LETTERS to the Editor
[The January 31, 2008 issue of In the Vineyard included a link to an essay written by Fr. Tom Doyle and a reply to that essay from the VOTF Board of Trustees. The essays generated dozens of replies. We include just a few of them below.]
“I’m not sure I can detect from here all the nuances of difference over this issue in the US, but my own view of what goal three (structural change) requires of me has certainly shifted since I first came on board.
First, the very word ‘structure’ frightens the life out of an awful lot of ‘pew’ Catholics. They can see the need for pastoral support of survivors, but to put heavy thrust behind ‘structural change’ of the clerical system tends to signal to many that those awful ‘liberals’ are attempting to use survivors and the abuse issue to leverage the horrible dissident ‘liberal agenda.’ The focus then tends to come off the issue of those whom the church has hurt and onto what might be broadly described as ‘church politics’ generally. That assists no goal of VOTF that I can see.
This is NOT to say, ‘let’s abandon or even forget about goal three’ but to warn that HOW we go about it can actually empower reactionary elements within the church and frustrate both that goal and the care of survivors. I too believe that there is a connection between the way power is structured within the church and clerical sexual abuse, but I no longer see any hope of bringing about structural change by appealing to those empowered by the present system.
I think that what we should be doing is building structures of our own, at the base, that embody accountability, end clericalism, build consensus, and above all, give survivors (of all kinds of clericalist church abuse) a sense of a church in their own space they can comfortably belong to. Endless debate about electing bishops and popes can’t do that, I think, because survivors generally tend to wonder ‘do we really need those useless (ping) grandees, anyway?’
As I see it, the trajectory of the present centralised and unaccountable clerical church superstructure is (at least in the West) towards further scandal and decline – without any external help. Its proponents are ageing and dwindling and can only flourish by identifying ‘enemies of the faith’ to organise the fortress church against. A direct frontal assault upon their citadel plays right into their hands – and may also raise in the minds of survivors the question ‘are we being used?’
The future surely lies in everyone networking from where they stand or sit, not in a struggle for control of the clericalised ghost of the Roman empire, or even for control of ‘church property.’ It has alienated and injured people. We need to reconvene and restructure as church, and where we do it doesn’t matter – especially when so many in our goal one constituency can’t go near what they knew as church for fear of gagging. Let’s listen to them on the ‘structures’ they need to feel at ease with the Gospel, and leave the real estate, and the clerical superstructure, to those who think that is ‘the church.’
And we can surely do that without driving the pew Catholics into the arms of the reactionaries. Many of those poor bewildered folk also wonder ‘where has love gone?’ Let’s pray together and show them.” Sean O'Conaill, Coleraine, Ireland
“Oh that the VOTF would write a cardinal or bishop with such fervor and distance themselves from them as easily as they do Tom Doyle. How dare VOTF distance itself from the one voice who has given so many survivors a voice? Such an ardent plea to remain the same, with the same institutions, the same leaders and the same blindness; it tears at my heart. Every person in my family was a victim of the insidious evil perpetuated by a corrupt hierarchy and yet they are still here. Bernie Law has only moved his base of operations from Boston to Rome. He still has a voice in approving U.S. bishops.
This past year there have been several bishops who have, with total disregard for the Dallas Charter, failed to report abusive priests in their diocese and yet they are still here. Who can pat themselves on the back and say they have accomplished anything since 2002?
Take a good hard look at the record of the current ‘church officials.’ Under their auspices, attendance at mass has dropped, schools have closed, churches have closed, and they have presided over the biggest, ugliest, and most disgusting scandal to hit the church in modern times. Yet they are still here.
Time has opened up Tom Doyle's eyes. It has been interesting watching that transformation over the past several years. I have seen it before, I watched it in myself. Hopefully, VOTF's journey will be a shorter one because you have incontrovertible proof of the contempt the hierarchy has for anyone who challenges its power. My lesson cost me dearly. I have also seen VOTF become a little more aggressive and was impressed with the effort that was made to keep George out of the office of president of the USCCB. However well intentioned, he is still here.
