Time to Exit Eli’s Road
This article is a plea for our leaders in the Church – hierarchs, chancellors, deans, and officials – to restrain evil rather than simply tolerating it. Suspension from clerical duties is insufficient. If a clergyman is not faithful to his wife or his celibacy, he should be deposed. If he has molested a child or seduced an adolescent, he should be deposed. If he has responded to a penitent’s confession with a sexual advance, he should be deposed. The action should be taken quickly and publicly, not with the intent to humiliate or to deny repentance and forgiveness to the guilty, but to proclaim that Christ’s Church stands against evil in all its forms. It must be done with regard solely for the care of the injured parties and the integrity of the Church, not with any regard for the reputation of the guilty or the legal consequences that might result.
It must stop. We can no longer tolerate such manifest evil, nor should we deceive ourselves that warning the erring brothers in these circumstances is sufficient. No, we must restrain the evil. We must exit Eli’s road and do it now.
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Stan Shinn:
December 1st, 2009 at 1:02 pm
This article is spot on. Sexual immorality is largely covered up and unchecked in the Orthodox church (spend an hour on Pokrov.org to see the facts behind the immoral acts of many Bishops and clergy which includes cover-ups and in many cases knowingly allowing predators to continue in positions of trust).
See my article “Should Christians Speak Against Clergy Sexual Misconduct?” (http://stanshinn.com/orthodoxy/essays/against-clergy-sexual-misconduct/) for a detailed review of the theological issues behind the reprehensible conduct of many church leaders today. In particular, note that, according to Orthodox Canon Law, shielding predators makes one as guilty as the abuser (‘The Rudder’ (Pendalion) p. 503, reviewed in detail in my aforementioned article). By this measure, many of our current bishops should be deposed.
Fr. Basil, thanks for this courageous article! May God bless your efforts, and may many join your voice in speaking the Truth!
Chris Banescu:
December 1st, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Thank you Fr. Basil for stepping forth and challenging the evil and corruption that has been tolerated and enabled in Christ’s Church for too long. God bless you for taking this bold step in a public arena and standing up for truth and righteousness. We have added your story to the OrthodoxNet Blog also: http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/blog/ .
Rdr. David:
December 1st, 2009 at 10:20 pm
No one can ever accuse you of taking the path of least resistance, Father. May this be blessed. While it’s obvious that this sort of thing is happening (and probably has been happening for centuries) in Christian confessions across the board, I’m still often surprised when urgent voices rise against it. Not being “in the know” regarding specifics, it’s never all that clear how very real a threat all this is.
The boil needs lancing, and many would recoil from it.
Derek Schmidt:
December 1st, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Do you intend to name names and accuse people? That’s not necessarily the high road–more like a treacherous mountain pass. But it’s Honest and Transparent.
If this is not your intention, and you would rather write about the problem in general, complete with righteous indignation and bold letters–It must stop!–then I’m not sure what you hope to accomplish.
What, exactly, are we supposed to discuss? The theoretical application of canon law? Do you think anyone seriously disagrees that molesters and philanderers should be expelled from the ranks of the priesthood? Or that some have lacked the courage to do so, and have caused secondary trauma in the process?
I say either go full force and out everyone you have evidence against, or even suspect, or seriously reconsider the need for another website.
Fr Basil:
December 1st, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Derek, I’m not the judge, jury, and executioner. It would be just as wrong for me to start making a bunch of public (and possibly libelous) accusations as it is for the clergy to commit the sins I’ve described. What needs to happen is for our Orthodox leaders to act upon the information they receive, and to act with the best interests of the faithful in mind in all circumstances, without regard for the feelings and theological implications for men who are, in many cases, their friends.
No one will publicly disagree that molesters and philanders should be expelled, but the experience of the last few years suggests that the actual response to the knowledge of molesters and philanderers can be something else entirely.
Further, this blog is going to take up issues above and beyond the moral issues in this one post. Stay tuned.
George Michalopulos:
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:55 am
Fr Basil,
keep up the good work! This is long overdue.
Stan Shinn:
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:48 am
Derek wrote: >> Do you intend to name names and accuse people? <<
Simply browse through the archives of http://www.pokrov.org and you will find dozens of well-documented cases of clergy sexual misconduct. In the vast majority of cases things were handled inappropriately with the result in many cases that wounded souls were ignored and children and vulnerable adults were needlessly put at continued risk.
Moreover, estimates from many say that for every one report that is made public, many others result in the victims suffering in silence with their story never being made public. The Pokrov folks have many drawers full of notes on reports made through the years.
