Dear Catholic Priests,
Please let me begin by stating that I am writing you with all possible sincerity, on an issue important for myself and all Christians. Personally, I have a lot of respect for the priests and organization of the Catholic Church and the generally positive impact the Church as provided for Christianity as a whole, no matter the denomination. My heartfelt concern and reason for writing regards the continually recurring discovery of child sex abuse scandals occurring even up to this day, and ongoing since the early 1950s or earlier (Kelly 2018). I am sure this is no news to anyone at the moment. However, I am struggling to understand how the Catholic Church is moving ahead in light of this widespread issue, and I would like to ask how you are working to make things better.
Being a non-denominational Christian, I have always looked up to the Catholic religion as a foundational part of Christianity, although I am not completely sure of the Church’s stance on non-denominational sects. I have many friends and relatives who are active Catholics, and I would even consider attending a Catholic Church sometime to learn more. However, the scandalous news associated with Catholicism seems to be strong enough reason for me to not only avoid attending your services, but to actually oppose your ideals as a whole. Please explain to me why I should try out a church that has been so corrupt over the course of history and has been actively covering up child sex abuse scandals without accepting any ramifications.
Aside from this affecting my own personal view of the Catholic Church, the exposure of these terrible acts creates a bad reputation for Christians as a whole, regardless of the denomination. Higher level Church leadership shoulders much of the blame, but really there is a significant issue facing the Catholic priests in communities throughout the world. You are leaders. You are the representatives that people look up to in times of difficulty. You are the face of Christ on this earth. How do you think people can trust in you, or the Church for that matter, at this point? You live to turn people towards God and direct them in a good direction, yet your actions have shown otherwise.
There is hope though. It is undeniable that all people sin and make mistakes, and I believe that people’s mistakes should not define them if they are willing to acknowledge them, ask forgiveness and make changes. You, as individuals, have the chance to overcome what you have done or seen.
The original abuses are deplorable, but it is also shocking how much the Catholic Church has done to cover up these sexual abuse scandals. For example, it was revealed that in 2002 a Catholic Church in Boston paid ten million dollars to over one hundred and thirty victims who had been sexually abused by a single priest (Kelly 2018). On top of this, the following year another eighty-five million dollars was paid to victims’ parents who were filing lawsuits over the abuse (Kelly 2018). By the amount of money put into covering up the priests’ dirty work, it is evident the Catholic Church will do anything to save their reputation even though the Catholic religion embraces confessing one’s sins to others (Osborne 2011). How many better causes could this money have gone to throughout the world, and how many life tragedies could have been avoided?
These findings are just a small portion of evidence demonstrating there are not just one or two bad actors. Rather, it seems to be pervasive throughout the organization as a whole according to what these news stories have indicated. In fact, small gestures have been found that denote the widespread secretory manners of Catholic priests including findings that claimed some victims were gifted gold cross necklaces to indicate which boys had been “groomed for abuse,” (Kelly 2018). This nonchalant way of communicating between priests only highlights the connectivity of the network Catholic priests have secretly created within the church.
Now, I understand there are a lot of lifestyle teachings and rules that the Catholic Church imposes on their community of both followers and leaders. One of these “rules” include that priests remain celibate. The Catholic Church does not technically force priests to not marry in all cases (some do though). However, the majority of your group often chooses to take this vow regardless in order to remain faithful to your calling and ministry as a significant religious figure in society (Osborne 2011). Maybe it truly is the priest’s choice in some cases; however, it is also very reasonable to notice that this lifestyle suggestion seems more like an unspoken demand if it is not already heavily enforced. Could this be a reason that you, priests of the Catholic Church, have been caught falling into these terrible acts? Is the pressure to accept this way of living by the Church’s standards too overbearing? Maybe it is the only way to let out your desires in a way that is hidden from society so that your reputation as an unmarried man remains intact? I can see this side of the argument to a certain extent. However, this is certainly NO excuse to sexually abuse children. When it comes down to it, there will truly never be a reasonable explanation for all the corruption that has been occurring in the Catholic Church.
