The "EveryBody" Insider
Communicating the Concerns of Black People

Catholics and the Big Bad Wolf
By Kevin Johnson

The Catholic Hierarchy is dealing with numerous cases of child abuse and assault by members of the clergy. The issue has been in the news for several months now and has drawn the nation's Bishops to draft plans and responses to the inundation of complaints.

The cases are largely reported in the media as being sexual abuse or sexual misconduct with a minor or some other similar type terms. In reality these misdeeds are not acts of sex but acts of evil. 

The priest in the Catholic faith and tradition has enormous power in the social sense and in the spiritual sense. The priest serves as a part of the extended family of many members of the congregation. He is affectionately referred to as "Father" in title respecting his position as leader in the church family. He has the ability to take matters to GOD for example in forgiving of an individual's sins. Through the sacrament of penance the priest actually makes the way for one's sins to be forgiven. He is therefore TRUSTED with deep secrets and revelations of one's sins. He also makes the Holy Communion possible and arranges the steps needed to be undertaken in order for a couple to become married or later to have that marriage annulled.

A position of such power places the clergy in a layer of existence located above the congregation (or lay people) and just underneath the saints and angels. In the Catholic psyche the priest is truly a holy man in whom unquestionable trust is bestowed not only for the administration of the sacraments and sacred traditions but also for the interpretation of the scriptures.

Faith in Catholicism requires great trust in the clergy.

The priest can possibly attain a greater closeness with children than can the parents in some cases. A child may tell a priest in confession something that they never did or will tell a parent or grandparent or other relative or friend. A child believes he or she can trust the priest with any and all secrets and that GOD encourages them to give such trust.

When the clergy violates that trust enormous damage is done.

A priest who would assault the physical privacy of a child has not only violated trust but also committed a most heinous act. He is "the wolf" in the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The one who knows who the child is, where the child lives, where the child goes to school, who the parents are, who the friends are, what the personality is like, and what a few of the child's sins are and who uses that knowledge coupled with the abuse of his position to assault the child's genitals and humanity is a wild animal and NOT a priest. 

He is a wolf in shepherd's clothing ( i.e. the clothing of a Catholic priest) who preys on the young sheep of the congregation. And, he is a wolf in sheep's clothing ( i.e. similar clothing to members of the congregation on occasions when off duty as "priest"). He preys on the young of those he purports to lead in prayer. That is not sex. That is evil.

He is a wild animal not to be confused with a saint or angel or "true" priest.

The church must locate and cage these animals as only a very few are capable of being domesticated.

The Bishops and lay people should focus their attention on tending to the victims by preventing further acts and by compensating for past harm. In the training of priests there should be reinforced awareness of what type behavior is acceptable and what is intolerable with the appropriate consequences noted.

The reporting requirements of such misdeeds should be spelled out for the clergy and for lay people. Children must be trained as to what to do if a "priest" steps over the line. The support network for victims should be made readily available. Compensation to victims commensurate with the amount of damage and pain inflicted upon them should be made. An apology from the perpetrator of any misdeed must be secured. 

The mechanism for handling these sorts of cases must be made clear to and acceptable to the parents and members of the congregations. Finally, a child's or parent's right to use violence against a "priest" in order to avert an act of abuse must be authorized and explained. Again, a "priest" who crosses the line by assaulting the private body parts of a child deserves to be treated as a wild animal because that is commensurate with their behavior and consistent with the defense mechanism which should be invoked at that point. To be more specific hit him, kick him, bite him, yell at him, scream "fire", mace him, etc. in order to protect yourself and your children.

In such a manner, we shall expose and counteract "the Wolf" and protect our "Little Red Riding Hood".