COMMENTARY and More

SOL Reforms Are Not Enough

Mary Collingwood, NRC, Region 6 MI/OH

By supporting legislation that will extend criminal and civil statutes of limitation and advocating for look-back windows, things may appear hopeful for the victims of clergy sexual abuse. But things won’t change for the Church. The Church will continue to act and react the same way it has for centuries; the reason being that the governing structure of the Church remains the same. The same structure that protected priest predators has been and will continue to protect other such scandalous behavior. Unless the structure is changed, Church governance as we know it will not.

In Fr. Tom Doyle’s commentary (Vineyard, Dec. 15, 2005), he states that the Church’s governing structure will not change. He implies that we are spinning our wheels in keeping this hope as part of our mission statement. In fact, Tom Doyle goes so far as to say we can do nothing about it, so let’s just focus our attention on advocating for the abuse victims. And I say if there were even one God-fearing layperson in a governing position within a diocese, this abuse would have been uncovered a long time ago. It would never have reached these proportions nor have gone on this long.

It is time to think outside the box. We need to create new opportunities to express ourselves. Our creative imaginations must work overtime alongside the spiritual promptings of our hearts. The campaign proposed is but a small part of our mission and must not be construed as the only avenue for reform. All our effort must not be focused on one issue. We must allow ourselves the perspective of seeing the foundational imperfections so that we can repair them before rebuilding the house. Immediate measures may be advocated, but long-term perspectives must be generated. Our mission statement provides such a perspective. We must keep our wide-lensed focus and not be deterred no matter what influential voice tries to redirect our efforts.

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Commentary and More

• “Bless me father, for you have sinned” – Tim Placher, Daily Southtown
• “Where Is the Outrage?” commentary
• "One, holy, catholic and apostolic” – What does it mean to you?
• “Structural Change, Anyone?” – Working Group Update
• “SOL reforms are not enough” – Mary Collingwood, NRC
• “VOTF Chicago in Discernment” - from Janet Hauter, VOTF Chicago

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