Still Running Off at the Keyboard

SCOBA
The Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas
8 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10021


Press Release

August 2, 2005


SCOBA ISSUES STATEMENT ON
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT IN THE CHURCH


The hierarchs of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in
the Americas (SCOBA) recently adopted a Statement entitled "Dealing With
Sexual Misconduct in the Church".

Prepared by the Social and Moral Issues Commission of SCOBA, this Statement
expresses the seriousness with which the Orthodox Church treats the issue
of Sexual Misconduct within the Church in a united voice, while also
offering pastoral guidelines concerning sexual misconduct by members of the
clergy and all who work in the Church. This Statement is not intended to
supersede any specific jurisdictional guidelines.

Dr. John Dalack, Chair of the Social and Moral Issues Commission, presented
the proposed Statement to the hierarchs who unanimously approved it. The
Statement is available on the SCOBA web site: www.scoba.us.


Dealing with Sexual Misconduct in the Church

"O God, great in power and inscrutable in wisdom, wondrous in counsels
above the sons of men: Yourself, O Lord, fill with the gift of Your Holy
Spirit this man, whom You are pleased to advance to the priestly ministry,
that he may be worthy to stand blamelessly before Your Altar, to proclaim
the Gospel of Your Kingdom, to minister sacredly the word of Your truth, to
offer to You spiritual gifts and sacrifices, and to renew Your people
through the Font of Regeneration, that when he shall go to meet You at the
Second Coming of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Your Only-begotten
Son, he may receive the reward of a good stewardship of his rank, according
to the multitude of Your goodness." (The prayer of ordination)

Sexual abuse or misconduct will find no safe haven within the Holy Orthodox
Church. We, as hierarchs of the Church, commit ourselves and the resources
at the Church's disposal to ensure that every child of God, of whatever
age, may be safe and secure within the bosom of the Church, and that sexual
predators will find no place within her to carry out their crimes. Sin
thrives where there is darkness and secrecy, but it cannot stand the light
of truth and openness. By pursuing truth and justice, by standing by the
victims of crime, by ensuring fair and due process for everyone concerned,
and by facilitating repentance unto salvation, the Church will be true to
the God she serves and to her faithful people.


While this statement concentrates on pastoral guidelines concerning sexual
misconduct by members of the clergy--bishops, priests and deacons--as the
most visible representatives of the Church, it should be understood that
our concerns apply to all those, who work in the Church. Individual
jurisdictions may wish to adopt specific guidelines concerning others who
work in the Church and represent it.


Those who are given the gift of ordination by God and His Church are chosen
from the Body of Christ, the community of faith, as persons who have
committed themselves to live in accordance with the Gospel and who are
willing to bear the heavy responsibility to Christ for His flock. They are
responsible for their flock as a shepherd is for his sheep, and to be good
shepherds they must be willing to lay down their lives for the flock. But
when a member of the clergy chooses to follow his own way rather than the
way of the Shepherd, by sacrificing his flock to his own desires, he
becomes a wolf in shepherd's clothing, betraying Christ and the flock the
Church has entrusted to his care. Furthermore, he betrays society at
large, for the Church is given to us for the life of the world.

The Church of Christ is the battleground for the unseen warfare of which
the Fathers wrote. We are called to "be perfect, as our Father in heaven is
perfect," (Matt. 5:48). Yet, we also know that "there is no one who lives
and does not sin." The Church confronts and heals sin, transfiguring and
transforming us to be Christ's image and likeness. Through the healing
power of Christ, the Church brings sanctification and salvation to a world
fallen in sin. The Church makes available the unchanging and eternal truth
of Christ, so that all those who belong to the Church may walk in His
light.

The temptation to sexual misconduct is one battleground of this unseen
warfare, made more acute within a sex-saturated society where sexuality and
sexual images are used everywhere for entertainment, for selling products,
and for recreation. Christ's Church, the clergy, and all those in positions
of Church leadership and trust have the moral responsibility of
safeguarding the sanctity of human sexuality. It is the particular
responsibility of the clergy to aspire to a life of purity and holiness, so
that the light of Christ may shine through them.

The Gift and Responsibility of Sexuality

Orthodox Christians understand human sexuality to be one important aspect
of the whole mystery of human personhood. As is evident from Holy
Scripture, human sexuality is intended to be a sublime means of expressing
mature and self-giving love between a man and a woman united in marriage,
of deepening that love in a communion of two lives, and of enabling a
couple to participate with God in the wondrous and sacred work of creation
of new life. It is indeed a holy and good gift of our holy and good God.

