Our Society Isn’t So Different From The Catholic Church

“Why didn’t she just report it” becomes abundantly clear in the wake of this new scandal

Catholic nuns from around the globe have recently started speaking out about a long history of rape and sexual abuse at the hands of priests and bishops. The scandal erupted with nuns in India recently accusing the bishop who oversaw their order of multiple rapes over many years and then nuns from other countries began to speak up as well. Despite their bravery in coming forward and breaking through the wall of silence and cover-up that has prevented any real action being taken in the past, many of these women are being vilified and ostracized, often by their own communities.

“Many members of the church, experts said, suffer from a medieval mindset and consider the priests who commit abuse against nuns to be the victims of seductive temptresses. Since the victims in these cases are adults, the experts say, there is also a reflexive tendency to blame them. The reductive public image of the nun as existing to serve the priest and to pray quietly also undercuts those who speak up.”

The Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the world. It seeks to give spiritual guidance and comfort to its parishioners. The church is famous for its charitable work, and inspirational figures such as St. Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa. In other words, it’s mission is to be a force for good in the world. But it doesn’t always succeed.

The Catholic Church also has a long and storied history of oppression, corruption, and abuse. Its structures are patriarchal and it’s leaders have often put themselves above their own rules and doctrines. Popes and Cardinals have kept mistresses and even wives. Many fathered children, despite the church’s requirement after the 12th century that priests be celibate. Men who had taken a vow of poverty often lived in opulent luxury.

In recent months more and more allegations of sexual abuse of children over many decades by church officials have come to light, and now we are seeing that this abuse of those in more vulnerable positions wasn’t confined to just children. This latest scandal further illustrates how patriarchal dominance hierarchies make it extremely difficult for victims to be heard and helped.

A complaint against a priest means getting pulled into a tangle of malicious rumours and church politics. It means risking your reputation and the reputation of your order.

“It’s a fear of being isolated if I speak the truth,” said the nun who fought off the drunken priest. “If you do that, you have to go against your own community, your own religious superiors.”

In the end, most say nothing.

The answer to the oft-heard question, “Why didn’t she speak up? Why didn’t she report what was happening to her?” is no different for nuns than it is for other women who report sexual violence and abuse.

The United States of America is a country founded on the belief in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is a hopeful experiment in democracy and opportunity, but it too is based in patriarchy (a dominance hierarchy). Those with power have often held themselves above their own rules and laws as well. Our social structure puts a small number of powerful men at the top of a pyramid, with an ever-widening base going down the pyramid, as the access to power and prestige declines. There is a gendered aspect, and more women are closer to the base of the pyramid than they are to the elite apex of power.

However, power dynamics keep many male and non-binary survivors from feeling like they can speak out as well. When someone with less power speaks out against someone with more, they face many inherent obstacles — being believed, avoiding retaliation and isolation, and potentially losing their place in their community or vocation.

It doesn’t matter whether the larger society or organization has beneficent intentions or does good things if it’s based in patriarchy, the risk of rampant abuse and subsequent cover-up is substantial. When some people count more than others and some people are more likely to be believed (or disbelieved) based on the amount of power they have, then you’ve got a real recipe for the abuse of the less powerful.

The Pope is currently holding a conference on the topic of clerical abuse, but I’m not particularly optimistic that it is going to change anything, because the Catholic Church is not interested in altering it’s extremely hierarchical structure. And with no substantial change in that, the potential for abuse and cover-up will remain very high. One thing that we’ve got going for us in the US is that the propensity to turn a blind eye in many institutional settings is diminishing, and more and more survivors are feeling emboldened to speak up sooner and more loudly.

© Copyright Elle Beau 2020 Elle Beau writes on Medium about sex, life, relationships, society, anthropology, spirituality, and love. If this story is appearing anywhere other than Medium.com, it appears without my consent and has been stolen.