In May 2016, the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released Issues Paper 11 – Catholic Church Final Hearing, inviting submissions for its final Catholic Church hearing scheduled for three weeks 6-24 February 2017. That hearing will review the horror of clerical child sexual abuse and the Church’s cover-up and protection of abusing clergy, including “factors that may have affected the institutional response of the Catholic Church to child sexual abuse.” The hearing will doubtless attempt to answer the question asked by many Catholics: How could the leadership of our Church behave in this way whilst continuing to espouse and teach Christian values?
The Issues Paper leaves little doubt that the Royal Commission recognises that the Catholic Church’s governance is dysfunctional, that the real scandal of clerical child sexual abuse goes beyond the criminal abuse of children to the immoral and shameful cover-up and protection of abusing clergy by the institutional Church, sacrificing children to protect the Church. The scandal has exposed the Church’s dysfunctional governance.
The Royal Commission received 45 public submissions in response to its Issues Paper. The submission from Catholics for Renewal analysed the Church’s dysfunctional governance and the need for reform. Issues Paper 11 presents a number of very focussed questions on possible causes of the Church’s shameful response such as doctrines, structure, governance, leadership, culture, accountability, secrecy, the formation of clergy, and canon law.
Our Church has manifestly failed to protect children in its care from criminal clerical abuse. There is a need for substantial reforms to the Church’s governance, particularly its lack of accountability, transparency and inclusiveness, reflected in the pervasive and toxic culture of clericalism. As Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, now Bishop of Parramatta, has observed:
With the ongoing Royal Commission into sexual abuse, the spotlight has been shining on the church’s dismal failure . . . (and) has revealed just how far we have drifted from the vision of Jesus . . . Instead of demonstrating that fundamental ethos of care for the victims, the church has been shown to have cared primarily for its own security and interests. (Melbourne, 1 February 2016)
The Christian faith is a faith of love, and the welfare, health and education agencies of the Catholic Church do remarkable work in the world. The Church should be a leader in the world applying Christian values to issues of justice, development, peace and the environment. However, the Church’s dysfunctional governance has led to failures which refute its Christian mission and the good works of its agencies, and which could forfeit its respect and influence in the world.
The Royal Commission’s work provides the Church with an opportunity to address its failings with humility, courage and wisdom – in the words of Cardinal Martini, “to take a journey of transformation” (8 August 2012). The Church is accountable to God and to the faithful, and accountable also to the State on matters pertaining to the State; but it constantly fails in these accountabilities. The Church’s institutional leadership must publicly acknowledge that its dysfunctional governance was at the heart of its immoral response to the abuse of children in its care. It must confront its clerical and feudal culture, name the dysfunctional practices, and root them out.
Catholics for Renewal has outlined in its submission to the Royal Commission the serious deficiencies in past and present governance of the Catholic Church, defects which have warped its handling and reporting of child abuse. Only some of those deficiencies can be addressed by process and appropriate civil legislation such as mandatory criminal reporting of child sexual abuse. Mandatory criminal reporting of child sexual abuse should be legislated in all states and territories, in addition to existing welfare mandatory reporting which is focussed on the child rather than prosecution of the perpetrator. The State has an obligation to ensure that no institution can protect criminals, and that includes churches.
The Church must also recognise and correct the dysfunctional nature of its governance and culture. The reform of governance requires significant change which can be pushed from below but must be driven from the top; patriarchy and gender discrimination must be removed, and transparency and accountability introduced, institutionalising consultation and participation in decision making processes. Accountability, inclusion of the faithful, subsidiarity, and synodality at all levels should become normal practice and that requires, inter alia, an approach to the selection of bishops that is informed by consultation with the faithful to determine real leadership needs.
It is not surprising that an organisation headed exclusively by males, all celibate and mostly elderly, suffers from poor decision making and dysfunctional governance. The Church’s governance cannot be improved without ensuring gender balance at the top levels of decision making, by removing the present discrimination against women that excludes them from those positions. This is a matter of both justice and good governance.