As such, it must be treated as holy to the Lord, and as something which has
great potential either for good or for harm.

To ensure that we use our sexuality for our good and to minimize its
potential for harm, God has revealed through Holy Scripture its proper use:
that sexual _expression is God-pleasing within the larger framework of the
freely agreed to, life-long, committed relationship between a man and a
woman which is the mystery of marriage.

The Orthodox Church witnesses with the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition
that outside the community of marriage the God-pleasing use of our
sexuality is found in the free choice of abstinence. For some, this may be
a temporary state awaiting the formation of the mystical union of marriage.
For others, this may be the narrow and demanding way of life-long
commitment to chastity.

Each of these God-pleasing ways of expressing the sexual aspect of our
human nature demands that we humbly, freely and joyfully embrace the
"narrow way." As in so many areas of human life, choosing God's way may be
difficult and continually calls for our radical repentance; nonetheless,
God's way is ultimately liberating and enables us to realize our full human
potential as children of God conformed to His image and likeness.

Conversely, choosing the way of self-centered, undisciplined and unbridled
sexual indulgence ultimately is life-destroying rather than life-affirming
in that sinfulness, in whatever guise it takes, always leads us away from
God, the Source of Life. Sexual activity becomes destructive and sinful
whenever it is aimed primarily at self-gratification rather than the good
of the other; whenever it is not within the committed relationship of
marriage between a man and a woman; or whenever it is not entered into
freely.

The Clergy and Sexual Misconduct

While sexual misconduct is sinful and harmful for any Christian, it is
especially grave and painful when the perpetrator is a clergyman, because
it so often entails a serious abuse of the legitimate authority of the
clergy within the community of the Church, and because it constitutes a
betrayal of the trust placed in the person by God, by God's people, and by
the Church's hierarchy. While every Christian is called to the highest
standard of conduct in every aspect of life, the clergy, bishops, priests
and deacons, traditionally have been held most strictly to this standard by
Holy Tradition and the Church's canons. A serious sin by a clergyman is
not simply a personal matter; it is an assault on the integrity of the
entire Church.

Clergy sexual misconduct carries even greater potential for harm to its
victims because of the identity of the perpetrator. The relationship of the
clergyman to his parishioners is one of a spiritual father to his spiritual
children. The clergyman's authority carries with it an inherent and often
unrecognized power. Its depth in this relationship is such that the
victim, of whatever age, never truly acts freely. Because the predator is
a clergyman, the healing ministry of the Church to those victimized, so
based on trust and love, is undermined. The victim's very relationship with
God and faith itself can be severely shaken. The harm to the victim is
physical, psychological and spiritual.

We resolve to educate ourselves and our clergy and laity about how we, as
the Church, can help victims receive healing. It is our hope and prayer
that by dealing swiftly and surely with all those who have committed
offenses and by responding in a loving and appropriate manner to the
injured, we will encourage and aid the survivors of abuse to continue their
relationship with God in Christ's Holy Church.

We commit ourselves to the healing of parishes wounded by clergy sexual
misconduct. When a clergyman acts inappropriately, he inflicts harm not
only on his victim but also his own family, the victim's family and other
members of the community. We will give the best possible support to all
those traumatized by such misconduct.

The spiritual needs of the offending clergyman must also be addressed. The
Church will not turn her back on these former clerics, if they repent of
their destructive behavior and receive forgiveness, even though they can no
longer serve as clergy or in other positions of authority. While
energetically protecting victims, the Church will work for the healing and
salvation of all who are affected.

We are aware that we need to examine carefully how we choose and educate
our clergy, with the goal of preventing those who are likely to offend from
being ordained. All seminarians should be educated with respect to the
proper boundaries and professional standards that a clergyman must
maintain.

It is recommended that seminaries conduct background and criminal
investigations on all applicants. Criminal and background checks will also
be conducted on those who apply for ordination. Parishes should be
recommended to conduct criminal and background checks on all persons
considered for all professional or volunteer positions in the parish.

All these steps must be taken to ensure that the Church as the Body of
Christ will remain faithful to her Lord in ministering to her people. We
reiterate the goal of this statement that sexual abuse or misconduct will
find no safe haven within the Holy Orthodox Church. We affirm that this
statement reflects our common mind, and we will make every effort to ensure
its implementation through the enactment of appropriate policies in our
respective jurisdictions.

Contact: SCOBA Office
8 East 79th Street
New York, NY 10021

Phone: 212-570-3593
Fax: 212-774-0202
Email: scoba@goarch.org