August 29, 2018
“Master, to whom shall we go?” – 1
Dear Friends,
Today I am beginning some reflections on the sexual abuse crisis in our Church.
The title for this series of Inbox Inspirations comes from the gospel for the day I am writing this, Sunday, August 26.
Jesus has just said: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.”
Some people find this too hard to accept and stop following Jesus.
So, Jesus asks the apostles: “Do you also want to leave?”
Peter answers: “Master, to whom shall we go?”
Peter’s words have moved me to go to Jesus in these painful days.
I turn to him for strength and guidance.
And immediately, he models for me compassion for anyone hurting, especially those who are vulnerable.
So, “to whom shall we go?”
We go to Jesus and he in turn leads us to go to those who have been abused.
He leads us to pour out our empathy and care for anyone who has been abused by a priest or by any minister in the Church.
We need to beg their forgiveness.
We need to do whatever we can to assist in their healing.
This should always have been and now must be our first priority.
“Today we are challenged as the People of God to take on the pain of our brothers and sisters wounded in their flesh and in their spirit. If, in the past, the response was one of omission, today we want solidarity, in the deepest and most challenging sense, to become our way of forging present and future history. And this in an environment where conflicts, tensions and above all the victims of every type of abuse can encounter an outstretched hand to protect them and rescue them from their pain.”
By Pope Francis in his Letter to the People of God (August 20, 2018).
[This is the first in a series on the sexual abuse crisis – to be continued next week, September 5, 2018.]
Gracious God, give healing to those who have been hurt. Help us all to be your instruments of healing. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner
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September 5, 2018
Master, to whom shall we go?” – 2
Dear Friends,
Jesus asks the apostles if they want to stop following him.
Peter answers: “Master, to whom shall we go?”
Peter’s words have moved me to go to Jesus in the midst of the present sexual abuse crisis.
One of the things I learn from Jesus is the real meaning of repentance.
It is not just words, or at least not just my or our words.
Instead, repentance is first listening to the words and feelings of those abused and their loved ones.
It is my trying to absorb the depth of their hurt.
It is my trying to feel their injury and pain.
It is my respecting them and, if they are willing, it is discerning with them what we can do to assist in alleviating pain and in healing.
This is part of the repentance that we as a Church must now do.
If we go to Jesus, he leads us to do this.
“The penitential dimension of fasting and prayer will help us as God’s People to come before the Lord and our wounded brothers and sisters as sinners imploring forgiveness and the grace of shame and conversion. In this way, we will come up with actions that can generate resources attuned to the Gospel.”
By Pope Francis in his Letter to the People of God (August 20, 2018).
[This is the second in a series on the sexual abuse crisis. See also the Inbox Inspirations of August 29 and upcoming weeks.]
Gracious God, give healing to those who have been hurt. Help us all to be your instruments of healing. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner
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September 12, 2018
“Master, to whom shall we go?” – 3
Dear Friends,
Jesus asks the apostles if they want to stop following him.
Peter answers: “Master, to whom shall we go?”
Peter’s words have moved me to go to Jesus in the midst of the present sexual abuse crisis.
Among other things, Jesus’ example leads me to question the clerical culture or clericalism in our Church.
What do I mean by this?
We have traditionally referred to all those who are ordained (bishops, priests, and deacons) as clergy.
They are in what we call the “clerical state” as distinct from the rest of the People of God, who are in the “lay state” of life.
I am not questioning the sacredness of Holy Orders and what this sacrament confers on the ordained.
I am not questioning the clerical state in that sense.
I am seriously questioning clericalism and the clerical culture that has developed over the centuries in our Church.
It lies at least close to the root of the present crisis.
To be continued next week!
“…whenever we have tried to replace, or silence, or ignore, or reduce the People of God to small elites, we end up creating communities, projects, theological approaches, spiritualities and structures without roots… and ultimately, without lives… This is clearly seen in a peculiar way of understanding the Church’s authority, one common in many communities where sexual abuse and the abuse of power and conscience have occurred. Such is the case with clericalism…”
By Pope Francis in his Letter to the People of God (August 20, 2018).
[This is the third in a series on the sexual abuse crisis. See also the Inbox Inspirations of August 29 and September 5 and next week, September 19, 2018.]
Gracious God, give healing to those who have been hurt. Help each of us to be an instrument of your healing. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner
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September 19, 2018
“Master, to whom shall we go?” – 4
Dear Friends,
Last week, I said that Jesus’ example leads me to question clericalism or the clerical culture in our Church.
Here is what I am thinking.
Clericalism or clerical culture means that we hold the clergy above, beyond, and separate from the rest of the people of God – the laity.
It means that we exalt the clergy and almost place them on a pedestal.
It means that we have treated clergy as so above, beyond and separate that they are not seen or do not see themselves as one with the rest of the community.
Clericalism also means that some of us, maybe subconsciously, equate the clergy with the Church itself and maybe even with the faith itself.
This has a long history and has developed over centuries, probably over the last 1700 years.
This is what has happened in the Church as an institution.
We clergy have at least accepted or lived in this clerical culture.
At least some of us have encouraged it.
It gives us a certain status.
We have falsely identified this culture with Holy Orders and its meaning.
Now, there are some very negative consequences to this that directly relate to the present crisis.
