Explanation

Quoting from the Memorial submitted by the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego on this topic: “It has been 15 years since the Boston Globe exposed the horrific sexual abuse of children by priests within the Roman Catholic Church. There is now a general awareness that clergy sexual misconduct occurs in all denominations; however, it is a lesser known fact that adult women are more likely than children to be victimized by clergy. In fact, based on the size of our own diocese, statistics would suggest that scores of women who are active members of our congregations have been or will be victims of clergy sexual misconduct in their adult lifetimes. Reflecting this growing awareness within the past two decades, The Episcopal Church has striven to prevent clergy misconduct, primarily through its Safeguarding God’s People program. Further reflecting an evolving culture in which the reality of and the damage caused by sexual exploitation of women is increasingly recognized, the church has strengthened its response to clergy misconduct through the codification of disciplinary procedures in Title IV of its canons. . . In practice, the church lacks sufficient policies to facilitate the healing and recovery of victims. Indeed, studies suggest that at least 5 out of 6 adult victims who report sexual exploitation end up leaving their church as a result. Most leave the Church entirely. Many lose their faith. Literature, therapists, and victims themselves often attribute this alienation from the church not so much to the original clergy misconduct, but to re-traumatization by both clergy and congregations during and after the reporting process. This re-traumatization often involves disbelief, minimization, slander, isolation, and shunning of the victim. This has been described as an effectual excommunication. In analogous situations outside of the church, whistleblowers are given legal protection, and creating a hostile environment is illegal in both workplaces and schools. There are no such statutes offering protection within one’s church. Yet, as followers of Christ and called to be a reconciling community, the church has an even greater obligation than a statute might mandate. Although an incident of clergy sexual misconduct always represents a failure of the church, this truth is often overlooked. The incident may even be treated as a failure on the part of the victim. Rather than promoting healing and reconciliation, this scapegoating of the victim, who is already deeply traumatized by the misconduct itself, results in deep emotional and spiritual anguish. It does irreparable harm to the victim. It is a missed opportunity for the community to grow into what it should be. And it greatly diminishes the Body of Christ.”