(note: For now I am posting thoughts on this topic here as opposed to my professional blog. However being that the organization I founded aims to, “Unleash the human potential for good through leadership, culture, and education ”, and the issue discussed here exposes a serious lack of ethical leadership, a deeply broken organizational culture, any way of moving forward will most certainly involve education, and there certainly not much presence of “good,” I may post revised thoughts on my professional blog at some point in the future. For now I offer a brief and unfiltered reflection on the topic. I would appreciate the thoughts and feedback of anyone who reads this and after doing so feels moved to discuss it, as long as your participation in the discussion is respectful. I share this reflection as a person who prays for the forgiveness of the ways I fail all too often to put my own faith in action and who is deeply thankful for the wonderful role models of faith, hope, and love that have been present in my own life. There is a lot of light out there, but we’ll never really unleash it unless we boldly shine it into the corners in which it is absent.)

Everyone, not just Catholics, people who identify as religious, or those who target hierarchical/bureaucratic systems, butrather everyone should be paying attention what is happening in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which is well described in this strong piece from the National Catholic Reporter’s editorial staff: Editorial: In Los Angeles, a Victory for Truth.

I consider myself an actively practicing Catholic, which has been the case since I joined the Roman Catholic Church in 2006 after years of spiritual seeking. I do not say “I chose to join,” because as I have shared with many over coffee, cocktails, cab rides, through retreat speeches, and in writing over the years, I do not believe I chose this path for myself. I believe that through the work of the Holy Spirit and the loving, faithful witness to Jesus Christ by many, that I recognized and accepted the plan God had for me, and exercised my own free will to act on that recognition of the “tiny, whispering voice.”

While I understand some of what drew me to the practice of the Catholic faith, I am fully aware that I never could have chosen the Catholic Church unless it was true that God is actively working in our midst. I know this because from the first moment I began to learn about the Catholic Church to this very day, I see beliefs, practices, and structures that leave me questioning (at best). I make a lot of my more difficult decisions as a result of making a +/- list, but in the case of the call to Catholicism, that persistent voice, the tug on my soul, trumped any list I attempted to make.

Because of this call that was placed deep in my soul, a call that has never once left, I love the Catholic faith for many reasons stemming from the past, much of the loving action that is taken in the present, and the hope of what the Catholic Church could be in the future.

I believe, as the Catholic Church teaches, that our actions must be guided by an informed conscience, and for that reason I would like to believe that I am always open to discussion of any issue regarding faith and the Catholic Church (Though I sometimes tell people the degree of issue-complexity informs my hourly rate, which is typically payed in cups of coffee…just joking…but not really.). I try not to hide my personal beliefs from anyone, though I do try to be respectful of who I am with and where I am at (‘in the world but not of it’), and, as we all do, I fail daily to fully match my actions to my beliefs.

With that as brief background (some of you may describe it differently), I believe I have an obligation to comment on a tragic situation that will greatly inform the future of the Roman Catholic Church.

Late last week, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which is led by Archbishop Jose Gomez, released over ten thousand pages of documents that describe, in detail, the sexual abuse that occurred for decades within the Archdiocese, and more importantly (you can insert a host of other words here too: shockingly, devastatingly, horrifyingly) document the overt, intricate, and lengthy cover up of these acts by Cardinal Roger Mahony and other representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

There are many important things to consider as we all begin to fully grasp the details of this situation. One of those details, which too many people would prefer be ignored, is that Archbishop Gomez, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and the Roman Catholic Church did not release these documents primarily because it was “the right thing to do.” Instead, only after decades of covering up the worst kind of evil, years of telling us (through legal council) that there was “nothing to see here,” and after spending a sum of money that will almost certainly never fully be accounted for, they reluctantly did the modern day equivalent of leaving a stack of papers on their doorstep in hopes that the wind would blow them away before anyone snagged a look at them. That, thankfully, is not the way things work in today’s twitter-fueled world.

I have personally received the sacrament of Holy Communion, pastoral blessings, and friendly handshakes from both Archbishop Gomez (in both LA and San Antonio) and Cardinal Mahoney. It deeply disturbs me that while celebrating Mass, not only were these men aware of such horrific violations of the dignity of the human person, but they were in fact actively covering them up.

In today’s mainstream discussion of the Christian and particularly the Catholic faith, we often hear about terms and topics like the one I just mentioned (and list here again):

• The “Dignity of the Human Person”
• The holiness of “properly ordered” sexuality
• The “culture war”
• The “right to life”
• “Moral Relativism”
• The “Truth”

As I reflect on the documents released last week, the atrocities they describe, and the number of people complicit in perpetuating this abuse and covering it up, I see a great absence of any of these modern day battle cries that are used by so many.

• At what point was the dignity of the human person respected?
• How can teachings on gender and sexuality (that increasingly don’t seem to align with either faith or reason) be taken seriously when those responsible for the teachings are also responsible for at best standing quietly to the side as the worst kind of sexual violence is occurring.
• At what point will we realize that the culture of our own Church is as flawed, if not more so, than “the culture” we hear from the pulpit that we should fight?
• What are we to understand about the kind of life a child…a child…who is brutally attacked physically and psychologically has a right to?
• How does the repetitive denial of facts, particularly pertaining to the violence done by those we are told to trust, advance individual and social moral development?
• How, when backs are turned and file cabinets are locked in order to hide such an abhorrent reality, can we claim to be advancing the concept of “Truth”?

Like the editorial staff from the National Catholic Reporter as well as several other writers have already done (and some have been doing for years), it is important that we all confront the brutal reality of not only what happened to our brothers and sisters in Los Angeles and around the world through sexual abuse, but of all violence and injustice that is present in our world, and that we reflect upon our role in alleviating it.

I appreciate the way the NCR editorial ended, by stating that “What matters is the truth,” and by suggesting that as horrific as what has been revealed to us is, that we continue to seek truth as individuals and as a faith community, and that we work to proclaim that truth through our lives and the life of the Church.

And what truth is this?

It seems like a good point to begin is here.

As a individuals and as a community this is an important opportunity for us to reflect on, and a challenge for us to grow in the way we put these beliefs into action. In doing so, we must continue to keep one foot grounded in history & tradition (even when it hurts to acknowledge it), and have the courage to step forward toward a future of light with the other.

Let us all strive to do so together while praying for healing, forgiveness, and progress.