The story that broke in Boston yesterday about the Roman Catholic Church’s intentional cover-up of ongoing sexual abuse of children by priest(s) makes me feel sick and angry. All those kids being violated is nothing short of evil. And to suffer such abuse at the hands of people who are supposed to be servants of Christ providing pastoral care adds what I can only imagine is another layer of trauma to this preventable maltreatment. And then to see the Roman Catholic church’s systematic coverup, tolerance, looking the other way… aka enabling priests to abuse kids, just takes my breathe away.
I get that there are bad actors… that’s always something that any group in which power dynamics are present must attend to; but the systemic covering up. The church becomes complicit in the abuse when it knowing sends an abuser into a parish where they are free to abuse more people. And then there is the church’s seeming unwillingness to side with those most at risk… while defending and making it possible for the abusers to continue to abuse… what the hell!?!
For some reason my mind keeps going back to Sinéad O’Connor’s appearance on Saturday Night Live about a decade ago. You may remember it. After covering Bob Marley’s “War” she ended her performance by ripping a picture of the Pope while inviting viewers to “fight the real enemy” and then all hell broke loose for her… the church and the media went after her.
Here again systems of power can’t handle truth. As I understand it – and I could be wrong – but I believe Sinéad O’Connor, herself is survivor of abuse at the hands of her mother and a Roman Catholic reform school.
Turns out that Sinéad O’Connor maybe more of a prophet, shining a light on injustice through performance art. Few things are as ugly as silencing or ignoring the voices and stories of survivors.
War
Performed by Sinéad O’Connor & written by Bob Marley
Until the philosophy Which holds one race superior And another inferior Is finally and permanently Discredited and abandoned Everywhere is war Until there is no longer first class Or second class citizens of any nation That until the color of a man's skin Is of no more significance Than the color of his eyes I've got to say "war" That until the basic human rights Are equally guaranteed to all Without regard to race Then we say "war" That until that day the dream of lasting peace World-citizenship and the rule of International morality will remain Just a fleeting illusion to be pursued But never obtained And everywhere is war War in the east War in the west War up north War down south There'll be war And the rumors of war That until the ignoble and unhappy regime Which holds our sisters in Africa, yeah Africa, yeah Sub-human bondage has been toppled Utterly destroyed Everywhere is war And until that day The African continent Will not know peace We Africans will fight - we find it necessary And we know we shall win 'Cause we are confident In the victory Of good over evil Good over evil Good over evil
Peace, dwight
