Tuesday, 14 June 2022 22:18

Safeguarding Ministry is the Mission of the Heart

Safeguarding Ministry is the Mission of the Heart

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We are urged to keep in mind the impact of sexual abuse, and clerical sexual abuse, with empathy for those who have suffered.

 

Tim Brennan MSC, worked in this area in the Australian Church after his terms as Provincial Superior. He is now responsible at the Generalate for overseeing Safeguarding through the whole congregation.

 

Some international MSC have participated in training programs at the Gregorian University in Rome. Here is the response of one of them,  

Bram Tulusan , MSC, Indonesian Province

 

One word to describe my experience of attending the diploma course of safeguarding in Gregorian University is newness. I started this course with the fear that the program would be filled by complex and boring psychological theories. But everything was changed when the course began. I experienced many new things and it was amazing. The method used in this program was a student centered approach and it was very interesting and inspiring.

Attending this course was a moment of grace for me. It was a moment of ongoing formation and refreshed my commitment as a Missionary of the Sacred Heart. During the course there was always one question appointed to us: what do you feel? After following an explanation or reading a topic, we were invited to do personal reflection. It was an opportunity to go deep into our heart and to discover every movement or reaction that comes inside that relates to one particular topic. It was an opportunity to recognize myself more and to feel the moments of being touched by the infinite love of God.

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Remedy for the illness of society

There is a famous quote that ‘experience is the best teacher.’ This applies to the church in relation to cases of sexual abuse of children by clergy. Sexual abuse of children in the church has been around for a long time. However, the church often made many mistakes in handling such cases in the past. I was reflecting during Jesus’ time. Jesus confronted many people, and the group Jesus most often criticized was the religious leaders. The main reason was the attitude of religious leaders who often used religious authority for their own benefit. They manipulated people by covering up their faults. They abused the trust of people instead of protecting them!

The church has to change in regards to the how it handles clerical sexual abuse. A few months ago there was viral news about the ‘Munich report’ where Pope Benedict XVI was accused of mishandling the sexual abuse report when he was archbishop in Munich. We have to stop the ‘culture of covering up’ otherwise we will lose our nature as a church or even against Jesus himself. It is time to be humble and open up to everyone, especially those who are affected by sexual abuse in the Church. It is important for the Church to humbly admit all past mistakes as a concrete act of openness and listen to the victims.

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