Bind on Earth
Piety
Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. 1 Peter 5:2-3
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:15-18
Study
As the bishops gathered in Rome for the Protection of Minors summit, the first reading seems almost intentionally selected by the Holy Spirit and addressed right at them. After all, “In imitation of Christ, the chief shepherd, those entrusted with a pastoral office are to tend the flock by their care and example.”
Jesus introduced the imagery of the shepherd caring for the flock. Shepherds guard the gatefold to keep the wolves out of the pen. However, in the Hebrew Bible, the servant is given symbols of authority: the robe, sash, and key.
I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one will shut, what he shuts, no one will open. Isaiah 22:22
Action
The protection is not limited to only minors in the flock. As George Weigel notes, “The plague of sexually abusive clergy manifests itself in different ways in different ecclesiastical contexts.”[i]
However, some are trying to say that the context matters and that there is no single solution that will work in all circumstances. Weigel continues: “So while the bottom of the bottom line for the “abuse summit” must be an unambiguous, clarion call to the entire Church to live chastity as the integrity of love, there is no single reform template that will address different forms of clerical sexual misconduct in quite diverse circumstances.”
That may be the case in different cultural, legal, political, and social contexts. However, it has never before stopped the Church from imposing its standards in a “catholic” (general) way on all the faithful.
The real need is to get back to the roots of the communities addressed by Peter in the first reading. Let’s hope the Vatican empowers the local conferences in each country to adopt reforms that will work from a baseline of love and Chasity and service and humility. Action can no longer be from a basis of secrecy, power, clericalism, and ego. Uniform standards for protection, transparency, and episcopal accountability have to be the first steps.
During the meetings taking place at the Vatican for “Protection of Minors in the Church” February 21 to 24, open wide the doors of your soul, light a candle, and pray for healing, guidance, and wisdom in these deliberations continue. This meeting seeks a path forward for the Church, that all bishops and religious leaders might hear the voice of victims and deepen a sense of responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
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