6/3/2024
This is not an expert analysis by any means.
Clergy abuse is spiritual abuse as well. And these spiritual wounds need spiritual healing. Thinking objectively or trying to rationally analyze what happened and why may help for a few hours here or there. But in the long term, the only thing that will bring healing is surrendering and letting the Holy Spirit do its work.
It is so particularly brutal because when clergy abuse happens, it is intense betrayal trauma. Psychological mechanisms kick in and you feel the need to defend yourself. The institution that claims to represent, be, or even own God suddenly becomes the one you need to defend against.
So many victims blame God. Because they were abused in the name of God.
And the abuse is almost never one event. It is ongoing with every interaction with the institutional church, the offices that claim to be helping victims. The gaslighting and trivialization is like a slow drip of poison. Literally. I think it is spiritual poison. You never know who is in charge. You can’t accuse any individual of anything because all the responsible parties are anonymous and hiding behind the low-level priests who are good men. Therefore you can’t take aim at any guilty party because they always hide from the light of day. Like slime they hide.
So where can healing be found?
I think it is critical to know that we don’t need anyone or anything to get to our Savior. He is with us and for us always.