In Spirit and Truth Reading Roundup: November Edition
Welcome to the November edition of the In Spirit and Truth Reading Roundup! Yes, I know we’re almost a week into December already, but I gave myself a pass last week while I took some time away with my family.
Here’s a little photo of my husband Mike and I at the Christmas tree farm, as evidence of that time away:
Now, let’s jump right in to news, analysis, and reflections related to the twin crises of sexual abuse and leadership failures in the Catholic Church.
The Big Stories
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops held its first in-person General Assembly since the pandemic began, but only brief moments of attention were given to the issue of sexual abuse. The Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People’s recommendation to accelerate a scheduled 2025 review of the Dallas Charter passed with brief discussion. (Notably, a few bishops suggested that this review should examine how abuse of adults could be addressed.) Archbishop Charles Scicluna’s video presentation on recent changes to canon law mentioned the need for local bishops to prosecute sexual misconduct with adults. A small group of bishops also joined a sunrise walk with abuse survivors.
The ripple effects of the French commission’s report into sexual abuse in the Church continue: The French bishops have undertaken public acts of penance and promised to sell assets to compensate victims. The team who oversaw the report is scheduled to meet with Pope Francis next month. The implications of this report for Catholic theology are being discussed. Now Portugal’s Catholic bishops have announced the launching of a similar commision.
Important questions continue to be raised about how Robert McWilliams, a Cleveland priest ordained in 2017, made it through the seminary’s screening process when he is clearly a very sick man. This powerful piece from The Pillar features an in-depth interview with the mother of the boys who were victimized by McWilliams. It’s a hard read - and full of potential triggers for survivors - but really important. (Note that the Cleveland seminary is also under scrutiny for separate allegations by seminarians of sexual coercion by a local priest.)
The Archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, resigned after a scandalous article was published about him, alleging an inappropriate relationship with an adult woman. In my opinion, Pope Francis’s response - accepting the resignation but also seeming to defend Aupetit and minimize his behavior in a recent interview - has been troubling.
Other Notable News
Pioneering survivor, whistleblower, and advocate Phil Saviano died on November 28. The Boston Globe featured a beautiful profile on this courageous man. My condolences to all who loved and admired him.
Cincinatti priest Geoff Drew was sentenced for a rape that occured 30 years ago, before he entered seminary. The short video embedded at the end of this article includes the voices of both the survivor and his wife speaking at the sentencing. It’s intense.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recently released the audit report for 2019-2020 diocesan and eparchial compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. This audit has a very limited scope, but trends are still worth noting. In particular, I noticed two details: First, among 22 allegations of recent incidents, 9 of them were for child pornography. Second, 60 percent of the dioceses/eparchies visited showed “dysfunction of Review Boards.” We still have much work to do.
Results are in from Nebraska’s attorney general investigation into clergy sexual abuse (plenty of horror stories, no criminal prosecutions), while the Wisconsin AG investigation is ongoing (nearly 180 reports so far, in spite of vehement opposition from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee) and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation has opened 122 cases in its continuing investigation.
In an example of striking hypocrisy, the Rhode Island FSSP priest who was recently arrested on child pornography charges had devoted much time in recent bulletin columns to railing against pornography, “psychosexually dysfunctional” priests, and abusers like Theodore McCarrick.
Going Deeper
Are We In This Together Or Not? is a poignant reflection from The Catholic Project’s Sara Perla on her personal sense of betrayal after the revelations about Msgr. Burrill, her former boss at the USCCB.
I know several people who participated in this “consultation” at Notre Dame to discuss the idea of a truth and reconciliation process to address the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. There are some intriguing ideas explored in the article, and I will be watching for the public report in the future.
“David Haas: The Man Who Shattered My God” is a devastating look at the harm that continues to be done by this predator - and why it’s so important that every Catholic diocese and parish speak up loudly and clearly in support of survivors.
I have spoken to many abuse survivors who have experienced harm during confession - sometimes grooming or abuse itself, sometimes terribly insensitive and damaging comments from priests. This piece explores the growing conversation about problematic experiences during confession.
Worthwhile Videos
The acclaimed new Netflix documentary Procession features the stories of six men who experienced clergy sexual abuse and worked together to create short films to process their trauma
This is not a video but a radio interview, featuring my friend Gina Barthel speaking about the way Bishop Andrew Cozzens has accompanied her through years of healing after her experience of clergy sexual abuse as an adult. If you need a little dose of hope, it’s worth a listen.
I’m certainly no expert on treatment for sexual trauma, but I found this presentation from sexual abuse recovery coach Rachel Grant intriguing and hopeful. The title of the talk is “How to Confidently Break Free from the Pain of Sexual Abuse: 5 Mindset Shifts to Move from Feeling Broken and Unfixable to Being Happy and Unstoppable.”
“Vos Estis: Two Years Later” offers expert commentary on the status of this groundbreaking church legislation - both why it matters and why its reforms are still uncomplete.
See you next week, for our next Survivors’ Voices post!
Peace,
Sara