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"If I am ashamed, it is because I recognize myself as part of this Church that has hurt, betrayed and denied the humanity of other human beings." (Photo by NEW AFRICA - STOCK.ADOBE.COM)
Pope Francis made headlines recently when he expressed his shame – and the shame of the entire Church – after France become the latest focal point of the worldwide Catholic sex abuse crisis.
But some people, including abuse victims, said admitting one's shame is not enough. They insisted such sentiments must lead to concrete action.
Sister Anne-Solen Kerdraon, director of moral and spiritual theology at the Institut Catholique in Paris, agreed.
She is a member of the Soeurs Auxiliatrice (Society of Helpers), which was founded in the mid-1800s in Paris and is now present in 22 countries.
The order describes itself as"an international congregation of Catholic women religious working to ease the suffering of those most in need".
In seeking to live out her community's charism, Sister Kerdraon has done extensive studies in human loss and tragedy.
In this interview with La Croix's Florence Chatel, she explains how shame – while having its positive aspects – can also immobilize people and make them judgmental.
La Croix: After France's Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) released its report, Pope Francis stated: "This is a moment of shame." How do you understand this?
Sister Anne-Solen Kerdraon: I understand it all the better because I feel it myself. Shame always shows that we are linked to each other.
If I am ashamed, it is because I recognize myself as part of this Church that has hurt, betrayed and denied the humanity of other human beings.
Today, we are ashamed at the extent of sexual abuse committed in the Church.
We can also feel the same way about the many deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean because we feel responsible for humanity and its destiny.
In this sense, shame has a positive aspect. It also represents pain in the face of the irreparable.
We cannot pretend that the victims have not been damaged in an immeasurable way. This cannot be undone.
When shame appears, there is an awareness of the irreversible. It can and must be a springboard for caring for the victims and working to ensure that these abuses do not happen again.
Can we get trapped in shame?
In her book, Tu as couvert ma honte(Le Cerf, 2016), Dominican Sister Anne Lécu shows that one is always ashamed in front of someone, unlike remorse.
When I am ashamed, I feel despicable, unworthy, I can no longer look the other in the eye. When I am ashamed of my Church, I am ashamed of the way I appear to others, to society.
But we have to get out of this feeling which is too narcissistic. It fixes our gaze on a contemptuous and despairing image of ourselves or of the Church, instead of turning towards the victims.
For my thesis on tragedy, I studied the symbolism of evil according to Paul Ricoeur.
The philosopher shows that the most archaic symbol of evil is defilement, which manifests itself in the impression of being dirty, and of being both victim and guilty of this stain that infects us.
Shame, as evidenced by the undue shame suffered by victims, is characterized by this same confusion. We must get out of it and make a lucid discernment of responsibilities.
How can we overcome this shame?
The Sauvé Report (i.e. the CIASE report) helps us by its precise analysis.
We need to be clear about the responsibilities each of us -- bishops, priests, religious and laity -- share concerning the mechanisms of the institution that allowed such abuses, and about the underlying motives that lead us to deny the other or to promote secrecy.
Each of us can ask ourselves: "how has my way of being, of taking my place and of acting in the Church allowed, or still permit, this type of abuse?"
Then, we can broaden our gaze towards the future thanks to the recommendations of the CIASE report.
In Genesis, when Adam and Eve are ashamed after the fall, they keep silent and hide. And God does not stop seeking them, calling them, and reintroducing them to the word.
To pick ourselves up again is not to deny the evil committed. It is to look at it in all its horror, before God who gives us the strength.
God continues to hope: this Church that has failed in its vocation, from which I would perhaps like to dissociate myself, Christ continues to call it to become more human.
It is our ability to look up to God, with courage and humility, that will enable us to take care of the victims and make a different future possible. This implies that justice has its place.
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