A Penitential Statement for our Bishops

The Yahoo group “OCA’s 2008 AAC Planning”recently posted an idea for what a public confession by our current bishops for their role in the OCA scandal might look like.  This would be exactly what I would hope the bishops might do instead of offering their pastoral letters that everyone is to blame and therefore everyone needs to apologize to everyone.  That massive generic forgiveness lacks the one essential ingredient – repentance on the part of those who actually participated in the scandal or were in positions to resist if not stop the scandal from continuing.   Here is the Yahool document which I hope our hierarchs will take to heart. 

Hierarchical Public Confession: 

I admit before Holy God and His Holy Church that I actively covered up truth. 

I admit that I had some knowledge of what was happening on and yet said nothing because I was unwilling to pay the price for telling the truth. 

I admit that this was cowardly and selfish on my part. 

I admit that I dishonored Christ and his church by my cowardice. 

I admit that my actions and my failures to act have contributed to the tremendous spiritual and financial damage done to the OCA in the past several years. 

I admit that I have been a stumbling block to many in their spiritual journeys. 

I have defended evil. 

I have hurt those who were seeking truth. 

I have allowed a culture to take root in the Church that is foreign to holiness. 

I have allowed criminals to go unpunished in my selfish desire for self-preservation. 

For this I am heartily sorry. 

I pledge to God Almighty, all the faithful of the OCA, and all those whom God intends for membership in His Holy Church in the future that I will make restitution to the OCA for my sins of commission and omission. 

Going forward, I rededicate myself to living and acting with integrity before God and before the faithful of the OCA. 

I will defend the truth and tear down the culture of passivity before evil that has taken root in the Church. 

I will hold myself publicly accountable for my actions and inactions tear down the structure of non-accountability and passivity before evil that has lead to criminality in the Holy Body of Christ. 

God have mercy on me, a sinner! (3)