VOTF WORKING GROUP NEWS

Survivor Community Update on the Truth and Recognition Coalition submitted by Steve Sheehan

On July 20, 2004, a group of Survivors and supporters met at Mary Scanlon's house to review and discuss a project to be known as the Truth and Recognition Initiative.

The project concentrates on the experiences of the survivors. They are asked to make a gift to history-tangible evidence of their life-altering experience.

The proposal suggests protocols for establishing a process that describes the historical context in which the Catholic Church reacted inadequately and destructively. The project is not meant to identify individual wrongdoers but to document an overview of the abuse, the cover up and the repeated failed pastoral response of clergy and laity that has occurred over time.

Survivors will be asked to participate at levels of preparation, interviewing, recording and archiving of survivor testimonies.

This process has historical antecedent in the Truth and Reconciliation study in South Africa, where Archbishop Tutu stated in his forward to the Commission's report, "... how inadequate the criminal justice system can be in exposing the full truth of, and establishing clear accountability for what happened in our country. More seriously, we have seen how unsuccessful prosecution led to bitterness and frustration in the community."

The purpose of the project is threefold:

1. To document and archive the nature and extent of harm suffered by victims and survivors of sexually executed relational abuse by Catholic Church personnel.
2. To recommend reparations aimed at the rehabilitation of victim-survivors and their families.
3. To recommend community benefits in the form of symbolic recognition of victim-survivor pain and courage, and educational initiatives.

Our solemn obligation is to honor victim-survivors dignity by acknowledging the truth publicly. Although it is impossible to undo the crimes against them, we must try to acknowledge the harm that has been done and accord victim-survivors the respect and understanding they deserve. For more information or to request participation in the Coalition, please contact one of the following:

Mary Scanlon at buzzbayx@comcast.net
Marge Bean at MargeBean@cs.com
Steve Sheehan at sheehan1777@aol.com

Priests' Support Working Group

Part 1: "The Ethical Rights of Priests" by James Keenan, Gasson Chair Professor at Boston College and Professor of Moral Theology at Weston Jesuit School of Theology [Parts 2 and 3 will appear in this space in the March and April issues, respectively, of In the Vineyard]

Lately priests have been writing and signing a variety of statements.

On December 9, 2002, fifty-eight Boston priests signed a letter calling for the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law. In a letter of October 1, 2003, priests of Rockville Centre called for a meeting with Bishop William Murphy over "widespread dissatisfaction" with his leadership. The priests of Chicago wrote an open letter to the hierarchy about the tone and content of Church leaders' remarks about gay and lesbian persons, a letter subsequently adopted by priests from Rochester, New York, and Boston. Then there was the letter of last August signed by over 160 priests in Milwaukee calling for a married clergy.

Amazing actions inasmuch as many cannot remember during the 1980s or 1990s any other letters written by priests. But, do priests have a right to do this? Before answering this question, I want to express on the one hand how novel this question is and on the other, why it is so important.

How Novel?

Strange as it may seem, clergy and bishops rarely receive any professional training from moral theologians. Those who study at seminaries, divinity schools, or schools of theology, do not have the type of ethical training that those at other professional schools receive. Students at business, medical, or law schools take ethics courses that address the ethical issues relevant to their particular profession. They are taught the responsibilities and rights specific to their profession: matters of representation, confidentiality, whistle-blowing, client expectations, privileges, promotions, evaluations, conflicts of interest, professional boundaries, etc.

This type of ethical training is generally not found at most seminaries, divinity schools or schools of theology, even though students take two, three or four courses of Christian ethics. Divinity students and seminarians generally do not study the ethical demands, responsibilities, rights, obligations and privileges specific to their vocation; rather, they study the ethical norms about the laity's sexual relations and reproductive issues, the social ethics of governments and businesses, and the medical ethics of physicians and nurses. They are taught how to govern and make ethically accountable the members of our congregations; generally speaking they are not taught by what ethical reasoning, insights, or norms they should govern themselves. A priest knows much more about birth control than about the right treatment of employees.

This same alienation is found in canon law courses. When seminarians study canon law, they learn more about whether a married couple can get an annulment than the rights and responsibilities incumbent on their own state in life. Ask a priest what he should do if his vicar says to him, "An accusation has been filed against you; I deem it credible; you have two hours to leave the rectory." Few would know what rights belong to him; but tell him that you want to marry a person who while belonging to another Christian denomination married a person in a non-Christian wedding but subsequently entered that denomination and then they both sought the blessing of a minister (of yet another denomination) and he will be able to explain to you why your fiancé needs to file for an annulment. We learn a lot about how to govern others; but not about what pertains to ourselves.

[Part 2 - "Are Ethical Rights Important?" and "The Right of Association" will appear in the March issue of In the Vineyard]

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