WITHOUT WORDS by Sarah Gregory
In publishing this article Orthodoxy in Dialogue wishes, first, to offer support and solidarity to our many Roman Catholic readers; second, to acknowledge openly that the sexual assault of children by clergy and church workers is not unknown in the Orthodox Church (see Pokrov, the Orthodox affiliate of SNAP); third, to dispel the absurd, shopworn myth—popular in some Orthodox circles—that same-sex attraction equates with pedophilia (see also Randal Rauser’s “Catholics Are Now Trying to Link the Problem of Child-Molesting Priests to Same-Sex Attraction” ); and fourth, to draw attention to our articles by Teresa Hartnett on recovery from clergy sexual abuse in our Archives by Author.
Finally, if you have been a victim of clergy sexual abuse, know that in no way whatever does the blame or fault reside with you.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announces release of grand jury report on clergy sex abuse.
I forgot that my friends can see these posts. Via Facebook Messenger last night, one asked me, “So what will you write at that website about the Philadelphia grand jury report?”
I mumbled something about being swamped at work with a project, I really don’t write all that often, just haven’t read news, much less the report. Nothing to say, really. Same old, same old.
Then Thursday, in a work session with a colleague who has become a friend, a question from left field. “Do you listen to The Daily?” It took me a second to reply. “The New York Times podcast? Sometimes.” Well, evidently Thursday’s podcast was about the grand jury report. My friend listened to it. I hadn’t.
Tonight I headed to the Y and pulled up the podcast as I drove. I didn’t make it to the gym. I had to turn back. I came home and dove into the grand jury report. My initial thoughts: Read More
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THE SCANDAL OF SEXUAL ABUSE: A MOMENT OF RADICAL CONVERSION FOR THE CHURCH by Gilles Mongeau, SJ
Editorial Foreword
We offer the present reflection to our many Roman Catholic readers, our Protestant and Anglican readers, our Orthodox readers, and all of our readers of good will, whether Christian or not. The clergy sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church—with its latest chapter in the grand jury report from Pennsylvania—weighs heavily and painfully on all Christians everywhere, regardless of our particular ecclesial affiliation. Not one of us has grounds to cast stones at the Roman Church, because not one of us belongs to a church that is institutionally sinless. All of our churches stand in need of repentance, healing, and reform through the collaboration of human initiative with divine grace.
Le Sacré Cœur (The Sacred Heart). Maurice Denis. 1916.
In the last few weeks, the ongoing scandal of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has once again become front page news, with the publication of accusations against Theodore McCarrick, and the release of the report of the Pennsylvania grand jury investigation into sexual abuse in the dioceses of that state.
I have recently become the associate to the provincial superior of the Jesuits of Canada. In that new role, it is my responsibility to review and supervise the policies and practices of our community for the protection of vulnerable persons. But for the last fifteen years, in my work as a theologian, I was tasked with preparing young men and women for ordained and lay ecclesial ministry. In that context, I trained these future ministers to conduct themselves professionally, to respect boundaries, and to recognize their power in a ministry relationship so as to exercise fiduciary care for the other. I have made sure that they understand their responsibilities to report abuse to the proper civil and ecclesial authorities. My students know what they need to do to exercise good self-care, and they can recognize in themselves the need for supervision in difficult situations. Read More
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LITURGY AND BYZANTINIZATION IN JERUSALEM reviewed by Hieromonk John (Patrick) Ramsey
Liturgy and Byzantinization in Jerusalem
Daniel Galadza
Oxford UK: Oxford University Press, 2018
This work fills a much needed void in our understanding of the liturgical tradition in Jerusalem. It focuses on the recognition of a unique rite in Jerusalem and the surrounding region, and on where and when the transformation of the rite evolved to conform to that in Constantinople—a process that the author calls Byzantinization.
The author bases his research on a wide range of early manuscripts, which are often written in Armenian or Georgian, that have maintained testimony to the ritual practices in Jerusalem prior to its conformity to those in Constantinople, completed by the 12th/13th centuries. He also examines secondary sources for testimonies regarding the liturgical practices in Jerusalem, such as the writings of St. Cyril of Jerusalem and the travel journals of Egeria. He stresses the importance of considering the calendar and lectionary as well as priestly service books, or euchologia.
The book is an academic work. Sections of it are given to addressing the details of such things as lectionaries and calendars, which some may find a little dry. He provides a number of useful tables to illustrate the evidence. Nevertheless, he does not get heavily buried in such sections, but uses them to provide just enough evidence to illustrate his argument. Thus the book flows well in developing the topic. Read More
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