Mature Christian Leaders or Demigod Wannabes?

8/9/2023

In the Roman Catholic Church, superiors and bishops are entrusted with our spiritual care. They are pastors and shepherds. They are supposed to be our representatives of Christ. Bishops can “take the place of Christ himself”. (CCC 1555-1561, CCC 1581).

There are some who take this sacred responsibility seriously. God bless them. I honor them and pray for them. There are some leaders who are fighting the good fight.

There are some leaders who are fighting the good fight.

In practice, though, many keep themselves far from the laity. They are so far it is virtually impossible for a member of the laity to communicate with them. Many seem to forget they are representatives of Christ, even on the most pressing matters. These leaders embrace their “ontological superiority” but forget there are basic responsibilities. They act like they are demigods, closer to a divine state than the rest of us. I think some of them really think they are, though they may use different words to describe it.

They act like they are demigods.

There is no institution or method within our church for a lay person to address any kind of issue with one of these leaders. There is virtually no way for the laity to talk to these “representatives of Christ”.

They have layers of staff that act like bouncers. We pretend there are ways to address wrongdoing. We pretend complaints can be made to the Offices of Professional Standards we have in diocese and communities. It is a ruse. The people in these offices may work hard. They may care. I’m sure many of them do. They want victims to feel heard. But they have no power. The bishops and superiors are the “judges” of these offices. They are the judges even of complaints against themselves.

How do we fight for our Church?

Secular authorities and structures can provide some accountability. We can go to our civil justice systems. The problem with this is that many countries don’t have good civil justice systems. Another problem is that behavior doesn’t have to be criminal in order to be devastating. Spiritual abuse is often not criminal in nature.

I suggest we share our experiences. I suggest we do not stay quiet. I suggest we tie the reputations of individual leaders to their individual behaviors. Frankly I see no other method of accountability available to us. Let us display their fruits for all to see so we can identify the good and the bad.