The Royal Commission cannot have confidence in the institutional Catholic Church’s responses to the Royal Commission’s findings until the Church acknowledges both its institutional abuse of children throughout the world and the dysfunctional governance at the heart of that abuse, and then reforms that dysfunctional governance. The bishops of Australia, through their Truth Justice and Healing Council, have committed to major changes in processes for dealing with allegations of clerical child sexual abuse, but have not addressed the real issue of the Church’s dysfunctional global governance, a matter beyond their official competence but not beyond their influence.
Catholics for Renewal believes that the Royal Commission understands the answer to the question asked by Catholics: How could the leadership of our Church behave in this way whilst continuing to espouse and teach Christian values? We hope that the Royal Commission will demand the Holy See’s attention to the Catholic Church’s global dysfunctional governance, the critical factor that “affected the institutional response of the Catholic Church to child sexual abuse.”
Peter Johnstone – President, Catholics for Renewal Inc
Links:
Catholics for Renewal Inc http://www.catholicsforrenewal.org/
Issues Paper 11 – Catholic Church Final Hearing: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/6c712204-04db-4e27-9105-9baf1ffe1b63/Issues-Paper-11
45 public submissions
A submission from Catholics for Renewal Inc
CV: Peter Johnstone OAM
Peter Johnstone has been President of Catholics for Renewal since its establishment in 2011. He is semi-retired following a career in public service at all levels of Australian government in senior executive/CEO positions, including Director-General of the Victorian Department of Community Services from 1984 to 1989. He is principal of PJ Governance and is Chair of the Jesuit College of Spirituality within the University of Divinity.
Peter was Chairman of VincentCare from 2009 to 2013 and of Jesuit Social Services for 13 years to 2008. He was a member of the Catholic Commission for Justice, Development and Peace, Melbourne 1996-2008, a former Deputy Chair of National Seniors Australia, and a former Chair of Catholic Social Services Vic. He has served on multiple other public and community boards of governance.
Peter is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and of the Australian Institute of Public Administration (Vic). He was awarded Life Membership of the Victorian Local Governance Association in 2007. He has a BA (Admin) from Canberra University and a Diploma in Company Directorship; this year, he will complete his Masters in Theology. He is married to Laurien with whom he has four daughters and six grandchildren.
Peter Johnstone consults in good governance practices and is committed to renewal of the Catholic Church.
Comments
4 responses to “PETER JOHNSTONE. The Royal Commission and the Catholic Church’s Dysfunctional Governance”
Peter, as a long time member of the “Church Alumni” I do admire your perseverance and commitment to the “Cause”, but I suspect it might be in vain.
Almost 20 years ago, John Shelby Spong, the now retired Episcopal bishop of Newark, New Jersey wrote a book entitled: “Why Christianity Must Change or Die”. In essence, the book was a challenge to those who thirst for a church that was not fearful of inquiry, freedom, and knowledge.
As can readily be seen from the present furore (and past mishaps – Vatican Bank, &c.), the ancient “Command and Control” structure of the Church which may historically have been necessary for its survival, is now IMO utterly without any redeeming feature – and thus contrary to its stated purpose.
Apart from the election of the present Pope perhaps, nothing in the intervening period has convinced me that, in its present form, the Church will survive; in fact, and notwithstanding the efforts and prayers of the committed faithful, I would say that the Church is on the skids.
So much so, that if the Church be likened to a Corporation and the parishioners the ordinary shareholders (with voting rights), then a prudent shareholder would have sold out a long time ago, either that or got together with others and demanded the Board be turfed out – which I gather is pretty much what is required, either that, or some meaningful variation thereof.
Why is it do you think Peter that so many ordinary shareholders have sold out and departed – never to return? I would suggest that it is not a lack of individual faith, but rather lack of faith and/or trust in the Church and the continuing relevance of that body to them.
