ACP receives appeal on behalf of Bishops Robinson, Power and Morris
To the priests of Ireland
I am writing from Australia on behalf of Bishops Geoffrey Robinson, Pat Power and Bill Morris.
The three bishops have started a global petition entitled, “For Christ’s Sake, end sexual abuse for good.” It is calling on Pope Francis to hold an ecumenical council of the whole church, inclusive of laity to address the one issue of the causes of sexual abuse in the Church. The rational for the petition and its detail of the petition can be found here. It already has 19,000 signatures and is growing rapidly. The petition can be signed on line.
If you agree with the premise of the petition I ask your organisation to support and promote it in Ireland.
Please do contact me if you have any questions or require additional information or would like to be in contact with the bishops (email tony@bivnet.com.au).
Thank you.
Tony Biviano
For Bishops Robinson, Power and Morris
It is very well and good that this petition has around 20,000 signatures. What I feel from the bottom of my heart, is that this petition might well be broader in its definition and scope of abuse. Since reform movements and reformers really are only dismissed by Rome, I think, that this petition might address other forms of abuse as well, e.g. the unjust stripping of priest’s faculties, the unjust censuring of theologians, the unfair disciplining of the religious sisters, and on goes the list. I wonder, if, the width, length, and depth, of their petition was greater, we, as people wanting change, would actually, get a hearing from Rome? I have sent a request of this to the above email….Do you want to try?
The petition opens with the words ‘Sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has been nothing short of an epidemic of catastrophic proportions’ and closes with the words ‘For more details on Bishop Geoffrey Robinson’s action plan to end sexual abuse¬- for good, read his latest book, For Christ Sake: End Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church…for good’ [complete with link]. Big up the horrors of abuse and promote a book. Am I alone in thinking this smacks of distasteful opportunism?
Bishop Robinson is not an opportunist. Learn more about what he has done, said, written over the years. He is a most admirable man
It sounds like SNAP. “End sexual abuse for good” fails to define the target and could be a charter for puritanical suspicion and zealotry. If they want to define the target more precisely they should say: “End priests sexually abusing minors” (which suggests that we are currently living amid an epidemic of such activity, which I doubt).
A priest who has taken a vow of celibacy and has a woman ‘on the side’ as it were, is creating an abusive relationship in most people’s understanding of that term. In a sense it is an abuse of him and certainly abusive for the woman. It degrades both. He should be honest with himself and the woman, or the man, leave and make for healthier individuals. I have great admiration for priests who have been honest about that in the past and continue to be so.
Rome still asks celibacy and the lay expect their priests to live according to such a promise. They don’t expect them to live single and miserable lives. But to be honest. Till the day the RCC ‘gets real,’ as they say, and makes its imposition of celibate life rather a truly free choice, such relationships will always, to some degree, be abusive. Because the imposition of celibacy on those not ready, able for it, is in itself an abuse of the human being. I’d imagine most struggle with celibacy.
To suggest that ‘minors’ are the only casualties of sexual abuse is dishonest at the least and dangerous in potential. Could go on. But ‘sexual abuse’ is a far wider reality. I am not meaning to suggest that celibacy is the cause of sexual abuses in the RCC. Many persons live happy and fulfilled lives as celibates – lay and cleric. An imposed celibacy does allow for real problems, real abuses of real human beings – lay and cleric.
Of course the children who suffer such abuses are of paramount importance. I am not suggesting or thinking otherwise. I’d wonder that, as Darlene suggested, abuses of all kinds be examined and evaluated. There is dishonesty in this area. Everyone feeling threatened, attacked, instead of banding together perhaps as Darlene suggests, taking an axe to the roots and saving the Tree. If that is not possible, then people be honest with themselves, and just leave.