Safeguarding is an Emmaus Journey
Tina Campbell, an internationally recognised writes on safeguarding in our June series on Abuse.
To finish off our series this month, below International Safeguarding Consultant Tina Campbell speaks of the journey of safeguarding and also Stephen Watt looks at the general approach of Catholicism to suffering, as opposed to more secular or pagan philosophies.
Tina Campbell: Safeguarding is an Emmaus Journey
“I want to be very clear about this: Abuse by churchmen and churchwomen — abuse of authority, abuse of power and sexual abuse – is a monstrosity, because the churchman or churchwoman, whether priest, religious man or woman, or layman or laywoman, is called to serve and to create unity, to make grow, and abuse always destroys.”[i] Pope Francis
[i] Pope Francis: Interview with CNN Portugal September 2022
Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has frequently and explicitly addressed the scandal of abuse in the Catholic Church. In doing so, he has raised a painful awareness that the abuse crisis is ever present, it is not over and as a Church we must continue to confront it and work collaboratively to create a culture of not only protection but prevention.
The Emmaus Journey
The concept of safeguarding being a journey is often helpful when I encounter both individuals and safeguarding teams in the Catholic Church who believe they have a long way to travel. Then there are others who can quite rightly feel proud of the journey they have embarked upon. They can see that there have been not only minds which have changed, but hearts also. Most will also carry the scars of what that journey has cost them. Of course, there is much still to be done yet, it is also important to recognise that in many parts of the world, progress along that journey can be evidenced. As we continue that journey, it becomes clear of how much more is being asked of everyone in the Church.
The journeys of denial
In my professional experience, there are a number of denial journeys taking place within the Church. I might go so far as to say these are not just journeys but major expeditions with all the necessary emergency equipment necessary to endure an expedition. That analogy in itself is worthy of another paper! On a human level, thinking about, talking about the abuse crisis in the Church is complex and one which many would continue to avoid. I do try to understand and be compassionate towards the reluctance I sometimes encounter and the denial which generously and dangerously gives way to avoidance
1. Fear
This is multifaceted and complex. There is a fear to speak about abuse whether from victims (many of whom face cultural barriers which silence them), or from those who receive the disclosures of abuse and are too afraid to report them to the authorities. There is also sometimes a perception that safeguarding is only about abuse which has happened and continues to happen in the Church. This is what ‘feeds’ the fear. Instead, it is vitally important that safeguarding is understood in a holistic sense. It is about the desire to create a culture of prevention as much as protection. It is about the shared responsibility to fulfil this task and seeing it as part of our call to love God and to serve Him through our care and service towards the most vulnerable in our world. On the road to Emmaus, the two disciples were afraid and without hope, they were blind to the presence of the Risen Christ walking alongside them. It must therefore be our deepest desire to ensure that fear does not mean we are a Church of bystanders but more actively share the responsibility and indeed joy of creating a safer Church through our commitment to safeguarding.
2. Eliminating abuse
It is extremely naïve to ever imagine that abuse will ever be eliminated (or even eradicated) from the Church or any other context, in our world. In fact, in promulgating that concept, will simply and devastatingly cause further harm to victims of abuse. Sexually offending behaviours and indeed all other forms of abuse and harm will regrettably continue because of the human condition, the darkness of evil and the desire by some to abuse power in order to control. The idea that anyone can eliminate abuse evidences a failure to understand the causes and how power can be abused in the Church
3. Minimalisation
This is the attitude which holds a focus on statistics. In my early years of working in safeguarding, I encountered meetings of clergy where some stated that statistically there is more abuse in families than in the Church. I wonder if those who hold that ‘view’ ever consider that this seems, by implication, ‘justify’ what happens in the Church because on some curiously perverse scale, it is worse elsewhere. This view can often find a partner in the belief that abuse is a sin. This journey has often been travelled by some within the Church, and it is of course another dead-end road which leads nowhere. It also fails to bring healing not only to victims but also to those who accompany them on their own journey. Even one instance of abuse should bring the Christian community of our Church to seek justice and healing for those harmed, rather than minimalisation. Sexual abuse is a crime and should be treated as such both with the Church and in civil law.
