The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has begun, with its first sitting held in Melbourne last week. Expectations are high; relief runs deep. Both commissioners and victims will be treading a harrowing path together in the coming months and years. It is bound to be a national catharsis.
The six commissioners expect to receive more than 5000 submissions. Orders have already been served on the Catholic Church, its insurer, the Salvation Army and the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions. The Commission foresees that it will miss the 2015 deadline for a full report, due to the monumental scope.
Though it will not be prosecuting criminal cases, it has established links with state and territory police. There is also a focus on policy corrections for institutions which are found to have failed in their duty of care. The prosecutorial and legal outcomes from the commission will be significant. But other wounds bear considering.
The Catholic Church is placed uniquely among institutions under scrutiny. The trust that laypeople hold in priests and other vowed religious is not the same trust held in teachers, doctors and coaches. It is sourced from the stories that feed their faith.
The shepherd, in particular, is an abiding image of God. 'The Lord is my shepherd,' goes one of the more famous biblical passages shared by Jews and Christians. 'Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me.'
The words provide a mirror for Jesus, who casts himself as the good shepherd, who would leave 99 of his flock to look for the one that is lost, who would lay down his life for them all. When his disciple Peter asserts his love, Jesus tells him to feed the lambs and sheep, to look after them. This is the Peter to whom Catholic priests, religious brothers and sisters, bishops and popes trace back their authority and ministry.
This is the context in which the depth of betrayal must be understood, as the Royal Commission progresses. These aren't merely images and stories; they are the bases of a Christian understanding of a loving God. It flavours public expectations of his earthly envoys. Yet no one seemed to be at the gate when the wolves came.
There is no overstating the distress that this has caused the faithful. The hurt and anger can be overwhelming. It is impossible to reconcile with