In time the wisdom of Tom Doyle's words may penetrate the hardened ears of cradle Catholics. Maybe they won't. It matters not to me because like Tom, I have found spirituality. It is said that religion is for those that are afraid of going to hell and spirituality is for those who have already been there. If you can shed your belief in the hierarchy for a moment and take a candid look at what they really are, you might be inclined to prevent others from having to go through hell to find spirituality. It's your church, take it back!” Vincent J. Nauheimer, New York
“Doyle is obviously accurate in many of his descriptions of the problems we face, but I agree with Bob that the situation is far from hopeless. We are all aware of the changes that have occurred since the sex scandal was revealed, ranging from heavy judgments against dioceses, to presenting budgets often on the internet, to removal of guilty priests, to understanding and support for ‘priests of integrity,’ to, in some places, serious cooperation between clergy and laity. It is not perfect, and there is sliding back to reinventing Vatican II, but the church, especially in the US, is changing, although at a glacial pace. We are, in general, not the docile Catholics we were before Vatican II, and the sex scandals have reinforced our changing mentality.
I am opposed to a focus on only one of the VOTF goals, but if I had to choose, it would be Goal 3 on the grounds that there will not be much serious change, unless we get some structural changes. One factor which will promote success in this effort is the decline in the number of priests and reluctance to enter the priesthood especially because of the celibacy requirement. One factor militating against success is the apathy of Catholics and reluctance to add reform group activities to overloaded schedules. Where is God in all this? Hope is a gift we need now.” Eleanore Raven-Hamilton, Washington DC
“I have carefully read both Fr. Tom Doyle's essay and your response. I must admit that when I first read Tom's essay, it greatly saddened me. Every time I hear him speak or speak with him, I have been amazed that after all he has been through, he would still choose to be part of such a church. After all, not only has his own life been threatened, his office broken into and his files stolen, his phone tapped, his jobs taken away and all the rest, but he has personally witnessed the cruelty of the church hierarchy to the victims of clergy sexual abuse. And yet, he continued to belong to a church that would treat him and all of us victims this way. Just last summer at the SNAP convention, he was still hopeful that change would come. He assured us that change has already happened and most of it is because of us victims who have come forward and done our best to hold the church accountable when all they would like to do is continue hiding this under the rug. I already had given up on the church, and, like I said, was amazed that he would continue to hold on to hope.
However, although saddened, I completely understand how Fr. Tom feels. The hierarchy is not going to give up their absolute control because, as the saying goes, they have been absolutely corrupted by it. I admire your optimism and hope, but, I, too, feel as if it is not something that will bring any change to fruition.
I was brought up Catholic. My father has been an ordained deacon for over 25 years, and a very active member of the Knights of Columbus for over 40. He and my mother - both 83 now - attend daily Mass, bring Communion to shut-ins, and assist at the TV Mass. I entered the convent after high school. I was sexually abused by my superior when I was a young sister. I no longer practice the religion. I saw a bumper sticker a while ago that stated, ‘It's a relationship not a religion,’ and that pretty much sums up where I am at this point. I have been a member of SNAP, and have many friends who were sexually abused either by a priest or religious woman. I have seen the cruel, self-serving, deceitful underbelly of the church. I no longer believe that reform is possible.” Gabrielle Azzaro, Cardiff by the Sea, CA
“I am disappointed, but not surprised, at VOTF's response to Tom Doyle's comments on the illusory cause of church reform. As there is no way to reconcile VOTF's position with Tom's, I choose to stand with Tom. He was fighting these battles some 20 years before VOTF was created. Not only is his the voice of experience, it is also the voice of reason.
The Church that opposes both Tom and VOTF (and I choose my formulation carefully and with precision) is a politico-economic megalith that has less concern for the agenda of Jesus Christ than does the SPCA, Amnesty International, ACLU, or even AARP. For the Pope and his cohorts, it's all about Them, not about Truth or Love, the Golden Rule, or even common sense. Their hardball with the victims of Their clerical abuse (because pedophiles are a byproduct of the perversion they have allowed into the system) bears out Lord Acton's dictum (formulated in response to Pius IX's bootstrapping declaration of infallibility) that power corrupts, and absolute power does so to the max.
