EDITORIAL On child sex abuse, when will bishops get it?
Twelve years have passed since NCR revealed to the wider
world that some Catholic priests were betraying their priesthood in the most
heinous way, by sexually abusing children.
One might reasonably expect that by now the scandal would have
been subdued, that church leaders would have done everything necessary to
rekindle the trust of the everyday Catholic and to reclaim the church and the
priesthood for the pursuit of holiness.
Instead, we have had 12 years of bishops and others, with a few
notable exceptions, doing what was minimally required, too often driven by
legal and financial imperatives rather than by justifiable outrage at the
violation of innocence and by heartfelt pastoral care for the victims.
The most recent proof that church leaders still don't get it, that
they just don't understand how deeply this scandal continues to wound, was the
trial that ended in a record $119.6 million judgment against the Dallas
diocese. (See pages 6 and 7 of this issue and NCR's Aug. 1 issue.)
Before going any deeper into the horrors of the case, it is
essential to point to Fr. Robert Williams, one example of outstanding courage
and compassion in this sordid affair. He did what was right.
Williams became aware that fellow priest Rudolph "Rudy" Kos was
abusing youngsters. He repeatedly warned diocesan officials of his suspicions
and detailed what he knew about Kos luring young boys into his quarters at the
rectory of St. John's Church in Ennis, Texas. He wrote a 12-page letter to
Bishop Charles Grahmann, detailing the accusations against Kos. Finally, he
testified against the diocese. After the trial he said, "There has been a
failure of responsibility by the leadership of this diocese."
Compare his actions with those who were supposed to be leading the
church in Dallas. Given the testimony during the 11-week trial, the only
reasonable conclusion one can reach is that both retired Dallas Bishop Thomas
Tschoepe and his successor, Grahmann, refused to deal with a sexual predator
who had been repeatedly brought to their attention and who was clearly under
their control.
Their inaction is its own crime, an outrage against the victims
that adds the weight of another layer of scandal onto the wider church.
It is unfortunate that there is no way to hold Grahmann and
Tschoepe accountable, that the church has no mechanism for leveling a sanction
against such egregious bad faith and gross negligence.
Those among the hierarchy who are so ready to chase out loyal
laity, who gasp in horror at the prospect of altar girls and lay eucharistic
ministers, who niggle endlessly over inclusive language and who assert their
authority by requiring congregations to kneel during the consecration, ought to
be spending their time chasing down the real assaults against the body of
Christ.
It is long past time to abandon the silly and lame approaches used
by the nation's hierarchy in addressing this awful issue. The church is long
ago discredited in its reasoning that the scandal involves but "a few bad
apples."
The bishops' various spokesmen claim both that the media is
constantly overstating the issue and that no means exist for determining the
dimensions of the crisis. It is a ploy worthy of a second-rate politician
caught in a jam, not men who claim the mantle of spiritual leaders.
But pity the spokesmen, too, for they are charged with answering
for a body of bishops that steadfastly refuses to deal openly and honestly with
a scandal that is tearing apart the fabric of the church.
Whether the number of priests who are sexual abusers is the same
as the number in other helping professions -- as some claim in an effort to
somehow soften the impact -- is irrelevant. It is clear that priests throughout
the country, in a pattern repeated in numbing fashion, have brutalized children
who trusted them.
It is time for church leaders to act as leaders and to stop hiding
behind lawyers and further abusing good people who have already been
victimized.
Parents need to heed the warnings of one of the attorneys in the
Dallas case. In essence, the warning goes, Don't abandon your best instincts
just because it's the parish priest who wants to hold an overnight or take your
youngster on an attractive vacation. Don't presume the rectory is the safest
place for your youngsters to be spending their time. Those are tough words, but
our children are worth the caution.
Eleven years ago Fr. Thomas Doyle, once assigned to the apostolic
nunciature in Washington, told a group of canon lawyers that the sex abuse
crisis "is the most serious problem the church has faced in centuries."
He has since been marginalized, his career sent way off the track.
He was correct then, and the truth hasn't changed since.
National Catholic Reporter, August 15,
1997
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