Priest and Bishop: implications of the abuse crisis

Abstract

The fall-out from the clergy abuse crisis continues to reverberate, and nobody can even foresee all its long-term implications for the Church. What seems clear is that the crisis shows little sign of abating. One side effect of the present crisis could be a significant change in the way ordinary clergy relate to the hierarchy. There are already signs from other English-speaking countries, especially the United States, of growing concern and indeed some times suspicion on the part of what was historically called the 'lower clergy' about whether, in reaction to the present crisis, the episcopal leadership have their interests and their parishioners' interests primarily at heart, rather than the traditional preoccupa tion with institutional (and indeed perhaps occasional episcopal) self-protection which led to the crisis in the first place. This has not gone unnoticed by some bishops, as evidenced by the address of the president of the American bishops' conference at their meeting in November 2005. Just as the scandals have seriously damaged trust between priest and people, the danger now is that the bond of trust between priest and bishop will become likewise undermined.