Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue

To say this is beyond outrageous is a mere fraction of the feelings of outrage (and disgust) it has generated in me. I’m sure that’s true for anyone that has even a modicum of compassion and sense of injustice that survivors have been subjected to. 

I’m not even sure justice can ever be fully done. Even if survivors were able to successfully sue their abusers and enablers for millions of dollars, the suffering survivors have had to endure cannot be undone with money. It will not help relive the pain so many of them still feel even after decades have passed. Watching the tears flow by survivors that surrounded Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro as he made that incredible revelation earlier this week brought fact that home for me.

It has occurred to me that the problem is very likely far worse than this story indicates. If there was over 300 abusive predator priest in just once state, what about the other 49? It is highly unlikely that it was only Pennsylvania had this problem. Can anyone even begin too imagine the numbers priests and the number of people that have been abused in the Catholic church?

The truth is that we don’t know. But we ought to find out.

In my view every single Catholic Archdiocese  in America ought to open up their archives and allow law enforcement to examine it. If we are ever going to eradicate the plague of sexual abuse, this would be a good place to start.

I believe that as a civilized society that pursues justice we need to go as far as we possibly can to achieve it. Even if we are never fully achieve it, it is still our obligation to try. 

What can be done? 

Achieving justice is a tricky enterprise. Justice for one may end up being an injustice for another. One thing that survivors and survivor advocates have called for is to eliminate the statute of limitations on how long a survivor may sue their abusers and enablers. I have supported that but not without some reservations. While justice demands that the guilty be punished, questions arise about just how guilty an institution is. 

Let us take for example a Yeshiva that had an incidence of sex abuse many decades ago that was mishandled (under a different administration, staff, parent and student body). They have not had any incidences of abuse since. They are diligent in protecting their students. They comply fully with authorities - reporting accusations of abuse immediately. Is justice for all being served by a successful lawsuit that would ruin them?

The reasons the Catholic church chose to handle cover up incidences of abuse was to protect their reputation of the church. Which they deemed far more important than healing the survivors. While this attitude has changed in recent years, it does nothing for the survivors that were already victimized. 

But the same thing is true for us.

What about us? We have surely had our share of sexual abuse in Orthodox Judaism. Although I doubt that it is anywhere near the stratospheric numbers – or even the percentage of the whole – that exists in the Catholic church. Nevertheless, it seems like every other day an incidence of abuse by an Orthodox has been reported. I have no clue about our numbers. But they may be paltry compared to the Catholic church. But they are not by themselves paltry. Whatever those numbers are, our survivors deserve justice no less that those of the Catholic church.

If there is to be a call to action in the Catholic Church, there ought to be one in our own religious sphere. The horrible fallout of past abuse and cover-ups has been all too obvious. Depression; alcohol abuse, drug abuse, suicide, have become all too familiar of a pattern for those that have been abused. As has the almost certain by-product of a survivor going OTD. That is why I reluctantly support attempts to allow at least a one year window of opportunity for justice to be served. Reluctant because of the example I cited above.

And just like I have called for an investigation of all Archdiocese to ferret out  all instances of abuse and cover-up. I am reluctantly calling for the same in our own religious institutions.

I am sure that a lot of very good people are opposed to this type of investigation in our institutions. And for very good reason. Should we sacrifice the many for the benefit of the one? A fair question. But one that must take into account justice for a survivor  whose life has been ruined by that abuse.

Another legitimate objection is that the type of investigation could easily turn into a ‘witch hunt’. The anger generated by exposing the degree of abuse in the Catholic Church will surely bias investigators – no matter how objective they might believe themselves to be. They might bring with them a subliminal bias to see anyone suspected of being an abuser to be guilty until proven innocent.

Witch hunts like this can be grossly unfair and counter-productive. But they too have to be weighed against a denial of justice for survivors. Many of whom have hidden their abuse for fear of being stigmatized for the rest of their lives. Which would rub off on their family.

Although I lean in the direction of justice for survivors, it is difficult for me to clearly see which direction to take in order to achieve what the Torah mandates for us in this week’s Torah portion: Justice, Justice you shall pursue (Devorim 16:20). What path is the best one to take in order to achieve justice for all?

The only thing I can say for sure is that it has not in the past been pursued vigorously enough for survivors of abuse. And that has to be remedied if we are to live up to what the Torah requires of us.