Can the members of the Catholic Church leadership be trusted in light of the recent scandals involving priests who have been accused, and in some instances, found guilty of sexual molestation charges?  What about the alleged cover-ups? It seems logical to question the trustworthiness of the organization given the large number of alleged cases.  Yet, this is not solely an issue for the Catholic Church—it is an issue for the Christian community as a whole.  In fact, perhaps this is an issue because of a failure of the church leadership to truly live in community as God’s people were meant to live.

To live in “community” with other Christians, in the context of being a part of the Christian church, is to engage in a relational exchange with other believers under the guidance and protection of the church leadership.  This relational situation demands a high level of trust, openness and safety.  To trust in this community enough to become a part of it is to allow oneself to become vulnerable to some degree—both emotionally and spiritually.

With the formation of this environment, great responsibility is placed upon the church as a whole and especially upon its leadership.  As members of the community of faith, we are responsible for protecting the integrity and sanctity of the community and not merely to be concerned with perpetuating the existence or the reputation of a given group or individual within the community of faith. 

This failure of the community’s structural integrity, highlighted in the recent Catholic Church scandal but not limited to the Catholic Church, is in reality a failure of God’s people to live in community.  To be more accurate, it is a failure of some individuals to live in community.  The apparent division between the personal interest of the clergy and that of the laity has apparently placed the interest of one group above the interest of the other.  This is most likely the root of the problem.

As both a pastor and a father I look to the church to be what God has called it to be in the area of community.  While I am not naive enough to believe that the church in general will ever be perfect while in the context in which it now exists, I do believe that certain demands must be made of church leadership in order to maintain the overall integrity of the community of faith.  There must be accountability to the people within the community of faith by those in positions of authority and not just to other leaders with which they work.   Those in the top echelons of church leadership must be accountable to the community of faith in more than just a theoretical sense.  Those in certain religious hierarchies must not be allowed to operate under a cloak of secrecy and anonymity any longer.  

As a minister and father I am as outraged at leaders who turn a blind eye to the “indiscretions” of their subordinates as I am with those who have committed the act.  But likewise I am also more that annoyed by those who refuse to get involved in the process—beyond that of just crying “foul.”  Every parent, every parishioner, every member of the clergy, and every leader has a joint responsibility to work together to maintain the integrity and health of the community of faith.  How can there be forgiveness and healing—much less justice—when those who call themselves God’s people have so little interest in becoming involved in their faith.     

Ideally, in a healthy spiritual community there is the common bond of Christ’s love among all involved; therefore, to tolerate or to allow the introduction of any activity into the community of believers that is harmful—either verbally or emotionally, much less physically—is a serious betrayal of the values and standards of the community.  As long as an environment exists where a betrayal of this trust is overlooked, tolerated, and/or covered up, the community remains at risk.

Maranatha!

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