One of the most complicated truths to acknowledge is that we have harmed others, yet this is an essential step in the journey to wholeness.
cfctoo.com/blog/we-are-all-complicit
There is freedom in acknowledging that we have been complicit in harm. It allows us to seek forgiveness, offer restitution, and find grace for ourselves and for others.
For many of us, leaving CFC means we must grapple honestly with how we have harmed the people around us. For centuries, the Church has spoken of sins of commission and omission. That is, we must repent for the things that we have done and the things that we have left undone.
Some of us are parents and we must face the fact that we abused our children in the name of love. Some of us must admit that as teenagers we delivered pompous speeches about submission in youth group. Some of us had parents who instructed us to spank our siblings–and we did it.
Some of us simply stayed silent as other people were shunned or excommunicated. Most of us are complicit in some way.
Acknowledging our complicity does not negate the abuse that we ourselves experienced. Many of us bowed to the status quo as a matter of survival.
No one is wholly evil or completely innocent; correctly addressing abuse properly requires us to understand how abusers manipulate systems and power dynamics. Those who wield power are held accountable for more.
This is not an exercise in self-flagellation. Acknowledging that we have fallen short allows us to give grace to ourselves and to others. CFCtoo does not call out the harm that CFC has done without admitting that we too have failed.
Only when we have repented for our complicity can we call others to do the same.