Time’s Up: Addressing the Unspoken Turmoil in the Cathedral

We prefer to think that the church is a haven for the hurting. But what goes on when it’s not really?

Author and advocate Mary DeMuth urges the chapel she wants to rise up and face the bad of sexual misuse and harassment with candor and empathy. Based on analysis and survivors’ tales, along with fierce fidelity to Scripture, DeMuth unpacks the church’s response to sexual violence and a healthy construction for the chapel to become haven of healing rather than an organization of judgment.

In the throes from the #MeToo movement, our response as Christians is essential. God beckons us to be good Samaritans to people facing trauma and brokenness in the aftermath of abuse and provide secure areas to heal. DeMuth advocates for any culture of honesty and hearing and calls within the cathedral to enter the locations where folks are harming. In the group of that sort of empathetic #WeToo community, the church must become what it’s meant to be-a host to justice and recovery for everyone.