The Summer of Our Discontent

By Kristine Ward
National Survivor Advocates Coalition
June 23, 2012

http://nationalsurvivoradvocatescoalition.wordpress.com/editorials/

We arrive on this beginning of Summer Friday at a critical nexus for survivors of sexual abuse.

First, our thoughts go to the brave, dignified, and courageous survivors who testified and who have spoken out in interviews in the Penn State former coach Jerry Sandusky case which has gone to the jury amidst a report that an adopted son of Sandusky was willing to testify for the prosecution.

After nearly two weeks of deliberations, the jury in the Philadelphia case of Monsignor William Lynn, returned a verdict of endangerment of children.

Juxtaposed to these two major cases is the downbeat of dueling campaigns: the Bishops' "Fortnight for Freedom" and the Nuns Bus Tour.

Playing out against these backdrops this weekend and next in baskets in parishes across the depth and breadth of the United State is the Peter Pence collection.

Far from being the start of a lighthearted, breezy, relaxing season this days are fraught with minefields of emotional peaks and valleys for survivors and their families as well as all Catholics – in the pew or not.

In the midst of what may at times seem like cacophony we ask NSAC readers and all whom they may influence, knowing or unknowingly, to consider and re-consider what's actually happening in these days.

The Bishops' campaign of a Fortnight for Freedom carries, we believe an irony akin to the torturer's rack for survivors of sexual abuse and their families, and the families of those who committed suicide.

What the Bishops are trying to drive home is that they are riding white horses for a fundamental right in the United States: freedom to practice religion without interference.

But this fundamental and primal right of being able to enjoy the comfort and connection of religious and spiritual belief, passed down and cherished in family and community life, sanctifying life stages in and through it, and the desire to hand it on with reverence to the next generation is exactly what perpetrator priests and cover-up hierarchy and abusing religious sisters and cover-up leaders of their congregations violently stole and steal from innocent children – even into adulthood – by rape and sodomy and cover-up.

We believe this should not go unsaid in a 14 day hoopla and counter hoopla of prayer, rallies, petition and fireworks of the verbal kind.

In the same vein, even though we know in this current climate of sides formed up with religious sisters versus the Vatican that many see only black and white, we believe that the inconvenient truth of abuse by religious sisters and cover-up by leaders of congregations who lawyer up just as Bishops did and do has remain as part of the religion in the public square discussion in these days as well as fundamentally part of the debate among Catholics.

There is opportunity today for the sisters, as there has always been and remains for Bishops to dig down into the real grit of what Catholicism is and to do the right thing, act justly and indeed walk humbly with their God.

Money talks in the Catholic Church in good and unfortunately evil ways.

We urge Catholics to talk loudly through the Peter Pence collection by putting an empty envelope in the collection basket with a written message that the money that would have been given to the Pope for use at his discretion has been given to survivor organizations.

We know that there are major campaigns afoot to redirect the money to the sisters to send the Vatican a message but we reiterate our urging: redirect the money to survivor organizations.

We urge this because we strongly believe that no real reform can come to the Church by leapfrogging over the issue of sexual abuse in the vain hope that gains in some other area of reform will be the silver bullet, the magic opening of a door, an unnoticed side door entry into the halls of power, or the real solution to the protection of children and justice for the survivors.

There is no substitute, no end run, no parallel ramming of the Vatican walls for the protection of children and justice for the survivors no matter who their perpetrators are or have been: men or women in positions of authority in the Church and the ranking personnel who built, fortified and continue to prop up the walls of protection.

Peter's Pence has been and continues to be much, much more that a little pack of pennies dispensed in charity.

There can be power in a punch to Peter's Pence.

But there has to be conviction about where ground zero really is.

Contact: Kristineward@hotmail.com