Now, VOTF's governing body, in its response to Tom, exposes its own secret nostalgia for that power. To my mind a true Christian would wish to neutralize such power and replace it with love. That is where I think VOTF has gone wrong. There can be no compromise with evil. This is a watershed moment, and one has to make the hard choice between rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic or abandoning ship. I propose VOTF take the latter course, and I base this advice on truths that VOTF had put forth earlier: that the pope and the curia and the College of Cardinals, and the incense and gold vestments and stigmata and all the rest of the baggage are not the Church, and if the leadership has betrayed the message of its Founder, then it is time to jettison this leadership altogether, not seek admission to its ranks. Setting a false goal such as power sharing with the current crop of hierarchs amounts to giving them the power to define the issues, and that renders the entire effort vain--no matter how pious the intent behind it--because it is working against itself.
VOTF's motto "Keep the Faith; change the Church" is a prophetic one, and those that respectfully disagree with Tom Doyle have lost sight of its meaning. For, changing the Church--and changing it from toe to top--is the only way to keep the Faith, that and taking this Faith back to its roots. Of all the Christian sects, Roman Catholics are among the worst when it comes to Biblical literacy. Instead of seeking to understand their Faith, Catholics are taught to keep alive a nostalgia for certain metaphors they were taught as children, forgetting along the way that they need to be taken as metaphors and not as literal fact. Just in the current issue of "In the Vineyard" there are two stories that underscore my point: the cancellation of a scheduled lecture from a respected theologian, Peter Phan, by administrative hacks (i.e., local bishops and monsigniori), and the ‘private audience’ between the Pope and the new Jesuit General, asking the tactical equivalent of ‘loyalty oaths’ from the Order on matters involving, among others, the role, if any, of non-heterosexuals in the Church, and on eliminating the residue of ‘liberation theology’ in poverty-stricken areas of the world, notably Latin America. This ‘preferential option’ for the dogmatic over the needs of the poor demonstrates unequivocally that uncharitable repression from the Vatican is not only back, it never left.
If this Church is what VOTF wants to align with, then let me leave you with this ditty, redolent of the style of Alexander Pope, who might have lost his soul, but saved his mind:
‘God loves a fool and hears his voice,
but not a one who's fool by choice;
for he that dons a fool's disguise,
blasphemes the God Who made the Wise.’”
Udo Strutynski, Los Angeles CA
“I would like to respond very briefly to the Rev. Tom Doyle's essay and your response to it. Although I am not an active member in VOTF I do attempt to follow the emails and provide some monetary support now and then. The point that Tom Doyle makes, which I agree with, is that to expect an organization to clean up its act without strong outside influence is probably a very optimistic expectation. We have examples in our own government where institutionalized ‘bad behavior’ becomes acceptable since those in government feed at the same table of greed and self interest. At least there, we have elections which give us half a chance to turn behaviors around. Tom's recommendation to work with legislatures to enact laws that will hold the Church's feet to the fire, I believe, is crucial to get the church to change. What other reasons would they change? Tom's observation about the church becoming more conservative with the rising of younger bishops and clergy will not make the job any easier. And what about the ‘pay, pray, and obey’ Catholics? Why aren't the laity making a lot of noise about these issues. We go to church and sit with the 800-pound gorilla in the pew and say and do nothing. I do not want to imply that I think sitting down and having tea’ with bishops should not be done, but I believe any major structural change will need a force big enough to make an impact. Christ went through the temple and turned over the tables of the money changers and other merchants in a fit of anger. He made his point. The laity will have to make their point, and the mechanism may be the law.” Frank Pasquariello, New Jersey
“I agree 100% with Tom Doyle and find VOTF’s response most disappointing. While I can no longer sit in the pew and give tacit approval to an institution that I believe is fundamentally corrupt -- I have continued to be a member of VOTF and support its mission to advocate for victims and work for change.
