Archbishop Denis Hart Should Hang His Head in Shame

By Michael Kelly
The Age
July 23, 2015

http://www.theage.com.au/comment/archbishop-denis-hart-should-hang-his-head-in-shame-20150722-gihzi0.html

Archbishop Denis Hart: Catholic teachers try to emphasise the dignity of every student, but like the computer in Little Britain, Hart says no. Photo: Eddie Jim

As the Royal Commission into sex abuse struggles to cope with endless tales of tragedy, it is important to remember there are many ways in which a child can be put at risk. This week Melbourne's Catholic Archbishop offered another graphic example of how those who have authority over the most vulnerable can choose to leave them in harm's way.

In 2007 Denis Hart had the chance to do what bishops all over the country were doing. He could have welcomed the Not So Straight report by Jesuit Social Services, which was aimed at helping teachers respond to the needs of gay teens in Catholic schools.

Hart had to make sure that Melbourne schools were more Catholic than Catholic.

Like many reports before and since, this study highlighted widespread bullying and homophobic abuse in schools and detailed high levels of self harm, and even suicide, among LGBT? students. It also offered practical strategies and training programs for principals and teachers, all aimed at helping students – and all within the framework of Catholic social justice principles.

The archbishop buried the report. For him, it was not doctrinally pristine. Its denunciations and condemnations were not sufficiently clear. He could not countenance the possibility that same-sex attracted students might think their sexual orientation was "tolerated", or that, God forbid, it might even be part of the natural diversity of human experience. Never mind that dioceses all over Australia welcomed and implemented the Jesuits' report. The archbishop had to make sure that Melbourne schools were more Catholic than Catholic.

I was a Catholic teacher in Melbourne for many years. I have friends who still teach in the system. Teachers and principals have long been desperate for practical strategies to combat bullying and to support LGBT? students – and those perceived as such by their peers.

These educators know they walk a tightrope because they can't be seen to question the church's harsh teaching on homosexuality as an "objective disorder" and an "orientation to evil". And so they focus on the dignity of every person, they stress the church's teachings on justice, they try to embody the catechism's demand that gay people be treated with "compassion, sensitivity, and respect". It's a tough call. Then along came the Jesuits offering strategies, Catholic principles and training programs. However, like the computer in Little Britain, Hart says no.

Among the tactics used by Catholic prelates to explain away their appalling record on clerical sex abuse have been the claims they didn't know, or times were different, or they weren't really in charge or really responsible. This is different. I wonder how many students in Catholic schools have spent anguished hours coping with abuse and bullying, how many have secretly hated themselves, how many have attempted suicide since Hart buried that report in 2007.

The Jesuits' programs would not have solved everything, but they would have shown a church, and a hierarchy, that cared more for the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health of young people than for rigid doctrinal purity. These programs would have assured teachers that it was professionally safe for them to stand up for gay kids, that they had the church behind them if right-wing parents complained they were too gay-friendly, that the institution they worked for put children – and especially the most vulnerable children – at the heart of the Catholic educational mission, and that Catholic doctrine could only ever be authentic if it served their full flourishing.

The archbishop should hang his head in shame for burying this report and for denying to Catholic teachers, parents and young people a program that offered practical ways to implement the call of the Catholic catechism for respect, sensitivity and compassion. Hart sees himself as a champion of this catechism. Its own words condemn him. Now, belatedly, he says the church would never condone homophobia and that everyone should be respected. I guess we should be grateful for small mercies.

Even archbishops can learn and grow along the way. He cannot undo the mistakes of the past – as bishops at the Royal Commission keep telling us. However, words like respect have to have some concrete meaning on the ground – and on the playground and in the classroom. Hart's past actions could well be called "sins of omission" – the deliberate failure to do that which is demanded by love and justice.

However we name it, children can no longer be allowed to remain in harm's way. Young LGBT? people are still being thrown onto the street, bullied in classrooms, abused on footy ovals, bashed in parks, condemned by "Christians" – and all in the name of God.

Strategies for concrete change exist. Parents, teachers, young people – and society at large – must demand that Denis Hart implement them. For the love of God, archbishop, do something!

Dr Michael B Kelly is a theologian and educator. He is the author of Seduced by Grace: contemporary spirituality, gay experience and Christian faith.