Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1176246
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 OCTOBER 2019 INTERVIEW Recently, you wrote an opinion piece criticising the Church for its mishandling of the international child abuse scandals of recent years. How seriously do you think this issue has dented the credibility of the Church, both globally and locally? Let's start with this: when it came to cases of abuse of mi- nors by priests and members of religious orders, the Church thought it could grab the bull by the horns by keeping every- thing behind closed doors be- cause it gave more importance to its own reputation on the outside, than to the good of the victims. The Church's priority was, so to speak, to sweep eve- rything under the carpet; and to safeguard the reputation of the priesthood, so that the figure of the priest would be kept on a pedestal as 'a man of God'… as if priests were, by defini- tion, incapable of doing such things. Meanwhile, as far as the victims were concerned… it was as though the Church used them to glean informa- tion about what happened; and then stopped there. Even worse than that, I have heard of many cases where victims were even offered money to keep their mouths shut. Or where per- petrators were transferred to other parishes, where they con- tinued to abuse other victims… It's a bit like playing chess: you move your pieces around on the board… as if the abuse will stop happening, once the per- petrator is in a different place. But [indicating a large pile of box-files on his desk] those are the case files for Pennsylva- nia. Among other things, they reveal how certain perpetra- tors were simply moved to an- other parish; or, in some cases, sent to a reform institution for priests… where a psychiatrist would issue a report declar- ing that the priest was 'fit to go back to his ministry'; only for the abuse to start happening again. Sometimes – because the situation varies from diocese to diocese – the approach was for the Archbishop to 'admonish' the abusive priest, or to allocate another priest to accompany him in his ministry. But what- ever the case, with these tactics, the Church thought it would solve the problem… At the same time, there is an irony in the situation you describe. For if the Church's intention was to protect its own reputation… it was hardly successful, was it? In fact, the attempted cover- up turned out to be an even bigger scandal than the abuse itself… Precisely: just look how flawed the reasoning was. Today, in fact, the Church is paying the price for its own flawed rea- soning. And without going into too much detail, a comparison can be made with what Arch- bishop Gonzi did in the 1960s, during the politico-religious crisis. At the time, the Church also thought that its actions represented the right solution. Naturally, you have to view [the 'Interdett'] within the historical context of its time. But let's be honest about this: all the way down to today, there is still a tranche of that generation that views the Church through the lens of what happened in the 1960s. The effects are still be- ing felt, all these years later. In a sense, something similar is happening today. The Church is paying a steep price for its past, very serious mistakes. Be- cause those decisions did not heal the wounds of the victims. On the contrary, they not only re-opened those wounds… but rubbed salt and vinegar into them as well. And this is where those who really are Christians feel so hurt. Because this insti- tution, that is dispersed across all four corners of the globe… that delivers the message of the Gospel: which is a message of God's love for humankind… and the priest, who is sup- posed to be an instrument of that love… this institution was not capable of opening its arms to those victims; to embrace them, and try and see what could be done to atone for their suffering… no, its first priority was to protect its own image; to protect the aura of the priest… As a priest yourself, do you feel personally affected? Has the child abuse scandal made any difference to the way you interact with others… or how you feel they regard you? Yes, undeniably. And this is something I hear from other priests as well: even young ones like myself – I was only ordained two years and four months ago. For one thing, it has made us all conscious of things we might never have been aware of before. If you ask me, a priest today would have to be crazy to ever be alone in an environment frequented by children: regardless how pure or innocent his intentions. Just as it would be crazy to give a child a lift in your car. Or to take a group of altar boys out for a day at the beach, on your own. You just wouldn't do that, today. Even if it's a crowded beach, and everything is in public… you just wouldn't do it. There are now very clear policy-guidelines guiding us in such matters: even if, to be honest, very often it is also just a matter of common sense. For example: as rector of a school myself, I am one of those who always make it a point of go- ing to school in full habit. For one thing, my habit openly de- clares who I am – for a priest who intends to abuse children, wouldn't want to stand out in a priest's habit – but it also estab- lishes a clear boundary around myself. So yes, it has undenia- bly had an effect: and it must be said that some of this effect has been positive. It is positive, to me, that we are now more aware that there are, and should be, certain boundaries around us; that we shouldn't take certain liberties in certain situations, or with certain families. Today, we are much more aware that, as priests, there are certain at- titudes and responsibilities that come with the role… Today, however, there is also talk of a 'vocational crisis'. Rocked by over a decade of child abuse scandals, the Catholic Church is in the process of renewing its structures and policies. Fr Aaron Zahra – abbot of the Dominican Priory in Vittoriosa, and author of a dissertation about sex abuse in Catholic schools – argues that the Church has a lot to learn from its past mistakes The Church's 'mea culpa' must Raphael Vassallo Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt