Bringing dark deeds into the light can provide hope

It’s impossible to answer that question with a dollar figure, because if we as Catholics uphold the dignity of life in all of its aspects, then the sexual abuse of a child by anyone, much less by a trusted figure of authority and of the faith, is an abominable evil that never could be salved by the balm of a check.
    

By entering into a Chapter 11 reorganization of the finances of its administrative offices on May 1, the Archdiocese of New Orleans took a painful but very necessary step toward its ambitious goal of giving those it has harmed a chance for new life.
    

Only God knows if this is too late for many victims whose lives were destroyed by the evil acts of men and whose recovery may never arrive because that train left the station many years ago.
    

But there is hope.
    

Whenever Archbishop Gregory Aymond has felt burdened by the relentless media spotlight on the local church’s crimes – and let’s be clear, there has not been a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest in the archdiocese in nearly two decades – all he has had to do to regain his bearings as a wounded shepherd is to put himself in the seat of the person next to him pouring out his or her heart during a private conversation.
    

Yes, the archdiocese may have been hit with some unflattering headlines and anonymous attacks on social media since the sex abuse revelations in the U.S. church came to light in the early 2000s, but those attacks were mere flesh wounds in comparison to lives swallowed up by the evil of men.
    

Think of the harm perpetrated against a child, not just by the attacker but by those in authority who put the reputation of the church above the needs and the protection of the victim. It’s not just the lack of accountability, which allowed the abuse to occur in a fresh and unaware parish.
    

No, just imagine the lives ruined by depression and drug abuse; the lives claimed by suicide; the faith lost to apostasy; the marriages and relationships failed because a harm inflicted many years earlier never was properly addressed.
    

They got away with it. So what does that mean about my pain?
    

Deal with it. Now, repent and believe in the Good News.
    

The good news is that 2002 happened, proving Shakespeare right: The evil that men do lives after them. The revelations of decades-ago sexual abuse of minors by members of the Catholic clergy – which first were exposed to a national stage by a brave New Orleans Catholic, author Jason Berry – led to a sea change in Roman Catholic pastoral practice, as well as a see change for new bishops committed to the truth.
    

It is not a stretch to assert that the Catholic Church has done more in the last two decades to combat the evil of sexual abuse of minors than any other entity on earth. No corporation, no private entity, no faith group has done more than the Catholic Church to raise awareness of sexual abuse and to ramp up its safeguards to provide a “safe environment” for children.
    

We all must do more. We must remain vigilant to the signs of sexual abuse everywhere – in the family, at school, in the church, in the shopping mall. Recognizing those signs is a major component of the safe environment training that has been required the last 20 years for every church and school employee and parish volunteer who deals with minors on a regular basis. It’s the basis of school lessons taught to every child in Catholic school and in parish schools of religion.
    

That training undoubtedly has saved thousands of children across the country from abuse.
    

Everyone’s efforts are needed to break the chain of sin.
    

A check is never enough to save a life, but it’s a start. It’s precious time we make an eternal commitment that all life has value.
    

Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at pfinney@clarionherald.org.