The unethical way many Bishops handle abuse must stop.
Derek Schmidt:
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:24 am
Father Basil,
If you know from experience that certain bishops have not handled these cases as they should, you might name them. It would provide a much more concrete reason for the launch of this website.
Xenia:
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:35 am
Fr. Basil,
God Bless You! I am a survivor of clergy sexual abuse who struggles to maintain my Orthodox Faith due more to the Church’s response to the report than the actions of a sinful man. May your endeavor be blessed over and over again!
Unfortunately, I believe many of us know the answers to your questions – for me to even sign this with my first name is a huge step because I have experienced where the blame falls within Orthodoxy… It is the easy road to keep silent but it is a killer silence.
(Note: I am not suggesting all victims “go public” but that all victims seek healing in some way. Going public can be a very difficult road.)
Clergy sexual abuse is soul murder and the Church should do all it can to both irradicate the problem and to help the victims. Why that responsibility is not plain as day is beyond me and obviously yourself… But there is indeed a grave problem in our Church; I have experienced it surprisingly, first hand, from my very own Bishop’s defense of my abuser AFTER the matter was reported, investigated, and the priest was defrocked for his sins by another bishop. Anything anyone can do to prevent this from happening to anyone else is a very blessed gift!
Dear Derek,
Perhaps Fr. Basil may wish to focus on the how to coordinate responses between jurisdictions ( a common problem within Orthoxy in America – “Deposed by one jurisdiction? – Just join another!”) or perhaps in educating clergy how to handle reports of abuse or perhaps, though it may be a miracle too good to see come true, how to counsel victims and help them feel the embrace of God’s Church again?! I obviously cannot speak for Fr. Basil, but I am once again learning to speak for myself: There are not enough websites in the world to educate people on this subject, assure that others are not hurt, communicate a Christian attitude towards victims, or help clergy know how to handle reports or counseling on the matters.
Fr. Oliver Herbel:
December 3rd, 2009 at 10:28 am
I think the question of what this site should accomplish is a good one. I think calling people to attention the severity of the problem is good, but it is the sort of thing a single blog article could do. So, the question of “where to go from here” is an important one. Pokrov has been working on this issue. They can only get so far. Why? Because priests and bishops support one another in their sins. Some think Pokrov also gets too worked up over cases that don’t deserve the same attention. Regardless, there is work to be done. Remember, though, that these problems are related to the financial. One clergyman does one and another the other, but they mutually support one another.
So, when all is said and done, the point is that these issues are all related, so what to do, concretely?
For now, we can use this as a place to gather, I suppose.
Fr Basil Biberdorf:
December 3rd, 2009 at 12:13 pm
See the newest post, http://orthodoxleader.com/2009/12/03/were-talking-about-leadership/ for more information about what is to come here.
Blanchard Jacobus:
December 3rd, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Matthew 15:18-20 clearly teaches that there must be some form of responsibility accredited to the members of the church to care for and watch over each person: lay, deacon, priest, etc.
Repentance by the believer does restore fellowship but not necessarily undo the consequences of that action. I Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9 teach that those who are called to lead the flock must be held to a standard of righteousness both inside and outside the walls of the church.
I am also of the belief that the attributes attributed to leaders in these passages also apply to the laity. We are to be a “unique people” serving others (1 Peter 4:10) not tied to the things of this world (Matthew 6:24).
Harry Coin:
December 7th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Yours is a welcome voice discussing a topic that is at once vital to our survival and perhaps among the least pleasant and most uncomfortable. Thank you.
Recalling the passage of how ‘the seeds’ grow depending upon the nature of ‘the soil’ in which they happen to land: today our soil is the sort where ‘the seeds’ grow quickly when they first land, but then ‘hit the rocks’ as they recognize the sad space between the seeming and the being in the higher places in the church. Where there should be more integrity, they find less.
The only way forward is to allow the most senior, stable priest within an hour’s drive of a population center to be a full diocesan bishop — whether unmarried or whether his wife has neglected to die before his retirement.
cast aluminum bistro set:
March 12th, 2010 at 11:36 am
It was a really nice thought! Just wanna say thank you for the selective information you have diffused. Just continue writing this kind of post. I will be your loyal reader. Gives Thanks over again.
Nathanael Noya:
March 12th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Excellent! If I could write like this I would be well happpy. The more I see articles of such quality as this (which is rare), the more I think there might be a future for the Net. Keep it up, as it were.