Bullying and other abuse within the church

"What do you want?" is what you get asked in my favourite imaginary conversation! Imaginary because it hasn't happened, and isn't likely to. It happens when, finally, someone who is in a position to take action listens to what I have said, and is sad and sorry and wishes to make amends. Perhaps it's just me, but thoughts like "what about £1million for a start" do cross my mind. How much money would it take for a person to feel that whatever has happened to them over the last 20, 30 or even more years is now OK? I fear the answer is going to be, "actually nothing can do that". But there would, in my imaginary conversation, come a point when you would be rather cutting off your nose to spite your face if you said "no". I mean, a couple of million? That would change things for your family, too. Would you have a right to turn it down on their behalf? Personally, I know I would feel like Pooh-bah. I am being insulted, bought off. I wou...

The snappy title is not my own. I have to credit an ordination service that took place some time ago, I think in Malaysia. The ordinands were spoken to about the nature of the role they were about to take on. In light of the discussions in the IICSA hearings, and on other blogs, the role of the clergy seems a good topic to consider. They were given a document, one page, bullet points, not excessively wordy, of all the things that they might think were to be their roles. Teaching, for example, but, all Christians are called to that. Service, but all Christians are called to that. Helping the poor and oppressed, but all Christians are called to that. You're getting the idea. Even "revolution", and all Christians are called to that, too. This is worth thinking about in the sense of considering what all Christians are called to do. We, as Christians, if we are, need to consider very deeply whether we leave others to do these things. Spreading the good news, all Christians...

I have been following the proceedings of the child sex abuse inquiry, and the comments upon it. Forgiveness is one of the issues that comes out of it. Another is what will/do people do about the victims? Forgiveness is not a magic spell. Unbelievers often caricature confession as "do something bad, confess it, and then you're free to go and do it again!" Unfortunately, the behaviour of the church seems to support that view. It seems that some offenders were treated as if the fact they had confessed was the end of the matter. No consequences. Not even checking to see whether the offending behaviour had stopped. This speaks of an almost criminal level of naivety. And an almost criminal level of indifference to the suffering of victims, both actual and potential. Indifference is the opposite of love, not hate. We are all called to love. Clergy, I believe, are particularly called to this. They are shipped into a strange place, where they have an unaccountable taste in hymns...