Comments on: Organizational Defensiveness http://www.patrickoneill.ca/organizational-defensiveness-1561 Sat, 19 May 2012 11:27:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Maureen Cleary http://www.patrickoneill.ca/organizational-defensiveness-1561#comment-1680 Maureen Cleary Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:36:54 +0000 http://www.patrickoneill.ca/?p=1561#comment-1680 I agree, tears are not enough. But, they are not a bad place to start. As a survivor those public tears, real or for show, feel like the beginning of an acknowledgment that something is wrong and perhaps those tears will serve as a way of opening a dialogue not only with survivors but with every church member. For church is not merely an institution “owned” by church hierarchy or priests, we are the church. Each of us who walks in a church door, no matter what the denomination, are the church. We all need to ask questions. We all need to hold our leaders accountable. We also need to ask, where is my place in this? What gifts and skills and talents do I possess which aid in creating faith communities who govern themselves with faithfulness, transparency and honesty? The Roman Catholic Church is no longer my church home and my angst with the RC Church has been deep and painful. Clearly there is much work to do in the RC Church, not only in the area of child protection but in the area of creating transparent, accountable governance. But the RC Church in the United States, particularly the US Conference of Bishops, has worked hard to create structures and training to protect children. (see http://www.usccb.org/ocyp/april_cap_month_2010.shtml) Their website notes that they have trained 2 million adults to recognize the behavior of offenders and what to do about it and they have equipped 5 million children with the skills to protect themselves from abuse. The materials on their website are credible, readable and useful. My heart aches for the journey this has been, not only for survivors but for those who care about us and for all who placed their faith in church being a safe place. Tears are a start. Direct, honest, thoughtful dialogue is better. One lesson I have learned along the way is that what we can face we can handle. My prayer not only for the RC Church but for all faith communities is that we shine a light on the dark places in our midst and make a commitment to honest, open dialogue which will let darkness know that it is not welcome in our midst. I agree, tears are not enough. But, they are not a bad place to start. As a survivor those public tears, real or for show, feel like the beginning of an acknowledgment that something is wrong and perhaps those tears will serve as a way of opening a dialogue not only with survivors but with every church member.

For church is not merely an institution “owned” by church hierarchy or priests, we are the church. Each of us who walks in a church door, no matter what the denomination, are the church. We all need to ask questions. We all need to hold our leaders accountable. We also need to ask, where is my place in this? What gifts and skills and talents do I possess which aid in creating faith communities who govern themselves with faithfulness, transparency and honesty?

The Roman Catholic Church is no longer my church home and my angst with the RC Church has been deep and painful. Clearly there is much work to do in the RC Church, not only in the area of child protection but in the area of creating transparent, accountable governance. But the RC Church in the United States, particularly the US Conference of Bishops, has worked hard to create structures and training to protect children. (see http://www.usccb.org/ocyp/april_cap_month_2010.shtml) Their website notes that they have trained 2 million adults to recognize the behavior of offenders and what to do about it and they have equipped 5 million children with the skills to protect themselves from abuse. The materials on their website are credible, readable and useful.

My heart aches for the journey this has been, not only for survivors but for those who care about us and for all who placed their faith in church being a safe place. Tears are a start. Direct, honest, thoughtful dialogue is better. One lesson I have learned along the way is that what we can face we can handle. My prayer not only for the RC Church but for all faith communities is that we shine a light on the dark places in our midst and make a commitment to honest, open dialogue which will let darkness know that it is not welcome in our midst.

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