This post is about Pope Francis issuing a set of laws to address decades, if not centuries of sex abuse. The church is calling it groundbreaking. There are about 415,000 priests worldwide and about 660,000 sisters and they are being ordered to obey the new laws. Change is imminent when an institution admits its own abuse and implements measures to transform.
Before talking about this move toward greater responsibility, I think it’s important to examine it in a different light than “elitists” might be inclined to think. The ethical elitist might say, “Well, it’s about time those people admitted something everyone else knows.”
While I would agree the church has been reeling from multiple lawsuits against its hierarchy in regard to sexual abuse and sexual harassment, if we are being honest, it was only recently that other institutions have had to examine themselves. For example, the elites of Hollywood and the political elite of Washington, D.C. have both had to examine sexual harassment and abuse in their ranks. The point is that major institutions around the world almost normalized sexual abuse while at the same time bashing the “other guy.”
About Power
Pope Francis is requiring the clergy to report any cases of abuse or cover-ups to church authorities. There are whistleblower protection and a system for reporting up to and including a legal framework. Said Cardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Vatican office for bishops:
“We have said for years that priests must conform to certain strict rules, so why shouldn’t bishops and others in the hierarchy do the same? It’s not just a law, but a profound responsibility.”
While the reporting structure includes reporting sexual abuse and harassment of adults and minors, possession of child pornography and other policy violations it is not legally binding. There is no requirement that the reports must be handed over to the police. Therefore, the new rules are “procedural” and not “criminal.” Nevertheless, it is retroactive, and reports can go back many years with the accusers still under whistleblower protections.
There are no penalties, necessarily, for failures to report however, in cases of intentional cover-ups or negligence the church could take action against its clergy. Change is imminent when an institution admits its own abuse and implements measures to transform.
According to the law as outlined by Bishop Ouellet “The law defines the crimes that must be reported as performing sexual acts with a minor or vulnerable person; forcing an adult ‘by violence or threat or through abuse of authority, to perform or submit to sexual acts,’ and the production, possession or distribution of child pornography. Cover-up is defined as “actions or omissions intended to interfere with or avoid” civil or canonical investigations.”
There has been, unfortunately, a long history of abuse of nuns and seminary students by superiors. No matter the type of abuse or the person reporting it, the pope has made it clear that anyone who has been abused must be welcomed, not shunned, and offered help.
These new laws begin, finally, to change the balance of power. And that is what this is about – power; a person in some type of authority abusing someone vulnerable. Again, I would issue an ethical caution. Hollywood, for example, long had its sexual predators and “casting couches” and nothing was done about it for fear of retribution.
The Powerful
Just as the Harvey Weinstein’s or Kevin Spacey’s of Hollywood escaped penalties for years, so too did the bishops and cardinals of the Catholic church. The new whistleblowing procedures of the Vatican now provide a pathway for the reporting of abuse of those higher up in the church hierarchy. While the laws of reporting are complex, especially when a bishop or cardinal is involved, for the first time in Catholic church history there is an expectation of accountability that did not exist before these rules were enacted.
In a round-about way, the Catholic church could lead the way for recognition of abuse within the ranks of a complex organization. I would imagine that over time, the rules the pope wants in effect will be strengthened even more. The stakes are just too high to not continue down the path of greater accountability.
The sexual abuse scandals of the church are about the dismantling of a power structure of the strong against the vulnerable. There was for far too long the opportunity to take advantage of the weak in order to satisfy sexual needs and the need for power.
The church rationalized the accusations of abuse within its ranks by saying it didn’t exist or occasionally occurred, even though it was apparent that it did and that it was more widespread than anyone wanted to admit. So too, with Hollywood, or within political and corporate circles. The awareness of abuse, thankfully, is being brought to light. Institutions are now realizing that to not address it, is tantamount to eventual self-destruction. Change is imminent when an institution admits its own abuse and implements measures to transform.
