The wounds of the church and the eucharistic mystery

In the upheaval surrounding the trauma suffered by victims of sexual, psychological and physical abuse over recent decades, very many people directly or indirectly affected have turned their backs on the Roman Catholic Church. Although the reasons for abandoning the Church and its sacraments are many and complex, the prevalence not only of abuse but also of the woefully inadequate - and at times mendacious - response of senior prelates has been a major factor in accelerating the decline in religious observance.

I know people who have been deeply traumatised and for whom the very sight of a religious habit or symbol evokes anger, fear and revulsion. Catholics do well not to underestimate this reality. It is true that media coverage has not always been fair and that the impressions left on the wider population are sometimes misleading. Nevertheless, the suffering of victims and the failures of Church leadership have left deep wounds.

Amid this maelstrom of grief, anger and disillusionment, some have asked: "How can a Mass celebrated by an evil priest ever be valid?" Or, "How can defiled hands consecrate the Body of Christ?"

Sinful men and the power of the word

Many people have been deeply wounded by the institutional Church, and this in at least two distinct but related ways.

First, some individual priests have been guilty of grievous and, at times, heinous crimes.

Second, some bishops — including those in very senior positions — knowingly covered up wrongdoing and reassigned offenders, even when the risk of re‑offending was clearly grave.

It is therefore not surprising that many people cite these failures as reasons why they “walked away from the Church” long ago.