But in the past, these spiritual leaders were also professing their commitment to an institution which commanded their hierarchical obedience and clerical acquiescence in protecting the institutions public reputation and its coffers.

We have just emerged from what the media calls the Catholic wrap up at the Royal Commission. This three-week hearing culminated in the joint appearance of the five most senior bishops in our Australian Church. They apologised not just for the sins of those church personnel who violated children, the most vulnerable members of our church community. They apologised and acknowledged also the gross failures of their predecessors and other church authorities who failed to act resolutely and compassionately in relation to the perpetrators and the victims, labelling their responses as scandalously insufficient, hopelessly inadequate, scandalously inefficient, as a kind of criminal negligence, totally, totally inadequate. Just totally wrong. Some were just like rabbits in the headlights. They just had no idea what to do, and their performance was appalling.

Here were our most senior church leaders admitting that in the past there were church authorities seeking to serve two masters, and failing completely. No doubt those past church authorities were professing their faith in, commitment to and discipleship with Jesus who said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. (Mt 19:4) But in the past, these spiritual leaders were also professing their commitment to an institution which commanded their hierarchical obedience and clerical acquiescence in protecting the institutions public reputation and its coffers. We are now left in no doubt: No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.

Its time to put past victims and present and future children first. And make no mistake, our church leaders are not yet out of the blaze of the headlights. They dont have all the answers, not even in relation to matters peculiarly within their jurisdiction. Despite being put on notice, our most senior bishops could not even agree on the limits of the seal of the confessional and on what a priest should do if abuse were reported in the confessional by a child. Its not just our past leaders who needed help. Our present leaders also do, and that help must come from you the competent laity who as the parents of children know in the core of your being how dreadful and unacceptable is anything that might put children at risk.

Paul tells the Corinthians: My brothers and sisters: Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of Gods mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. Addressing that breakdown of trust and the clericalist mind-set which has separated the leaders from the people, Bishop Vincent Long, the Bishop of Parramatta who came to Australia as a Vietnamese refugee, told the commission:

Its no secret that we have been operating, at least underthe two previous pontificates, from what Id describe asa perfect society model where there is a neat, almostdivinely inspired, pecking order, and that pecking order isheavily tilted towards the ordained. So, you have the pope,the cardinals, the bishops, religious, consecrated men andwomen, and the laity right at the bottom of the pyramid.I think we need to dismantle that model of Church. IfI could use the biblical image of wineskins, its oldwineskins that are no longer relevant, no longer able tocontain the new wine, if you like. I think we really needto examine seriously that kind of model of Church where itpromotes the superiority of the ordained and it facilitatesthat power imbalance between the ordained and thenon-ordained, which in turn facilitates that attitude ofclericalism.

Bishop Long told the royal commission:

I think we are allproducts of our life experiences and being a refugeeprovides me with that particular vantage point throughwhich I form relationships with people, I evaluate theirindividuality, their personal stories, their dignity.I was also a victim of sexual abuse by clergy whenI first came to Australia, even though I was an adult, sothat had a powerful impact on me and how I want to, youknow, walk in the shoes of other victims and reallyendeavour to attain justice and dignity for them.

At the end of last Fridays hearing, Archbishop Denis Hart issued a statement as president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference saying:

What we have learnt from our involvement in the Royal Commission case studies and our own work in coming to a better understanding of the many different issues that have contributed tochild sexual abuse in the Church will inform our future policies and practices.The work of the Commission staff and the Commissioners themselves has no doubt been gruellingand challenging and, along with the rest of the Australian community, we owe them a debt ofgratitude for their years of service.

There are some things the royal commission will be able to recommend to government and to our parliaments. They will recommend a national redress scheme and will prescribe protocols and basic standards for child protection. Despite the horrific statistics from the past, we can at least take heart that the New South Wales Ombudsman which provided the royal commission with a lot of statistical information has advised that since 2010 notification rates and sustained finding rates for allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual offences are similar across the government, Catholic, and independent school industry groups an indicator that the systems in place for identifying and responding to allegations are generally working consistently across the schools sector. But we are members of a society where child sexual abuse is still occurring in families and institutions at horrific rates.

There are some things which only the Church itself will be able to fix. For the first time since 1937, the Australian bishops have announced that a synod is to be held in three years time. All proposals for breaking down the culture of clericalism need to be on the table. Our church will be credible for your children and grandchildren only if church authority is seen to be exercised transparently, accountably and inclusively. The coming generations have no interest in an institution whose leaders ask, What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed? They know that it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things, as do church authorities seeking to serve two masters. Notions of tradition, authority, and community have taken a great battering in our post-modern world. When announcing the 2020 plenary council of our Church, Archbishop Coleridge said last August, I think we have to accept the fact that Christendom is over by which I mean mass, civic Christianity. Its over. That was plain for all to see last week when our key bishops were called to account by the state. There were five black suited, silver crossed archbishops being cross-examined by a woman, in public, demanding that the questions be answered and not fudged!

These are extracts from a homily of Fr Frank Brennan at Holy Trinity Church, Curtin, on 26 February 2017.