Sexual abuse in church

THE recent report of sexual abuse in the media by a local priest in Madang raises questions on the level of trust in our priests (both local and expatriates).
It is a test of faith for the Catholic faithful in the country.
The alleged crime is yet to be proven. But this act highlights what is frequently encountered by the Church in other countries around the world.
As such, this is an open call to the bureaucratic arm of the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands and the Catholic community to take very serious stance in sexual misconduct by the clergy.
The conduct of this particular priest has now had a very devastating effect on the victim, the family and the Catholic faithfuls at large.
Substantially clergies, especially priests, hold the highest office compared to other office in both the secular and religious spectrum.
This is due to the fact that priestly office is sacred, sanctified and that priests share and partake in the kingly priesthood of Christ with the specific commission to take good care and feed His flock.
Priests are delegated with this special duty to administer the sacraments and share all wealth and richness of the church and lead with example to make heaven on earth.
In their right sense of mind and upon their own freewill, they choose to undergo all priestly formation and make special promise to God and the faithful the Vows of Chastity, Celibacy, Poverty and Obedience.
These are cardinal values priests and clergies vowed to obey to the end of their ministry.
It is well taken on Sunday (Sept 1) when a priest presided over the mass in one of the parishes in Madang admitted and expressed sincere apology on behalf of the Bishop and the clergy on this incident. However, such apology should have been announced before the mass.
We confess our sins before partaking in the Last Supper and not vice versa.
We need to reach out in a subjectively emphatic way to the victim and relatives.
Word is not enough; we need to show acts of mercy. If you really wear the shoes of the victim or his family members, you would understand the pain and suffering they are going through at the moment.
Certainly, such indecent acts leave behind everlasting scars.
There is a need to set up proper counselling facilities for both sexually abuse victims and mentally distorted priests
Finally, the Catholic Bishops Conference should seriously consider this matter and set a precedence of zero tolerance on such indecent sexual behaviours of priests and clergies in PNG and Solomon Islands.

Luwi James
Devoted Catholic
Newton, Madang