The Betrayal of a Pastor
The news of the scandal in the Catholic church seems to bring glee to the media and a rise of distrust in our society. Some Protestants cynically comment on the need for the Catholic church to allow their priests to be married. This ignores the fact that sexual scandal is prevalent among Protestants, liberal and conservative in disturbing numbers. The truth is that when our spiritual leaders betray the church’s trust, the whole Christian Body is diminished. There are few events that damage the body more than the apparent betrayal of a pastor in a congregation.
A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
Even more than a politician with his constituency or a CEO with his shareholders, there is a special relationship between a pastor and the congregation.
Like it or not, as pastors we symbolize something far greater than the office that we hold. When you walk into the room of a sick person or offer a listening ear to a troubled parishioner, or rise to proclaim the word on a Sunday morning there is some mysterious sense in which we represent a hoped for connection with the divine. Oh, of course, most members would say that you are not supposed to be more than human and small idiosyncrasies are often tolerated as the necessary crust of the bread. Many would be reluctant to suggest that the pastor is more holy than the rest and yet, he or she represents something greater than the individual person. We might be more intellectually stimulated by the speech of a learned professor or the essay of a columnist, but there is a reason why people continue to gather and by guided in worship by this person called to be pastor. In some way that is hard to explain, people keep coming because they yearn to make contact with the divine. And the pastors keep urging people to prepare the soil for that encounter by the improved living of their lives.
WHEN TRUST IS BETRAYS
Perhaps the closest analogy can be that of marriage. However cynical we become in our society, when two people marry, they express a yearning for a deep love that can help fulfill the aching loneliness within them. Genesis is right when it records God saying, “it is not good for the human to be alone.” We find our humanity enhanced by our relationship with others. And the covenant relationship between two people provides the possibility of a deep fulfillment made possible by love. That is what makes the betrayal of such a relationship so painful. I think there is a similarity with the betrayal of a pastor in a congregation. In both cases, the effect of the betrayal also spreads beyond the immediate relationship. The rampant occurrence of so many divorces in our society weakens all our marriages. The betrayal of a pastor that is publicly exposed weakens the trust level in all of our congregations.
I’ve known many good men who were priests. I feel badly for what they must feel. But personally, my fury with the Roman Catholic Church will never change. The biggest shame of it all is that the decisions came from the top.
The Vatican may deny that they knew nothing but everyone knows the truth …or should. (especially members of the church ) Skip and I spent almost 30 years arguing about the church I attended. We joined the Episcopal church here because he wanted us to attend the same church. I feel like a fool.