Spotlight: Supporting Those Affected By Clergy Abuse
By Brian Nixon, Special to ASSIST News Service
ALBUQUERUQE, NEW MEXICO (ANS – January 28, 2016) -- In the new Hollywood movie, Spotlight,
the story is told of how journalist of the Boston community took on the
Roman Catholic Church over the issue of sex abuse. The priest at the
center of the abuse was John J. Geoghan.
According to the Boston Globe,
the “church allowed abuse by priest for years.” Writer Matt Carrol and
Michael Rezendes, state, “By 2002, more than 130 people had come forward
claiming that former priest, John J. Geoghan, allegedly fondled or
raped them [1].”
This
is all-too-common and disturbing news; something any denomination or
group of godly clergy never want to hear coming from it’s ranks. But
it’s the truth. It happens. And hopefully the truth will set the church
free, finding healing, help, and hope for both the victims and the
perpetrators of abuse. Justice and judgment need to be enforced, but so,
too, does love and longsuffering—extending support and spiritual
sustenance to those affected by clergy abuse.
I recently participated in a Spotlight
type event in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A few months back I was
approached by a friend who told me his story of being raped by a priest
in New Mexico at the age of 12. I was horrified by what I heard. As
clergy, my heart broke, and my sense of justice was ignited. We talked,
prayed, and I listened.
And
this past week, at a local chapter of SNAP (Survivors Network of those
Abused by Priests—[2]), my friend was able to briefly share his story,
the first time he did it publically since the occurrence over 40 years
ago. The details are too disturbing to tell. All I can say is that by
the end of his speech, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. He went from
John Doe (his designation in a plaintiff) to the person he is, stating
his full name—John Lund (he allowed me to use his name in this article).
He was free. And I was privileged to hear his cry of liberty. And along
with three other people who shared at the same event, a consensus of
courage was displayed in acts of collective consolation among the
victims.
John
said he had no ill will against godly clergy, or a particular
denomination (he as since found peace with God, coming into a vital
relationship with Christ). But he was speaking out for the future:
possible children who may be abused and for people who’ve yet found the
resolution to share their story. He was speaking on behalf of the
voiceless. His bottom line message was that clergy abuse must stop and
the victims must find help and hope.
In
addition to the victims, a psychologist (who shared stories, comparing
the abuse to the holocaust) and a former Roman Catholic Church lawyer,
Fr. Thomas Doyle, spoke. Mr. Doyle explained the history of abuse in the
Church (going back to the early 1st Century) and how high up in the
Roman Catholic Church the knowledge of the abuse went (yes, to the
Pope). Doyle was one who wrote the report that was handed to individuals
high in rank in the Vatican [3]. Both presentations were penetrating
and insightful in their analysis of what occurred within the Roman
Catholic Church, offering the survivor’s wisdom taken from SNAP:
acknowledge your courage and know that you are not alone.
On the SNAP table there were three handouts for the people to take: An Information Sheet of Abuse in New Mexico, a Statue of Limitations, and the Science of Suppression. All the information was helpful, but it was the Science of Suppression
information that has valuable information for people beyond the New
Mexico State lines. I give the information because it is important for
people—particularly in the church—to see.
*
Victims of childhood sexual abuse often do not make the connection
between the acts of sexual abuse when he or she is a child, and the
emotional and psychological harm caused by the abuse.Victims often
employ psychological coping devices shielding them form the realization
of harm. Some of these coping devices include:
1)
Repression: Victims of childhood sexual abuse may repress the severity
of the trauma, the intensity of the emotions related to the trauma, or
what they were damaged by the sexual abuse.
2)
Intellectualization: Victims keep themselves from awareness by
explaining aw the fact that they have been harmed. That person may
intellectualize they are not really harmed because it was a priest that
did it or because no one knows about it.
3)
Disassociation: Victims in a severe state of distress feel as if they
were out of their body and the childhood rape happened to someone else.
4) Denial: The victim may refuse to accept the childhood rape happened. To them, it was either a flawed memory or imagination.
*
Most experts in forensic psychology support that a reasonable victim of
childhood sexual abuse would not be able to understand the extent of
the harm they have suffered without professionals help.
*
Although the sex abuse survivor may be aware of what happened with the
abuse, and that they have a life problem, the connection between the two
almost always requires professional help to process and understand, and
begin to heal.
*
Many years may pass where coping strategies suffice, until a triggering
event breaks down those survival strategies, and the adult victim has
to suddenly manage the symptoms of their childhood sexual abuse. Often
those symptoms can be overpowering and debilitating, and help is needed.
I
was corresponding with some friends after the event. One of my friends
pointed out that clergy abuse is a form of internal persecution of God’s
people, an irony of sorts. We in the church are called to care,
protect, and lead other members in our body, to shower them with love,
compassion, and truth. But in the case of abuse, clergy are caught in
opposite actions, showing cruelty and cunning deception. My friend
stated, “The irony of abuse within the confines of a church which
condemns persecution is persecuting its own flock.”
In
a day and age when the persecution of Christians is on the rise around
the world, who would of imagined that some in the church are as guilty
as those who don’t believe, peddling persecution in the form of
parishioner abuse, causing untold pain to God’s people.
Now
that’s food for thought. But just as importantly, fodder for action: to
stop the persecution of God’s people—wherever it may be found.
Photo captions: 1) Fr. Thomas Doyle. 2) Spotlight – the movie. 3) SNAP logo. 4) Brian Nixon.
About
the writer: Brian Nixon is a writer, musician, and minister. He's a
graduate of California State University, Stanislaus (BA) and is a Fellow
at Oxford Graduate School (D.Phil.). To learn more, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Nixon.
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