Opinion Forgiveness Is New Frontier in Abuse Healing, Cathnews, May 27, 2010

Opinion Forgiveness Is New Frontier in Abuse Healing

Cathnews
May 27, 2010

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21492

More than a decade after they first served to shock, scandals about the mismanagement of child sexual abuse by clergy continue unabated to enter the public domain.

Theories and allegations abound on the causes of such scandals. Everything from institutional structures to maladaptive sexuality have been blamed for the cover-ups that have served to compound the damage done to victims, facilitated further victimisation and resulted in increased public distrust of churches, in particular the Roman Catholic Church.

Seeking to understand something of the management of child sexual abuse by senior religious figures both ordained and lay, I interviewed 15 church leaders from Queensland, NSW and the ACT who have been identified as pro-active in seeking positive management strategies to address child protection within churches, writes Jodi Death.

These interviews formed a significant component of my doctorate of philosophy research. Throughout, one issue continued to emerge as pivotal in the management of child sexual abuse that is itself central to the ethos of Christianity.

This issue has pervaded Christian thought since the time of Christ himself and is central to the gospel familiar to church followers. It is forgiveness - the act of forgiveness of sin and of being forgiven for sinning. It is forgiveness that is increasingly being recognised as a complex and powerful element in addressing child sexual abuse by church leaders.

Research participants in my project were often quick to acknowledge that forgiveness was preached to victims of child sexual abuse in ways that kept them silent. This had enabled perpetrators to walk away to the next church and the next set of victims.

The silencing of victims was of particular concern to this group of church leaders who sought to place victims back at the centre of the church's concerns in managing child sexual abuse.

There was significant concern that the adage of "forgive and forget" not be imposed on victims. The imposition of this model of forgiveness was seen as an abuse of grace and a means of suppressing the stories of victims - stories that churches needed to hear.