“In the Chinese language the word for crisis and opportunity are the same.” This is the quote that religious studies professor Dr. Paul Lakeland said before giving a talk on the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.
Chinese language aside, taking a crisis and turning it into an opportunity for growth was the subject of Lakeland’s talk that was held in the McGrath room of the Egan Chapel on Tuesday, March 4. The discussion was jointly hosted by the lectures and Eucharistic Ministers and was attended by a wide variety of people.
Jay Imhoff, ’05, said “Dr. Lakeland managed to remain objective while being open about his own opinions if necessary.” The discussion focused on the recent crisis concerning priests and the abuse of children, but more importantly, how the church officials and the laity should respond to that crisis.
Liz Burns, ’05, said “Dr. Lakeland was very articulate. He had a lot of interesting insights about why the sexual abuse crisis arose and what the Church can do to rectify the situation.”
Dr. Lakeland has been at Fairfield for 22 years and is chair of the religious studies department. He has been published in the New York Times and has a book coming out in April entitled Liberation of the Laity: In Search of an Accountable Church.
This semester he is teaching a Crisis in the Catholic Church course that asks the same questions and provokes the same arguments as were discussed on Tuesday night.
Kevin Neubauer, ’05, next year’s FUSA president and Fairfield lector, said “he introduced some refreshing perspectives on this horrible crisis. I was particularly interested in the statistics that he gave regarding the victims and offenders.
Lauren Puma, ’05, said “It’s disturbing to think that every diocese in the United States, with the exception of 10 dioceses, has had priests that committed some form of sexual abuse. I never realized that sexual abuse amongst the priesthood was so widespread. I feel Professor Lakeland really opened my eyes to the harsh reality behind the Catholic Church”
The questions that were asked by the students after Lakeland’s speech revolved mostly around what actions could be taken to remedy the current crisis. Above all, Lakeland stressed the laities involvement and responsibility in matters of the church. “There is a misconception of the Church,” Lakeland explained, “the Church is us and the failure and success of it relies ultimately on everyone.”
Therese Lederer, co-associate director of the Ignatian Residential College, appreciated the fact that Lakeland spoke of lay responsibility. “The answer to these questions [concerning the crisis] lies in between lay responsibility and clerical accountability.”
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