By Monica Graham
The Chronicle-Herald
October 10, 2009
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Religion/1146946.html
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BETWEEN THE TIME of writing and the publication date for this column, anything can happen in the sad saga of Bishop Raymond Lahey.
Because, a month ago, who would have dreamed that he’d soon face charges of possessing child pornography? This is the church leader who brokered a settlement in the lawsuit launched against the Roman Catholic Church by now-adult victims of sexual abuse by priests. This is the bishop who has been described as brilliant, understanding, kind, wonderful and any number of other positive adjectives.
As has been repeated, over and over, the trust that his people and his colleagues placed in him makes the allegations against Bishop Lahey all the more painful.
That’s just one of the issues rising to the surface.
A foremost issue is the right that all Canadians enjoy, that we are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Rushing to judgment, whatever we may privately believe about guilt or innocence, is not the Canadian way. My understanding is that it’s not part of Christian teaching, either. Love the sinner, hate the sin, let God do the judging. Everything else must be considered in that light.
It’s extremely difficult to respond with love to someone who has just punched you silly, either actually or figuratively. That’s a demand on Christians that’s hard to meet, so one has to admire the victims of sexual abuse who have demonstrated a larger capacity for love and forgiveness than the people who made them suffer.
Another issue is the disconnect between the big-C Church and the small-c church. The church is made up of the ordinary people who struggle to match Church requirements for membership with their personal relationships with God. One nurtures the other, rightly or wrongly, but they are not identical.
As Archbishop Anthony Mancini said in his letter to the parishes last Sunday, no one is perfect, even in the big-C church. (Face it: if only perfect people attended church, there would be no church.)
But isn’t it a cop-out to say that because no one is perfect, we can keep on misbehaving and ask for forgiveness and absolution for our secret sins every Sunday? The truth is that we expect our leaders to be above reproach. Whether within the church, government, police force, educational system, business or any other endeavour, we want our leaders to mirror the best of humanity, not the worst. We put our trust in them by allowing them to lead us; they can’t lead if no one follows, after all.
When they betray that trust, or covenant, we are more angry and hurt than if it was Joe Blow in the next cubicle who filched some company pens. Yes, there are two standards, and we like it that way.
Another issue is the notion that only Roman Catholics are suffering through this. First, anyone who thinks any other church or faith tradition, or any institution of any kind, is immune to abuse of power within its ranks is living in la-la land. Wake up and look around. Second, whatever the outcome of the charges against Bishop Lahey, the situation affects Christians of all stripes. Crisis produces change, and it may not all be good.
The final issue: don’t forget the children who were used in kiddie porn, or who were treated as sex toys by those who should know better. What about them?
Contact: mgraham@herald.ca
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