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An Open Letter to Religious Leaders
From participants of the "Is Nothing Sacred?" Retreat for Women Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse, held on August
21-23, 1998 at the Adelynrood Conference & Retreat Center, Byfield, MA." Retreat for Women Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse, held on August
21-23, 1998 at the Adelynrood Conference & Retreat Center, Byfield, MA.
We are survivors of clergy sexual abuse who have come
together for empowerment and healing. Through the shared experiences of our life journeys
we now understand that:
What we were subjected to was not sex education, an affair, a lack of judgment, a
disagreement or a cultural difference. It was not a factor of your marital status, gender,
or affectional orientation. Clergy sexual abuse is not about sex or romance nor is it
limited to a specific type of touch. It is an exploitation of your professional status and
a deep violation of your professional role. It encompasses emotional, psychological and
spiritual abuse that has caused life long repercussions and has driven too many of us to
the brink of suicide. Our choice has been to hold on and lead a violated life without
justice, or let go and die. While you condone the abuse of your colleagues, we struggle
with our own pain and that of our spouses and families caused by your abuse of power and
trust. We hold you accountable for this victimization.
To enact on that accountability and to make right that which you have wronged, we
want you to:
- Enforce a stance of zero tolerance for sexual abuse of
power and trust by clergy.
- STOP recommending the reemployment of clergy known to
be abusive.
- Make decisions on the rehabilitation potential of
abusive clergy grounded in state-of-the-art information and knowledge that has been peer
reviewed by survivor/advocates.
- Provide opportunities for people to be vindicated by
witnessing their truth.
- STOP name-calling us and threatening us. Consistently
demonstrate that you recognize the dignity and status of women and the laity.
- Acknowledge the harmful promotion of abuse and violence
in scripture.
- Fund training on clergy sexual abuse for existing
sexual assault crisis services by trainers who are acceptable to survivors.
- Mobilize resources for healing when learning of
disclosures of clergy sexual abuse, rather than silencing victims.
- Provide full disclosures of accusations to Search
Committees
- Develop educational programs for congregants and Search
Committees with content that is acceptable to survivor/advocates.
- Empower healing by financing services that survivors
themselves have identified.
- Advocate for state licensure of pastoral counselors.
- Require continuing education in ethical conduct for
clergy and pastoral counselors.
- Develop rules and guidelines for accountability of
clergy.
- Demand accountability in pastoral counseling.
- Require psychological screening for admission to
seminary. Include an assessment of the individual’s concept of and ability to deal
with power. Require such screening for clergy accused of abuse. Assure that such screening
is provided by appropriately licensed professionals who are not employees of the church.
- STOP the ordination of individuals who demonstrate a
propensity to abuse their position of power and trust.
- Provide an annual report on the health of the ministry
or rabbinate which includes statistics on:
- the number of complaints received
- the number of complaints investigated
- the number of voluntary resignations associated with complaints
- the number of lawsuits initiated
- the number of complaints withdrawn
- a summary on the disposition of cases adjudicated or settled.
- Annually review your code of ethics in light of
state-of-the-art knowledge and the lived experiences of survivors.
- STOP putting the responsibility for maintaining your
professional boundaries on us.
- STOP colluding with your abusive colleagues.
- STOP the cover-up of this massive systemic
victimization.
We know that you have heard this before. We recognize the difficulty in overcoming
the reinforced patterns of abuse from our historic past to the present. We have faith in
the transforming power of love and that change is possible.
We are acting to empower ourselves, each other and our religious communities. We
are not alone and are bonded with survivors who have gone before us and with those who are
unable to speak. We call on you to join with us in the endeavor to end the suffering of
survivors by openly discussing the issue and committed right moral action within your
community. None of you are bystanders and all of you are responsible to advance healing.
Contact us to let us know how you will act on our manifesto. We are looking forward to
your response.
In Faith,
Women of the 1998 Adelynrood "Is Nothing Sacred?" Retreat
This retreat is not affiliated with AdvocateWeb.
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