By C. Kevin Gillespie, S.J.
The summer of 2018, with its series of startling and scandalous revelations, was a challenging one for millions of American Catholics, lay and clergy alike. On June 20, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the retired Archbishop of Washington, was removed from ministry when credible evidence was found for his having abused a minor through an investigation conducted by the Archdiocese of New York. Then, on Aug. 14, the attorney general of Pennsylvania issued a report from a Pennsylvania grand jury in which more than 300 priests over a 70-year period were implicated. Moreover, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the former Archbishop of Pittsburgh and the then Archbishop of Washington, was also accused of negligence surrounding the Pennsylvania scandal. These summer revelations stunned the Catholic faithful, especially in the Archdiocese of Washington since two of its religious leaders were cited — McCarrick for abuse and Wuerl for negligence. For many of us, these reports of clergy abuse had a ground zero-like effect. Parishioners and priests alike felt angry and betrayed, and many Catholics walked away from the Catholic Church.
In the aftermath of these horrific revelations, it did not seem enough simply to have the issues addressed from the pulpit or in a parish bulletin. A more systematic response was required if trust was to be restored and if the Catholic Church was to be repaired and even reformed. Ecclesiastical dysfunctions needed to be addressed and some church structures required changing. The February 2019 Vatican Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church also highlighted the international dimensions of this scandal. The present essay offers a description of how three Jesuit institutions, through collaboration among personnel and shared resources, responded to the crisis and reframed a summer of Catholic desolation into what we called The Season of Discernment with a series of programs offered through two Jesuit universities and one Jesuit parish.
Panelists associated with Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, the Pontifical Gregorian University, and Holy Trinity Catholic Church gathered at Georgetown during the 2018 - 2019 academic year for exploratory conversations about moving forward, regaining hope, and cultivating a culture of safeguarding children. Photo courtesy of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.
In the fall of 2018 in response to the crisis, Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life focused on the hurt of survivors, the anguish of Catholics, and the need for lay leadership through eight public dialogues over a 10-month period ending in June 2019. Led by the center’s leadership, John Carr and Kim Daniels, the programs drew more than 2,000 people, including students, community leaders and others touched by the crisis. The titles and topics reflected the breadth and depth of the crisis: “Crisis of Faith? Scandal, Pope Francis, the Synod, and Young People;” “Confronting a Moral Catastrophe;” “A Path Forward on the Clerical Sexual Abuse Crisis;” “Where Are We Now? Where Do We Need to Go? Directions for Action on the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis;” “Emerging Leaders on Polarization in a Broken Church and Nation;” “A Path Forward: Conversation and Dialogue on Clerical Sexual Abuse;” “How Law and Lawyers Help Hide and Uncover the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis;” and “Lay Leadership for a Wounded Church and Divided Nation.”
Beyond engaging members of the University’s community, Carr and Daniels reached out to invite parishioners from nearby Holy Trinity Parish. Dozens of parishioners participated and several were part of the planning and the panels. Indeed, the initiative’s March 24 panel, organized through the collaboration of The Pontifical Gregorian University and Holy Trinity Parish, included Father Hans Zollner, S.J., founder and president of the Gregorian University’s Centre for Child Protection. Three Holy Trinity parishioners were also included — a clergy abuse survivor, the chairwoman of the Parish Council, and Kathleen Coogan, a parent of two children at Holy Trinity School. Coogan was especially qualified to speak as she is a parent of two students at Holy Trinity School, a member of the parish council, and serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University in the Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution program. In her presentation, Coogan described the parish’s Season of Discernment, an intentional parish-wide response that began a few days after the news about McCarrick was reported. Hundreds of parishioners participated in a series of 12 listening sessions, each employing a listening method from Restorative Justice programs whereby the affect and actions of participants were expressed and written down. The process led to more than 60 pages of notes that are available on the parish website. A committee consisting of parish council members, several staff directors and the pastor coordinated a fall and a spring town hall meeting.
This March 24 event also led Father Zollner to invite Coogan and other parish representatives to collaborate with Sr. Karolin Kuhn, a member of the Gregorian University’s Centre for Child Protection. Sr. Kuhn in turn requested their assistance with a course that prepared an international group of students on issues pertaining to the clergy abuse crisis. Another byproduct of The Season of Discernment was an America article written by Coogan. In the article, “How D.C. Catholics are leading the response to the clergy sexual abuse scandal,” Coogan listed four guiding principles of Holy Trinity’s approach to the crisis: The tools and principles of Ignatian spirituality help us navigate our path forward; the needs and perspectives of all who suffered harm from clergy sexual abuse are paramount; the way we facilitate conversations fosters inclusion; collaboration with others who “own” the response to the sexual abuse scandal increases our chances of effecting change.
The America piece led representatives from other parishes and universities to contact Coogan and other members of Holy Trinity parish. Then, on Nov. 10, 2019, Coogan was invited to participate in another Georgetown University panel sponsored by the University’s Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. The event, “Confronting the Church’s Crisis: Leading Lay Voices on the Sexual Abuse Scandal in the Church,” was a panel discussion facilitated by Fr. Gerard McGlone, S.J., a Berkeley Center Senior Research Fellow who, as a clinical psychologist and research specialist in the area of clergy abuse, has consulted with religious groups nationally and internationally. This panel sought to move the crisis to a new level by exploring issues such as ways to move past the scandal, how to regain hope and what are the dynamics that lead to a culture of safeguarding.
During Holy Trinity's collaboration with Georgetown and Gregorian Universities, a clear theme emerged — “church happens in the parish.” This motto served to remind us that the repair and reform of the Catholic Church cannot happen without a focus on parish life. For example, strategic collaborations between parishes and Catholic universities have made a difference. Since 2002, when the clergy abuse scandal became widely reported, efforts by Boston College’s The Church in the 21st Century Center have been exemplary in this regard. And as we have seen, efforts at Georgetown University and the Gregorian University have also institutionalized strategic responses. However, more efforts and initiatives among parishes and universities are needed. Certainly, in cities where a Jesuit university and a Jesuit-sponsored parish exist, such initiatives are possible. Indeed they are necessary if the Catholic Church is to live out the Gospel in a wounded family of faith.
C. Kevin Gillespie, S.J., serves as the pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Parish in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the boards of trustees of the College of the Holy Cross and Loyola University of Maryland. He is a former president of Saint Joseph’s University.