Forgiveness and community

John Smid used to be the director of Love in Action, a program to turn gay people straight. He ran it for a couple decades and, according to some of his patients, it was severely psychologically damaging to the patients.

Smid recently said he is gay and since being gay cannot be changed, he has nothing to repent. Yes, quite the turnaround. In addition he said he has never seen an actual ex-gay. That's an admission his treatment program was a sham. Smid is now asking for forgiveness.

Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin applauds Smid's admissions. But, he says, he isn't the one to offer absolution. Smid needs to talk to his former patients. They are the only ones who can provide that forgiveness.

Burroway has a suggestion on how Smid might proceed. Each of Smid's patients was required to keep a Moral Inventory of all the gay sex things they had ever done, then tell that list to someone close (like a family member). The catch is that close friend was coached to respond to each revelation with disgust. Yes, that was traumatizing.

Smid should prepare his own Moral Inventory, not of sex acts, but of the harm he did to patients. He needs to publicly say, with some detail, what he did and why it was harmful.

This sounds a lot like a couple steps members of Alcoholics Anonymous must go through (my church hosts meetings, so the 12 steps are posted in our social hall) and like the Truth and Reconciliation commissions used in South Africa and elsewhere. All a way to restore Smid to the community.