Exposing sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is both excruciating and the only way forward, says Sister Nuala Kenny.
“This is a Calvary moment for us. Something is dying,” said Sister Kenny, the author of a new book titled Still Unhealed: Treating the Pathology in the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis.
Since joining the 1989 commission that studied an “explosion” of allegations in Newfoundland, Sister Kenny has been advocating for reform to combat clerical sexual abuse in Canadian churches. For years, she worked with Canada’s bishops on revised guidelines for handling abuse cases called Protecting Minors from Sexual Abuse: A Call to the Catholic Faithful in Canada for Healing, Reconciliation, and Transformation.
She is also a Sister of Charity, a bioethicist, a medical doctor, and a pediatrician.
“This is a medical crisis,” said Sister Kenny. “If we trust in the power of the Trinity to move forward, we will experience resurrection.”
Sister Kenny, speaking to Catholic journalists in a webinar Oct. 29, said many bishops, priests, and church communities are burnt out over the subject of sexual abuse by clergy, especially those old enough to remember allegations that surfaced in Louisiana and Newfoundland in the 1980s.
“They are tired. Ordinary priests don’t want to speak to this issue from the pulpit or don’t know how to speak about it from the pulpit. They want it to just go away because it’s painful and difficult.”
But she said life-saving surgeries are often painful and difficult. The Church, like a patient, must recognize the situation it is in, get a proper diagnosis, find effective and accessible treatment, and be placed in an environment supportive of healing.
“This is a crucial time for every one of us who love the Church, every one of us who believes in the power of the Holy Spirit, to accept the costs of atonement.”
Policies and protocols are, on their own, not enough, she said. Neither is financial compensation, though it can offer a sense of justification to victims whose testimonies were previously met with disbelief.
“Part of the prayerful discernment we need now is to understand what is it we need to do and be in order to move forward towards healing, renewal, and prevention,” she said.
Meanwhile, healing looks differently for every victim, as it does for every patient on a medical ward, she said. Sexual abuse victims need counselors who understand the psychological, emotional, and spiritual harms caused by offending priests.
“When it was someone who was representing God, who may have even in the violation used blasphemy and sacrilege, this has created profound devastation,” she said. Many victims have suffered alienation as well, as family members may have disbelieved their claims or refused to speak badly about a priest, even a criminal one.
“This is why it’s so important not to let the silence and denial continue but to find ways to bring it out,” she said. Hiding a life-threatening wound never leads to recovery.
Sister Kenny added that the Church must be unified in its response to the abuses of its children. No one can put up walls, remain indifferent, or stoke division as the Church moves forward.
“You have to be angry on some of this. You have to be in a dark night of the soul about this or you’re not paying attention.”
Sister Kenny has written two books about sexual abuse by clergy: Healing the Church (2012) and Still Unhealed (2019). She made her remarks before the Archdiocese of Vancouver released a report about 36 cases of abuse recorded from 1950 to the present day, and 31 recommendations on how to move forward.
