The Presbyterian Outlook

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Of all the horrific details contained in the Pennsylvania grand jury report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, one sentence stands out: “The main thing was not to help children, but to avoid ‘scandal.'” When sex-abuse cases dominate headlines, a familiar pattern often emerges. If it took place at a large organization — be it a church, a large state university or a group such as USA Gymnastics — misconduct is often covered up in hopes of saving the institution’s reputation, and the money that accompanies it. Why is the role of institutions so powerful? Because they command emotion. They inspire loyalty. And they have established ways of doing things that rev up when problems surface. Perhaps most relevantly, they often have a community built around them, geographically or otherwise. And preserving that community can become a priority — even over something as seemingly fundamental as protecting the youngest among us. In short, when bad … [Read more...]

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis issued a letter to Catholics around the world Monday condemning the “crime” of priestly sexual abuse and its cover-up and demanding accountability, in response to new revelations in the United States of decades of misconduct by the Catholic Church. Francis begged forgiveness for the pain suffered by victims and said lay Catholics must be involved in any effort to root out abuse and cover-up. He blasted the self-referential clerical culture that has been blamed for the crisis, with church leaders more concerned for their reputation than the safety of children. “With shame and repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesial community that we were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realizing the magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so many lives,” Francis wrote. “We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them.” The Vatican issued the three-page letter ahead of Francis’ trip this weekend to … [Read more...]

(RNS) — A common theme running through our religious traditions is the idea of restoration: What exactly is wrong with us and the world around us? How did the Edenic ideal go awry? And how will God set things aright, redeeming his creation and reconciling it to the divine? We seem to share a sense that in our era of road rage, online insults and distrust of authority in all its forms, there has been a waning capacity to put things back together, even as brokenness abounds. At the same time, a common religious literacy, vocabulary and salience have waned. We have perfected the art of viewing others skeptically and not being surprised when people let us down and when leaders or institutions have moral failings. But when things fall apart, like when religious leaders enter areas of sexual sin or when men abuse their power and strength to victimize women (or both), we are not so good at repairing relationships. In fact, we are at a loss for how to begin. The Catholic sex abuse … [Read more...]