The Reverend Kirk T. Berlenbach

Proper 7, Year A

June 22, 2008

By now you are probably aware that our Bishop, Charles Bennison, is currently on trial. It is alleged that back in the 1970’s when he was a young rector in California, that he did not do enough to respond to his brother’s sexual abuse of a teenage girl in his youth group. Last week the testimony concluded and now the judges are deliberating the verdict. In the meantime everyone in the Diocese holds their breath awaiting the outcome. It is a tense and stressful time for everyone, particularly for the clergy. And so I really appreciated it when the other day someone asked me how I was coping with all this mess. I must confess that having a priest for a father gives me a leg up in this regard because it forced me to realize that, in spite of the pedestal that some people put us on, in fact clergy are most decidedly human. But just because I was not shocked by the charges does not mean I am not affected. Whenever someone in a position of moral and spiritual authority abuses their power or fails to live up to the standards that we expect, it is distressing, and sometimes can even deeply disturb us. So, while I am coping, it has not always been easy.

Of course I know that your feelings on the matter run the gamut. Some of you think that too much is being made of charges that deal with decisions made 35 years ago on the other side of the country. Others are happily oblivious to the whole thing. Yet I also know that for some of you the issue of clergy abusing their power strikes a very deep and disturbing chord. But regardless of what we think about Bishop Bennison’s guilt or innocence, his trial raises up some very difficult questions. After all, when an issue like this gets daily coverage in the newspaper, TV and radio not to mention massive coverage via the Internet and blogs, it becomes nearly impossible to avoid. And so, whether we like it or not, we find ourselves grappling with the question of how we can cope when the clergy fail.

In fact, this is a very tenuous position to be in. From the time that we’re first brought into church we are taught to look to the clergy for inspiration and moral example. Yet at the same time we are somehow expected to be able to divorce our faith from their personal shortcomings when it is necessary to do so. This is no simple request. Many of us, particularly those of an older generation, were raised to view the clergy as divine representatives of G-D here on earth. For example, when my father was an aspirant for the priesthood he was taught to address his bishop as “Right Reverend Father in God.” A lot has changed in the forty years since then. When I first came into this Diocese I witnessed many priests addressing Bishop Bennison as “Charles.” In time I got to know him well enough to do the same. Yet even in this more egalitarian atmosphere, and even for the most anti-clerical Episcopalians, there is still an inextricable link between our clergy and G-D. And so when bishops, priests and deacons fail to live up to their moral and spiritual expectations, it invariably raises doubt about G-D as well.

What we have to do is figure out a way to deal with this reality in a healthy and constructive way. We have to begin from the assumption that, at one point or another every clergy person will fail to live up the standards that are expected of us. This is not to say that we should just write off those times when clergy misuse their power to take advantage of the people in their care. Such behavior is a violation of everything that the clergy and the faith are supposed to stand for and it is absolutely unacceptable whenever it occurs. But those cases, as damaging as they can be, are the exception and not the rule. In reality most clergy will never engage in criminal or abusive behavior. Yet at the same time, none of us can consistently live up to the divine standards of love, compassion and justice that some people expect.

This is not an easy reality to accept. To confront the truth that clergy are fallible and flawed can be a real shock to our moral sensibilities and even to our faith. But we need to stop confusing our clergy with G-D. This approach fosters a multitude of problems. Not only does it create the opportunity for abuse to tale place (by leading people to place complete and unreflective trust in their priests), it also places additional strain and pressure on the clergy themselves by establishing a divine standard of conduct that is impossible to live up to. And finally, if we view our clergy as being almost divine themselves, we weaken and even jeopardize our faith by misplacing it in a frail human vessel instead of in G-D alone.

So in fact, it is in everyone’s interest to accept the reality that clergy are not G-D. Truth be told we are not even close… for details confirming this, you need only speak to my wife Becky or Joanne Knapp. But this does not let clergy off the hook for we still should be able to trust and respect our clergy. If we can’t, then what is the point in having them? And so we should look to them for inspiration and guidance. And when it comes to personal conduct, clergy should be held to a higher standard. But the real issue, and the only part of this that we have any control over, is how we respond when our clergy fail to meet those standards. And we cannot interpret the mistakes or even the abuse committed by human beings as being indicative of a failure on G-D’s part. When clergy stumble or even when they fall, G-D does not fall with them. In fact, each and every time we humans fail G-D responds. But this divine response to our mistakes and our crimes alike does not usually take the form of divine wrath or punishment. Rather G-D provides us with an opportunity to respond as the Body of Christ.

The Apostle Paul writes that it is through our weakness that G-D has the opportunity to be glorified. (2 Cor 12:8-10) What that means is that in response to every human failure, even failure by clergy, there is a divine opportunity respond in a way that builds up our faith, rather than tearing it down… to meet disappointment with hope, to respond to anger with humility and to respond to hurt with compassion, to confront lies with the truth spoken in love and to respond to the abusive of power with justice and ultimately even forgiveness and reconciliation.

And so, when we are forced to deal with abusive clergy, it is up to us to respond. We have to pray and act to aid the victims, we have to hold the guilty accountable yet, at the same time, always treat them as human beings and hold out hope for genuine repentance and even reconciliation and healing, and finally, we must also be mindful of the unintended victims… those who are not directly involved but who are re-victimized by each new instance of abuse and also of those whose trust in the Church, and even those whose faith in G-D gets shaken. This is a lot to ask, but it is also how G-D calls us to respond.

But while instances of abuse may grab headlines and our attention more readily, what we really need is a way to deal with the ordinary failures of our clergy. Because whether we like to admit it or not, there will be times when we will fail, times when we will mess up and times when we will not live up our expectations. To be sure, as part of our ordination vows all clergy take on additional responsibility, including the responsibility to live our lives in an exemplarily manner. But no matter how hard we try, no matter how much time we devote to prayer of spiritual discipline, we will sometimes fall short. Once we accept the truth that the women and men who serve as bishops, priests and deacons are first and foremost human beings, it becomes easier to accept their failures, to deal constructively with their shortcomings and to forgive the times when their disappoint or hurt us, just as we do with any other human being.

For some of us, this would be a significant change in how we understand the Church and our clergy. But if we can accept this reality, everyone will benefit… our faith will benefit, our clergy will benefit and even the Church will benefit. And when scandals like the Bishop’s trial raise their ugly heads again (and sadly, they will) our faith will not be as vulnerable. Instead of a crisis we will find that G-D is still active and is indeed faithful in responding to the needs of His people. For although our human clergy may let us down and although their failures may shake our faith, we can always trust in G-D to respond. And so long as we do that, our faith will stand strong, even when our clergy do not.