It is such an important topic: the reality of the abuse of children and teenagers in the church and schools. Though this panel was in Spanish, it is crucial that we address this topic in all languages and institutions. Our solidarity in the transparent approach to protecting our vulnerable- children, teenagers, the unempowered- needs to be named.
The first speaker brought us to consider how important it is that we talk about the crimes that have been committed in our community. We need to name them and talk about them. In solidarity, we need to face this truth. First, we must be sure to be aware of the grave harm to children, to be aware of the crimes in our community while maintaining the dignity of the victims and their suffering at the forefront of our minds and hearts and action. We must continue to face this situation with reflection and investigation.
Challenge of the gaze: making sure our looking is not contaminated. Looking, expanding our point of view, needs to be done in this Kairos moment and used to strengthen our institutional psychology. We cannot bring acid rain to our institutions, we are tasked with creating environments that are nurturing. Toxic environments are the dangerous frontiers that we need to address through our leadership.
Protocol for building a healthy community: we need to make sure we have and respect protocols to protect our children and teenagers. These aren't isolated incidents and should not be treated as such. We need to make sure our protocols aren't too cumbersome or legalistic to be usable. Youth is a treasure, it has to be an integral part of our Jesuit identity to protect youth as we educate them.
This issue is central to the Society. We cannot leave it aside.
No comments:
Post a Comment