To be continued next week!
“…clericalism, an approach that “not only nullifies the character of Christians, but also tends to diminish and undervalue the baptismal grace that the Holy Spirit has placed in the heart of our people.”
By Pope Francis in his Letter to the People of God (August 20, 2018).
[This is the fourth in a series on the sexual abuse crisis. See also the Inbox Inspirations of August 29, September 5 and 12 and next week, September 26, 2018.]
Gracious God, give healing to those who have been hurt. Help each of us to be an instrument of your healing. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner
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“Master, to whom shall we go?” – 5
Dear Friends,
Today I am doing another reflection on clericalism or the clerical culture.
For context, please read my Inbox Inspirations of recent weeks.
I believe that clericalism lies close to the core of the problem that has brought about the present sexual abuse crisis.
Some of us have, including and maybe especially we who are ordained, have given priests an exalted position in our Church.
We have exalted them to the point that we equate our Church and even our faith with the clergy.
One very negative result of this is that we may resist allowing anything to taint the image of the priesthood.
Why? Because that, in effect, may harm our Church and even harm the faith of God’s people.
The next step follows all too easily.
We resort to an unhealthy and unholy protection of our priests.
We deny and hide any misdeeds and sins.
This is the clericalism or clerical culture that we must now end.
Ending this culture will not end or harm the priesthood.
Rather, it will produce a new culture in the Church that will be healthier and holier.
It will lead to a priesthood more humble and more singularly devoted to the spiritual service of God’s people.
“Clericalism, whether fostered by priests themselves or by lay persons, leads to an excision in the ecclesial body that supports and helps to perpetuate many of the evils that we are condemning today. To say “no” to abuse is to say an emphatic “no” to all forms of clericalism.”
By Pope Francis in his Letter to the People of God (August 20, 2018).
[This is the fifth in a series on the sexual abuse crisis. See also the Inbox Inspirations of August 29, September 5,12 and 19 and next week, October 3, 2018.]
Gracious God, give healing to those who have been hurt. Help each of us to be an instrument of your healing. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner
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“Master, to whom shall we go?” – 6
Dear Friends,
I envision a new culture in our Church that will replace the clerical culture (or clericalism).
Please read previous Inbox Inspirations for the context.
I do not pretend that my vision is complete, but here is some of what I am seeing:
- A Church where all are respected as one by virtue of our Baptism
- A Church where the ordained and the rest of the People of God collaborate and minister together
- A Church with clear focus on its mission as given by Jesus
- A priesthood that focuses on creating vision for the mission but on doing this with all the baptized
- A priesthood that devotes itself to making present our rich sacramental and spiritual treasure
- A Church and priesthood that calls upon laity to supervise the necessary administrative and financial dimensions of our community
- A Church that walks humbly with God and is open about both strengths and weaknesses and about both good and sinful deeds
- A priesthood that walks humbly with God and is transparent with others about our limitations and imperfections.
More could be said.
Let’s take this simply as a starter for our vision of a new People of God culture.
“… every one of the baptized should feel involved in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need. This change calls for a personal and communal conversion that makes us see things as the Lord does… to be where the Lord wants us to be, to experience a conversion of heart in his presence.”
By Pope Francis in his Letter to the People of God (August 20, 2018).
[This is the sixth in a series on the sexual abuse crisis. See also the Inbox Inspirations of August 29, September 5, 12, 19 and 26, and next week, October 10, 2018.]
Gracious God, give healing to those who have been hurt. Help each of us to be an instrument of your healing. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner
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“Master, to whom shall we go?” – 7
Dear Friends,
Today I return to where I began this series of reflections.
It is Peter’s response to Jesus’ question: “Do you also want to leave?”
Peter says: “Master, to whom shall we go?”
This question and answer was in the gospel on Sunday, August 26, the day I began composing this series.
In a homily that day, I talked about how I myself, as a person and a priest, approach my answer to Jesus’ question.
I said that I cherish so much that has been passed on to me:
the spirituality of people like Francis and Clare of Assisi and Henri Nouwen,
the theology of people like Augustine, Ilia Delio and Richard Rohr,
the social justice example of people like Peter Claver, Leo XIII and Teresa of Calcutta,
and the open and inclusive spirit of people like John XXIII, James Martin and Pope Francis.
I also cherish our sacramental tradition which sees the divine present to us in the human and the ordinary, like the bread and wine for the Eucharist.
So, I end up answering Jesus’ question as Peter does: “Lord, to whom shall I go?”
Next week I will turn to other possible answers as I conclude this series.
“Peter says: ‘To whom’ and not: ‘To what place?’…the ‘where’ is no longer of any importance at all, only the ‘to whom.’ Simon feels clearly that something has broken into his life that was not there before: that he possesses a home in one person, belongs to him, lives for him...He belongs to the one person who is in his eyes the only person who can lead to God.”
From The Discourses of Controversy by Adrienne von Speyr. (1902-1967. Swiss convert, mystic, medical doctor, and author of books on spirituality and theology.)
[This is the seventh in a series on the sexual abuse crisis. See also the Inbox Inspirations of August 29, September 5, 12, 19 and 26, October 3, and next week, October 17, 2018.]
Gracious God, give healing to those who have been hurt. Help each of us to be an instrument of your healing. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner
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