Quite apart from that, I do wonder why so many Catholics continue to put up with that vast superstructure sitting over their heads, and just what it is about that structure that is somehow intrinsic to the essential message of the Gospels ? After all, the very early Christians had nothing but the memories of others to inform and sustain them, and later, when memories faded, there was the promise that the Holy Spirit would be with them always. Seriously Peter, what more does one need?
Julian, I agree with most of your observations except that my faith prevents me walking away from the Church which has the responsibility to proclaim that faith in word and deed, a responsibility effectively denied by the Church’s unaccountable and at times immoral governance. The analogy of the corporation doesn’t work or I would indeed take my investment elsewhere. I understand the frustrations of those who have walked away. Catholics for Renewal takes the view that the Church is our Church, the People of God, and we have a right and indeed a responsibility to ensure it is true to its mission, a mission it has abjectly failed as illustrated in the scandalous cover-ups and consequent further abuse of children in responding to clerical child sexual abuse. It is contrary to Christ’s teachings for the Church to be run on an autocratic model without accountability, transparency and inclusiveness, excluding the faithful particularly women from its governance.
“How could the leadership of our Church behave in this way whilst continuing to espouse and teach Christian values?” You say Catholics ask, Peter. Well part of the reason is the number of frightened Catholics who idolized the clergy and who had to deny so much evidence of the ‘human’ side of the clergy so as to guarantee their religious investments, there fire insurance for the next life. One mother when her son reported to her that a priest visitor to the house had had his hand up the child’s shorts in the back seat of the family car, told her son, “Oh I suppose they have their problems”.
The laity, teachers, headmasters, cops, politicians, Knights of the Southern Cross all have form in this concealment matter; not just the Church admin.
Power corrupts. For centuries the Church sought to control the lives of Catholics by the detailed control of the sexual behaviour of the “Faithful”. Confessors may have vowed against genital sex; but they dealt with heaps of it. Have a look at a Moral Theology text book used in priestly training until at least the 1980s. There is more minute, prurient detail, there are more pages devoted to the 6th and 9th Commandments than almost all the other 8 put together. It was an obligation to pour over this stuff, sit exams in the matter, and not notice that this was institutionalized voyeurism. Most idealistic young men put up with this and saw it as part of the disconnect between life, “Outside” and life they were training for so as help people.
An example: Asked in a moral theology what constituted ‘adultery’ a Jesuit ‘professor’ , canon lawyer and former civil lawyer responded, “Depositum semitis in vagina” (Hardly needs translating). The student replied, “So Father if the person was wearing a condom it would not be adultery.
Response, “Curiously enough, absurdly really, but still nevertheless actually depositum semitis in vagina is required for canonical adultery”
So preistly candidates knew of the schism between their formation and genuine common sense. Maybe later and all hormoned up they thought “If I can go to hell for all eternity for thinking about sex with this person why not get into bed with them? The penalty will be the same.”
And though there was all this material about confessional sex there was no training as to how to live a celibate life. As an American ex Jesuit George Elford with whom I worked said “Training for the priesthood was training for nothing; not even the priesthood”.
The matter is seriously complex. There is no one single cause, just cultural excesses, vacuums, concealment, collusion and many vested interests.
Happy to share my paper to the Commission, “Every Social Evil has its Vested Interests”.
Thanks, Michael. Your comments further illustrate the dysfunctional nature of the Church’s governance which has resulted in the leadership of our Church which continues to espouse and teach Christian values behaving contrary to those values, contrary to its very mission and contrary to the explicit teachings of Jesus. Catholics for Renewal’s submission to the RC discusses some of the causes of that dysfunctional governance and the accompanying toxic culture of clericalism. We make the point that changing processes will achieve little without reforming the governance and culture of the global Church. We Catholics who remain committed to the Christian faith have a right and a responsibility to demand reform – interesting that such a right is enshrined in canon law, another example of hypocrisy in the Church’s governance. I’d encourage you to share your views with the RC as they prepare for the 3 weeks of Catholic ‘wrap-up’ hearings in Feb.