Back from Rome with many thoughts.
So I went to Rome to participate in a vigil/protest/gathering to tell the heirarchy of the Catholic Church that they need to do more to protect kids from pedophile priests. This includes, but is not limited to, publishing the names of known abusers, full financial disclosure, compliance with any and all civil authorities in this matter, and some form of policy that does NOT involve shuffling priests around and keeping it a big secret, ie, immediately removing a credibly accused priest from ministry in which he has contact with children. If and when the accusation can be confirmed, further measures should be taken.
At the actual vigil, which we were required to hold 500m away from St. Peter's Square because the Vatican denied us permission to gather there, we had around 100 people, and just about as many press persons. The European press was ALL over it. There is a large street leading down into the piazza. The Italian paramilitary police were armed and present and would not let us cross as a group when we tried. It should be noted that we had already held our event - at this point all we were trying to do was walk into St. Peter's Square and place a bunch of rocks there to commemorate the survivors - a temporary memorial, if you will. The police escorted two of the organizers (Gary and Paola) down to the Vatican to deliver letters from survivors.
At this time, I arranged a meeting point with my parents, fell into the crowd and put my hoodie on over the T-shirt that identified me as part of the group (the shirts said "Enough" - hardly a threatening message). I worked myself into a group of passers-by and crossed the street. The police didn't blink. I kept my eyes open. There were no more roadblocks, only people going about their business, tourists and Romans alike. When I got to the square, Gary and Paola were being escorted away by police. I found an opening in the waist-high gate, and walked in. St. Peter's Basilica was closed for the day by this time, so I walked as close as the gate would let me (not very), and placed my rock at the base of it. I unzipped my hoodie and turned to face the rest of the people milling about the square, my T-shirt in full view. I saw Gary and Paola again, and went to talk to them. They told me the Vatican police had taken their passports and made copies and detained them for ten minutes. They were not in a jail or anything, they just weren't allowed to go anywhere. They said security was watching. As they're telling me this, my parents show up - they walked in a loop by the river to a side street that led to the square, where there were no police. Gary and Paola left, lest the police give them more trouble. I find the place they laid their rocks, and moved mine to the pile - it wasn't big, only a dozen or so. Dad put his rocks down. I start to see men in plainclothes with wires up to their ears, so I tell Mom and Dad we should leave discreetly. I take off toward the columns surrounding the square, my hoodie zipped and up. When I turn around, lurking in the columns like the shadiest of juvenile delinquents, there's Dad being questioned by security along with Margaret, a sixty-something survivor in a wheelchair. A WHEELCHAIR for the love of God. They questioned a woman in a WHEELCHAIR. Dear Pope, Please find something more lame to do, oh wait, that's a trick question. There really isn't anything a whole lot lamer than that. I walk back in, Mom tells me they've taken their passports, but she doesn't talk to me very long so as not to draw the attention of security, although they probably knew who I was with already. Eventually they return the passports (about 15 minutes later), and we left and had dinner.
I would like to point out a few things about this encounter.
1. I'm kind of a badass because I totally snuck past paramilitary. It only kind of matters that they obviously didn't really care, or it would have been much harder.
2. I'm sure Catholics around the world would be delighted to know that their donations are being used to pay the Vatican police to question survivors of clergy abuse who are clearly doing nothing wrong. (By the way? The official order from the Vatican only kept us from holding our event there. It said nothing about wandering into the square after it was over. It banned no one from Vatican property.)
3. Since no disciplinary actions were taken against any member of our group, one can reasonably conclude that they don't really have any grounds to object to our mission or our presence. Therefore, their actions can be construed as merely "posturing," or doing something meaningless to make it look like you're doing something, which is about the level of maturity I'd expect from an insecure college male pledging to a dumb frat. Congratulations, leaders of the largest Christian church in the world, you have behaved like Maryland's frat row after a minor loss.
4. The fact that our group was even viewed as a threat shows blatant violation of Gospel values. The site is www.survivorsvoice.org. Find me something there that is contradictory to ANYTHING the church teachers, even the stuff I don't really believe. Jesus taught us to reach out to the most vulnerable, and here, they blew a magnificent opportunity, and for what? The Church continues to be mocked by the rest of the world. If it were for doing the right thing, that would be different. But this was not the right thing to do. This was the wrong thing to do.
5. It never should have come to this in the first place. We should never have felt the need to protest at the Vatican. Our leaders should have treated this problem as their first priority, and constructive action should have been taken. Instead, it has been dismissed or explained away repeatedly.
If they were to bother for my opinion, I would recommend the following:
1. A Curial-level department for the Protection of Children. While bishops would handle verifying reports of abuser priests, if and when a report was verified, it should be sent to this department for further review. The name would be flagged, the priest permanently removed from any ministry involving access to children, and possibly laicized, depending on the severity of the charges. This deparment should be largely made of parents.
2. Make celibacy optional. Do not misunderstand me. I am aware that celibacy does not cause pedophilia. But mandatory celibacy creates an atmosphere that attracts sexual deviants, because they can hide. Furthermore, the clergy would thereby include parents, who, in spite of everything, have (generally) more of an instinct to protect a child than a colleague.
3. Public confession and penance of our current leaders bearing responsibility for this catastrophe. Permanently set aside your lavish accoutrements as a sign that you will no longer value the outer appearance. They are unnecessary to proper worship, and so can be left aside until such time as they can be used as a true display of what is inside. For those living in mansions, you will be given living quarters that more accurately match those of the people to whom you minister. You will be given no transportation. Figure it out. Oh, and this is all AFTER you have faced trial for any crimes you may have committed, and AFTER you have served any prison time resulting from said trial.
What a mess.