is amazing. And by amazing I mean normal. And by normal I mean not normal. That is, what Tates Creek Church did is what every church should do. It should be common sense. Anything else gives you the current Catholic catastrophe.

And some Catholic bishops get that. According to a Catholic News Agency story, “Archbishop Robert J. Carlson has invited the Missouri attorney general’s office to conduct an inspection of its files related to allegations of sexual abuse and to produce an independent report.”

Please Support The Stream: Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.

Two things stand out about Archbishop Carlson’s action. First, he went to the AG first, rather than the other way around. Second, he didn’t have to. According to the CNA story, “In Missouri, the state attorney general does not have the power to convene a grand jury such as the one” in Pennsylvania.

The St. Louis Archdiocese was never in any danger of being forced to hand over its internal files to state authorities against its will. And yet Archbishop Carlson did so willingly. He even asked the authorities to issue a public report on its findings.

Go and Do Likewise

If every bishop in the United States did this, it would have three positive effects.

First, it would restore trust with the Catholic laity. It would rebuild confidence with the public at large.

Second, it would aid the work of good bishops who are otherwise powerless to root out networks of abusers that exist among their own diocesan priests. Not sure whom to trust, your Excellency? Invite law enforcement in to help you sort it out. If the abusers don’t fear you, they will at least fear exposure and possible arrest.

Third, it would preserve the Church’s freedom. The Church retains its right to govern itself if it asks for the state intervention, rather than against its will.

That’s how you do it. That’s how you come back from such a scandal. And that’s how you restore credibility. Full transparency and in cooperation with law enforcement.

Whatever grief you think you are saving yourselves by not doing it that way, dear ecclesiastics, well … look around you. It’s not working. It’s doing the opposite of working.

Having already tried everything else, dear churchmen, how about you now try doing the right thing? Tell the truth. Call in Caesar to help.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Like the article? Share it with your friends! And use our social media pages to join or start the conversation! Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, MeWe and Gab.

Inspiration
The Scarcity Mindset
Robert Morris
More from The Stream
Connect with Us