What is even more saddening is how state and federal laws come into play with these situations. Priests are not required by law to report such crimes to the police that they are clearly aware of (Reese 2019). This just gives them another reason to feel less guilty about what has happened. In addition, when people successfully sue a priest, the priest never actually suffers from the resulting payments. This is simply because the money belongs to the specific Church district that the accused priest administers, which is a nonprofit charitable enterprise that has no true owners (Reese 2019). Then, even if the priest happens to be reprimanded by the Church, he will simply resign and is not required to state the reasons for the resignation (Reese 2019). This clearly does not address the issue whatsoever, and change needs to happen by creating more awareness and taking real action to reevaluate the leaders of the Catholic Church.
An anonymous open letter was written by a sexual abuse survivor who was molested as a young teenager by a priest and was brave enough to write down his story. The first detail he addresses is that this particular priest was a man which his entire family and himself had trusted for many years. Looking back, the victim has pieced together exactly how the priest “groomed him for the big night” (“Sexual Abuse Survivor Story”). The priest was a man who knew the victim on a personal level and there would be many times the two of the individuals were alone together. It was normal for the priest to take the young boy to dinner, as his parents were completely accepting of this. However, he slowly started ordering alcohol for the young boy and eventually introducing him to illegal drugs as well. The next step was the priest showing the innocent child pornography. “The night of the abuse I was drunk and high and very vulnerable and accessible to him. I was just a kid,” (“Sexual Abuse Survivor Story”). The ramifications after the night of the assault took a huge toll on this young boy’s life. He developed signs of depression and “I even started having thoughts of suicide,” (“Sexual Abuse Survivor Story”). The victim went to counseling, but he did not ever spill his secret since he did not even think that was the root of his problems. He even states, “I began to abuse alcohol. I am an alcoholic and always will be,” (“Sexual Abuse Survivor Story”). He was lost and confused and as a result became angry and aggressive. One excerpt from the boy’s open letter includes:
“There is not enough money that can take away the pain, shame, thoughts, and guilt that I have endured. Young victims are too ashamed to come forward and too young to understand the damage that was done until decades go by. […] I have only told a handful of people. […] However, some don’t understand the complexities or the consequences that abuse victims endure through their life due to the abuse,” (“Sexual Abuse Survivor Story”).
This is just one example of a personal account from someone who was a victim of sexual abuse by a priest. Imagine the others and the ranging severities of each case. This is not a light issue as this story clearly demonstrates how much it impacts the children in the moment as well as their entire life after. It is evident that changes need to be put into motion, starting by making sure the any priests who are guilty are held responsible for their terrible actions. There certainly is a great amount of difficulty in obtaining solid data on sexual abuse, but by creating awareness and digging deep, communities all over have the ability to unite together and protect these innocent children. We can rise up and change the way the Catholic Church operates, but it will take the efforts of us all.
Sincerely,
Brenna Darnbrough
Works Cited
Kelly, Laura. “Catholic Officials, Vatican Systematically Covered up Priest Sex Abuse, Report Reveals.” The Washington Times, 14 Aug. 2018.
Osborne, Graham. “Why Can’t Roman Catholic Priests Marry?” Catholic Education Resource Center. The B.C. Catholic. 2011. http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/protestant-objections/why-can-t-roman-catholic-priests-marry.html.
Reese, Thomas. “Taking Stock of the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis: Holding Bishops Accountable.” National Catholic Reporter: The Independent News Source, 29 Mar. 2019.
“Sexual Abuse Survivor Story | Child Molestation Victim Letter.” Klest Injury Law Firm. www.chicagotriallaw.com/Sexual-Abuse-and-Assault/Open-Letter-to-a-Sexual-Abuse-Victim.shtml.
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