Editorial: A more child-friendly church

CONTRARY to the view held by its critics, the Roman Catholic Church does change.

Take the confessional. Traditionally, this was an enclosed place where a priest heard the confession of a penitent. A screen separated the priest from the penitent.

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Confessions were whispered. A curtain shielded the penitent and the priest from other people.

Vatican II changed the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation.

Face-to-face confession is now allowed. Penitents can choose to kneel or sit and face the priest.

Controversies

But although the post-Vatican II shift emphasized no longer “guilt and damnation” but “forgiveness and reconciliation,” observers note the significant drop in Catholics making regular confession.

Some say this is due to the popularity of other portals, notably television and the Internet, for admitting one’s transgressions and gaining instant notoriety.

Some also say that many Catholics are more cynical and reject confessing their sins to a religious “middle man” tainted by his membership in a brotherhood rocked by sex abuses and cover-up.

In 2006, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported that the “Crimen sollicitationis” was enforced for 20 years as the church’s defense to distance itself from the “crime of soliciting” before, during and after the sacrament of penance.

This charge has been denied by church officials.

In 2008, controversy erupted over the exclusion of priests from mandatory reporting of sex abuse crimes, which cover teachers, doctors, nurses and other professionals. This stirs debate over the religious’ legal and moral culpability, especially in the light of repeat crimes by sex offenders and other lawbreakers.

Last April 16, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that in its investigation of 21 countries in six continents, the Associated Press found 30 cases of “’abusive’ priests shuffled around the globe,” with some ending up in the Philippines.

Last July 29, Sun.Star Cebu’s Bernadette A. Parco and Justin K. Vestil broke the news that a diocesan priest was accused by students of touching their bra straps while hearing their confession during a Catholic school recollection.

In 2006, Fr. Benjamin Ejares was accused of touching the backs and arms of seven students of Abellana National High School during confessions made during a Christian life seminar.

The lasciviousness complaint was dismissed in 2007. The recent sexual harassment case is being investigated by a Cebu Archdiocesan team.

Not child-friendly

In May and September 2002, the Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) submitted reports to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.

According to “The Holy See and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Republic of the Philippines,” nongovernment organizations (NGOs) CFFC, Linangan ng Kababaihan Inc. and the Child Justice League Inc. reported that “the laws of the Holy See undercut national laws, leaving children and young people at risk of abuse by clergy. As such, the Philippine government… should hold the Catholic church in the Philippines and the Holy See accountable for clergy abuse of minors that happen within the Philippines.”

According to the “Pastoral Guidelines on Sexual Abuses and Misconduct by the Clergy,” circulated by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) last September 2003, the church’s “`confidentiality and therefore, secrecy, has created the impression of cover-up, toleration of abuse and lack of concern for victims.’ Such procedure was also acknowledged to have ‘enabled abusive behavior to be repeated.’”

The NGOs recommended that the CBCP must remove pedophiles from pastoral work, as well as ensure that child molesters are not returned to ministry with children. The creation of a database on religious perpetrators can ensure prevention and intervention. Preliminary intervention should prioritize therapy and remuneration for victims, who usually come from poor or dysfunctional families. Inaction on the part of the church is a form of “revictimization,” noted the NGOs.

Seminary standards must be strengthened to prevent child abuse.

Comprehensive sex education in schools, seminaries and religious institutes will also prevent sexual abuse. “The church must not maintain a traditional stand that anything that involves sex education is promoting promiscuity,” pointed out the paper.

Finally, the report exhorted all priests and other members of the religious with caretaker responsibilities to have the “legal and moral” obligation to report abuses to the State, in accordance with the country’s laws.