How does one preside over a special liturgy of penitence in response to clergy sexual abuse when one is a local bishop? And, and to make things more difficult still, when one is a new bishop of a diocese whose last bishop was forced to resign over the issue of clergy sexual abuse?
Bishop James Johnston of the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese offered his own response to that question, and he did so (from what I can gather from media reports), in a liturgically strong and convincing way. A number of compelling symbolic gestures shaped the service, such as a reading of abuse victim’s statements, each followed by a single chime. What else – other than silence — can there be when one hears “The pain was so intense, I did not want to live.” “When I was brave enough to tell the truth, you chose to side with my abuser.”
The bishop also did not mince his own words: “I am here to confess, apologize and repent for the sins of those who held the sacred trust of the church, and betrayed that trust.” And Johnston put his body where his words lead, lying prostrate in front of the altar of the Cathedral.
There were a number of other remarkable ritual elements in this “Service of Lament.” One can read about them in the Religion News Service article that covered this “Service of Lament.”
As difficult as it is to create a compelling liturgical response to clergy sexual abuse, and one presided over by a Bishop no less, I am impressed by how Bishop Johnston began his ministry, as a “symbol bearer,” in this diocese rocked by clergy sexual abuse.
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