Sell What You Have
Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet. You shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another. Ezekiel 25:21-23
Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Matthew 19:21
Piety
“You forgot the God who gave you birth.” Deuteronomy 32:18B
Study
With the Summer of Consolation upon us, it is tempting to focus only upon the reading from the Hebrew Bible and miss the hope and action of the Gospel. However, do not pass up the implications of the first reading as its message related to the pain of the victims and the Church.
The notes in the NABRE tell us that before Jerusalem is destroyed (around 587 B.C.), Ezekiel is trying to convince his audience that they are responsible for the punishment of exile and to justify the Lord’s decision to destroy their city and Temple. He warns the people that punishment will be swift, that there will not be time for mourning.
Reading the Pennsylvania report, you realize that punishment has not been swift. The festering sores of abuse of boys, girls and young seminarians has been going on for decades. As bad as the report is, the situation is likely much worse. The report includes the following note about possible crimes that were outside the scope of the grand jury investigation:
“…We do not include files involving sex between priests and adults, substance abuse, or financial wrongdoing, unless these relate directly to abuse of children.”[i]
How many more cases might have been documented if they did not draw that line? How many more priests crossed that line? How many more bishops and their lawyers and accountants covered up those crimes and the waste of the resources of the church? Must we face 49 more grand jury reports just to get to the bottom of this in the United States?
Yet, in the spirit of the prophet, we must “tell the world what really happened.”[ii] Abuse is traumatic enough—but it’s earth-shattering when it’s perpetrated by someone who is in a position of trust.
But justice must be swift. We can not wait six years or more to find out if an accusation is true or false. We can not read financial statements which have no footnotes about settlements with victims. We can not pour money into church coffers not knowing who is still on the payroll or living in church facilities or subject to a non-disclosure agreement.
When you open the Grand Jury Report, the first 300-plus stomach-churning pages are the findings and recommendations. That’s not all. From page 317 through age 884, you will find an appendix with diocese-by-diocese, priest-by-priest details that induce you (like the young rich man) to go “away sad.” That is 567 pages detailing (although some active cases remain redacted) the abuse that fell within the scope of this investigation. Abuse over decades in one state. If you thought the Boston Globe Spotlight investigation was ground-breaking, wait until you read this.
There will not be time to weep or mourn.
Action
Jesus issues the rich young man a call to action. In this case it is action related to riches. If we expect to have treasure in heaven, we have to put the power, money and secrecy behind and then follow the true spirit of Jesus even when the failed leaders of the Church have yet to earn our trust back.
One of the central texts of the Second Vatican Council, “Lumen Gentium” (“The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church”), is a vivid call to action directed to laypeople. The laity are, the Second Vatican Council said, “by reason of the knowledge, competence or outstanding ability which they may enjoy, permitted and sometimes even obliged to express their opinion on those things which concern the good of the Church.”
Now is the time for the laity to express opinions (and even anger) to build a better church.
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