As Catholics

Angela Tongohan
MSMU Class of 2021

(10/2018) Earlier this September, I, along with thousands of other Catholics, was surprised to hear news of sexual assault allegations against multiple members of the Church’s clergy. The allegations begin with ex-Cardinal McCarrick, and Archbishop Viganb’s accusations that at least two dozen Vatican members were aware of the fact that McCarrick was harassing and sexually molesting minors, but instead of taking action, tried to cover it up, according to USA Today. The article also states that it is believed that Pope Benedict XVI was aware of the allegations and resigned McCarrick to a life full of prayer and rehabilitation, but when Pope Francis replaced Pope Benedict in 2013, he removed McCarrick’s suspension and made him one of his most trusted advisors.

As a result, the church has become divided into those who support Pope Francis and what have been considered more liberal views and those who do not. Although the news is surprising, I do not think the Catholic church should divide into the "liberal Catholics" against the "conservative Catholics". I believe that at a time as dire as this, the Church needs to unify and show support towards the victims of assault, who have been largely overlooked by the controversy going on in the Church.

Through the dozens of articles I have read in order to inform myself of what is going on in the Church, I have read the names of guilty and accused priests multiple times, but have yet to read the name of a victim. I think this is unbelievable because according to the USA Today report, there are at least one thousand victims.

As a young person, news of sexual misconduct being exposed is nothing new, as it has been a trend lately, especially in Hollywood; however, if there is something that I have learned from reading about these allegations, it is that the focus should never be the abusers but the victims. It is not news that the youth are more open to participating in public rallies and marches. I think, as a young person, we can become more involved in bringing attention to the victims and the victims’ stories. I think we can bring attention to the injustices of sexual abuse, not only within the Catholic Church, but everywhere. Whether that be by joining rallies, posting to our social media platforms, or even by giving our respect in our own Church communities, I believe any action to bring attention towards those who were oppressed is beneficial.

It is our responsibility to show our support for those who were abused and exploited, as a people, as a community, and as a church. Whether we agree or disagree with the politics going on within the Church, we have the ethical responsibility to let the victims be heard and for justice to come to their transgressors.

To be Catholic, I think in its most basic premise, means to love. It means to love God and to love others, even if we may not know who they are. As God does for His kingdom, I believe we should strive for peace, unity, love and justice. This is not the time to get political. At a time like this, as a Catholic community, we need to show our support for the victims and those affected by the single actions of those who do not reflect our Catholic values.

I do not believe that action is reserved for young people. All people have the ability to do something to show their support. It can be anything. It can be as simple as giving the donations of the week to aid the rehabilitation of the victims who have been traumatized and are struggling to recover from the abuse. It can be as simple as praying for them and their recovery. For here at Mount St. Mary’s, it could be as simple as organizing an event or a meeting time where we acknowledge those who were abused and discuss the dangers of sexual abuse, how to detect it, and what to do. We can spread the information and teach children and adolescents what to do if they find themselves in such a horrific situation so that there are no more victims.

When I was younger, I often heard the stereotypical comments or jokes on television about young minors being abused by priests, but it is no longer a joke. It is now a very big reality. As Catholics, although I know that it is easy to point fingers and blame him or her for the problems of the Church, I think we need to recognize that it is not the fault of any single person, but rather our own fault as a whole.

As Catholics, we can no longer turn a blind eye. Because doing so is very anti-Catholic. Jesus taught us that our actions define what kind of person we are. Good actions will bring us to heaven while sinful actions are punished. He never stood by while injustice was happening. And he never left us when we were in times of need. And from his actions, we should understand what we need to do as well.

As a Catholic community we should try to uphold the same values and morals that Jesus Christ did. That means caring for those in our community and supporting those who have been victimized by sin. We should never be deterred by fear from the effects of our actions, especially when our actions are good ones. No matter how small, no matter how little we may be able to do for the victims of assault, any action to show our support, any actions to show that we, as Catholics, will not allow the victims inside our Church to be ignored, to be cast aside; to show that we, as Catholics, will not be distracted by the inner politics of our Church and realize who needs our support shows how much we love. And love, more than anything, is what the victims need.

Read other articles by Angela Tongohan