4. The Narrow Lens
This is linked closely to minimalisation. It is the stance which regards safeguarding through a narrow lens, often using the terminology ‘Child Safeguarding’ (rather than perceiving safeguarding as the care of both children and vulnerable adults). The rationalisation is as follows; ‘there are no cases of the abuse of children in my Religious Congregation, my Community, my Parish, my Diocese, therefore we are doing very well in safeguarding’. …I have written about this in more detail elsewhere[i]
5. Safeguarding Reports
The last few years have seen a multitude of Reports produced after Public Inquiries, Commissions and Audits from many parts of the world, including Australia, France, Portugal, Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales and so on. Whilst this seems to have gathered some momentum, I question whether there is almost the equivalent of a compassion fatigue happening when yet another Report is published presenting yet more devastating statistic of abuse, often and mostly at the hands of clergy. Some regard the process as making public the failings of the past which will somehow by osmosis lead to less abuse happening. Others have produced comprehensive and enlightening learning from both the Reports and the recommendations. It is however not enough unless there is a significant change of hearts and minds.
The Road to Emmaus
This beautiful resurrection appearance in Luke 24. v13-35, can help us in our safeguarding journey. I often use this exercise when training, whether it is Safeguarding Trainers, Parish Safeguarding Coordinators, men and women in formation, students completing formal qualifications in safeguarding etc. Each time, I ask that they walk together (literally) and share with each other some of the difficulties they face or indeed anticipate in their safeguarding work. I invite them on that walk to share and become aware of the One who walks beside them. In that sharing there might be moments of hopelessness, even of despair and frustration. They might find themselves unable to see God present and at work in safeguarding at all.
James Martin SJ captures this so well:
“There are many reasons for our own inability to recognise God. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, we might be too focused on the past. Perhaps the disciples didn’t recognise Jesus (apart from the strangeness of his glorified body), because they were stuck on the events of a few days before. Rather than paying attention to what the stranger was telling them, or looking at what was in front of them, or listening to the Living Word, they were focused on death.”[i]
[i] Martin James SJ: Jesus a pilgrimage. HarperOne 2016
The sense of being too focused on the past, the lack of sight, the feeling of being stuck and in a sense abandoned by Jesus for whom they had sacrificed so much, are not new concepts for those who work in safeguarding. They are not new concepts for the Church either. The necessity to find time to, “look at what is in front”, to “listen to the Word of God” will bring both new life and hope, realising that none of us are on that journey alone.
The Emmaus narrative importantly brings hope. There are positive signs of hope, growth and commitment to prevention and protection in the Church. I experience this amongst the Religious Congregations with and for whom I work. Their deep desire to ensure we have a safer Church is evident in the importance they give to wanting to care for the young and vulnerable. They want to offer the best possible compassionate response to victims who have often carried deep wounds for decades and suffered horrendous pain. They want the members of their Congregations to be well informed about safeguarding through professional training.
The work of Hans Zollner SJ and his colleagues at the Institute of Anthropology, Human Dignity and Care at the Pontifical Gregorian University continues to ensure that there are an increasing number of professional international safeguarders trained to Diploma or Licentiate level, working collaboratively in the Church. These are beacons of hope and healing.
In the midst of so much more which is needed, we are aware that barriers for victims to speak about their abuse have still to be broken down. Disclosures about the abuse of Religious Sisters and of men and women in formation are increasingly surfacing and must be addressed. The unnamed disciple on the road to Emmaus could (and should) be anyone of us brave enough not only to speak out but to walk alongside victims on their journey too.
Tina Campbell Independent International Safeguarding Consultant
[i] ‘Looking through a different lens’ www.Thinking Faith.org 22nd September 2021