Tom Doyle is right. Change will not come about with the help of the hierarchy. They must be forced to change, and the only thing they understand is either legal force or monetary force. As long as people continue to sit like sheep in the pews and give money to the church, they will not change. They don’t care what we think! I will have to seriously consider whether to keep supporting VOTF, which seems to cling to naïve hopes and deny this crucial and very sad reality.” Karen Bate, Arlington VA
“I am surprised and disappointed in your response to Tom Doyle's essay. You and many of us still have energy to work at Church reform while Tom has had it for now. But that is not the main point of his essay that is relevant to us. This is the point I would like to see all of us humbly respond to:
‘What we have seen has been a clash between the deeply rooted clerical dependency that has been systematically woven into our very being by the institutional church, and Catholic Adulthood. It’s a long, excruciatingly painful process to grow up in the Catholic Church. Most chronological adults never make it. No matter how liberated and avant-garde they believe themselves to be, there is still a very powerful core, deep down inside, that causes dependency feelings to take over whenever one is faced with the challenge of taking the risk of not only thinking but acting like an adult when in the realm of the Church world. To do so means to challenge the clerical office holders and to express opinions that they do not want to hear. To do so means taking the risk that some of them might try to capitalize on the magical thinking that has supported their power by threatening canonical penalties or equating disobedience to them with disobedience to Christ.’
Even your saying that you believe the church is a ‘divine’ institution has overtones of magic. The bishops are in no danger of being treated like morally responsible human beings as long as people think they speak for God. I believe the Catholic Church is well worth saving and reforming as an entirely human institution, but I think Tom Doyle is very right about the laity not accepting adult equality with bishops and priests. Until we stand up, reform won't happen.” Paula Ruddy, Minneapolis
“I have just read the VOTF response to Tom Doyle's letter. I have served on the executive committee of our local VOTF affiliate since its inception (Including two years as co-chair). I respect the views expressed by the VOTF leadership, but I am in agreement with Tom Doyle’s position. I think that as long as Catholics tolerate in the institutional church what we wouldn't dream of accepting from any other institution, we continue to be clerical and to act in a less than adult way. I have an MDiv and worked for the Church for many years, trying to effect change from within. Like Tom, I no longer believe that is possible. (Or maybe I am just too tired and banged-up from the process.) In any case, I do believe that we as laity have an enormous amount of power - more than priests, in fact. From my experience, there are only two things that a parish/diocese responds to: a significant drop in attendance and a significant drop in contributions. Priests can't make these things happen - only we can. While I was co-chair, I did the ‘tea with the bishop’ thing (come to think of it, he didn’t even offer us tea) and it was, as Tom states, a sop. He made no commitments and has not responded to any of our requests or even to any of our subsequent letters.” Margaret Costello, VOTF at Holy Trinity, Washington, DC
Tom Doyle said: “I don't see any hope in trying to bring about meaningful reform of the structures.” There is not a lot of sophistication required for understanding that statement, and precious little room for misunderstanding it. Disagreement with that statement in no way implies disregard for or abandonment of survivors in their quest for justice and healing.
In the past 5 years it has been my privilege to meet and confer with many VOTF members. I have never met one who advocated “decoupling” VOTF from the sexual abuse crisis. Those who say that support for goals 2 and 3 somehow detracts from survivor support have an obligation to explain exactly how. I know of no VOTF affiliate that surrendered its right to protest in exchange for tea with the bishop. Calling for resignation when a bishop has the support of his docile priests and the pew people is worse than futile. It is a counterproductive demonstration of impotence. Dialog with church officials will not magically change clerical culture but it can correct misrepresentations of VOTF promulgated by the radical right, convince even mediocre bishops we are core rather than fringe Catholics and that we espouse structural change advocated by the majority of believers. Lay participation in selection of Bishops and pastors, and review of mandated celibacy must be pursued. In the words of Richard McBrien: “Keep hope alive, and your imaginations with it.” Bob Rowden, San Rafael CA
