Cover
story New
groups push for change
By CHUCK COLBERT
Boston
It was impossible to avoid the humor, despite the serious
discussion, when about 400 Catholics, members of two lay organizations that
have formed in the wake of the sex abuse scandal here, gathered to discuss
reforms they would like to see in the church.
They met, after all, on Patriots Day, April 15, a state
holiday recalling the American Revolution, in the western suburbs of
revolutionary Boston. But this time the shot heard round the church
may well have been set off with Power Point and the Internet.
The gathering at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Wellesley was
the weekly meeting of the Voice of the Faithful, a group that describes itself
as formed in response to the crisis in the archdiocese and to the broader
difficulties afflicting the Catholic church throughout the world. The
organizations mission statement reads: To provide a prayerful
voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the faithful can actively
participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic church.
Voice of the Faithful seeks to aid the growth of Catholics
by providing a voice for the people of the church, said Jim Muller
of St. John the Evangelist, who serves as chairman.
Voice of the Faithful is one of two lay groups that have sprung up
in the Boston area in recent months in response to the ongoing clergy sex abuse
crisis. The other is Coalition of Concerned Catholics, which has been the more
public of the two, leading public prayer services and protests, witnessing and
standing in solidarity with victims of clergy sex abuse. The coalition
describes itself as committed to helping victims of sexual abuse within
our church receive justice and mercy and helping to renew a church that hears
the voices of all its people. There is significant overlap in the
membership of the two organizations.
As people organized, the saga continued to develop new
chapters.
On April 17, it was learned that additional documents relating to
sex abuse cases in Boston would be released to the press and that Boston
Cardinal Bernard Law would be required to testify June 5 in a videotaped
deposition.
An unexpected twist occurred earlier, when Law released to the
press April 12 the contents of a two-page letter addressed to diocesan clergy.
The letter made it clear the cardinal intends to remain at the helm of the
nations fourth largest archdiocese.
Secretly in Rome
Later it was announced that Pope John Paul II had summoned all the
U.S. cardinals to Rome to discuss the scandal. Finally, it was revealed that
Law had been to Rome secretly the week before to meet with the pope and to
discuss the possibility of resigning, an option that the pope reportedly turned
down.
Addressing a standing-room-only crowd in a parish meeting room,
Muller said Voice of the Faithfuls goal is to build as broad a base of
consensus as possible so that all voices among the faithful, from
traditionalist to liberal, from conservative to progressive, can be heard.
Bounding with optimism, Muller listed what he sees as signs the
movement is growing. There have been more than 5,000 visits to our Web
site, he said, with 63,000 pages turned. Also, he said,
More than 800 people have left e-mail messages, and more than 100 people
joined in a 12-hour period. Muller told the gathering that the
organization has heard from people in 18 nations, including European groups
that want to attend the groups July 20 congress scheduled for
Bostons Hynes Convention Center.
Voice of the Faithful also plans a Mass of healing, scheduled for
7:30 p.m. April 26 at St. Johns. The organization is encouraging other
parishes to hold similar kinds of liturgies or prayer services.
Also addressing the gathering, the largest to date since the group
formed nearly two months ago, Mary Scanlon Calcaterra, another St. Johns
parishioner, emphasized the organizations goals: One, to support
survivors of abuse. Two, support priests of integrity. Three, shape structural
change within church.
Before addressing the main point of the evenings agenda -- a
proposed letter and press statement calling for Law to resign -- Muller set a
broad context for the discussion. We know that the pedophilia scandal is
not limited to Boston, he said. Its in Dallas; its in
Chicago -- in any big city. Its been in Ireland and Australia.
But Muller said the problem in other places has been
addressed narrowly, with quick-fix solutions and
rationalizations.
Boston should not let that happen. The problem here is a
symptom of a disease, said Muller, a cardiologist. The underlying
disease is absolute power. The people of Boston know how to deal with absolute
power.
That remark, an obvious reference to the start of the American
Revolution, not far from Wellesley in the towns of Lexington and Concord, drew
spirited applause.
Donation without
representation
Muller also drew applause when he made another Revolutionary War
comparison. Like the colonials who had taxation without representation,
We have donation without representation, and we have to change
that, he said.
Muller, along with Voice press spokesman Jim Post, presented for
discussion a consensus document, a draft letter and news release,
calling for a number of church reforms and the resignation of Law. (See sidebar
for full text of the draft document.) Before opening up the meeting to
attendees, Muller defined consensus: Everybody present at the meeting who
supports the mission statement of the organization must be willing to
tolerate the documents contents. You dont have to
like it, he said, but all must be willing to go forward with
it.
The document was discussed for more than an hour and an
overwhelming majority agreed with the letter. Still, a small but significant
minority was not comfortable with calling for the cardinals resignation.
Some people expressed concern about an overemphasis on the
cardinal as the problem. One man said, The problem is not the cardinal
but goes beyond the cardinal to the culture of the church. He added,
The cardinal is not the ogre the press makes him out to be. Another
person urged the group to take the high road, away from calling for
a resignation. Yet another person suggested that the Spirit would not be
interested in politics or power; rather witness, redemption and
reconciliation -- not personalities.
Attempting compromise
But the vast majority wanted Law to go. Cardinal Law is
lasting longer than the chairman of Enron, one person said. Another
person urged a timely release of a press statement before the U.S. cardinals
meet with Vatican officials in Rome: This is when we want our message to
be in Rome in time. Yet another said, We dont want to
re-victimize -- by delaying -- those who were abused and who still see that man
in office.
Both Muller and Post attempted various changes of language and
other compromises, but it became apparent that about a dozen people could not
tolerate either the call for or the language regarding Laws
resignation.
It was a New England town hall tradition, a suggestion by Maura
OBrien, a Wellesley selectwoman with a longstanding record of public
leadership, that brought the discussion to a close. She convinced the group to
poll members in attendance to measure the sense of the meeting. The
final vote counted revealed 219, voting yes, with nine voting no and five
abstentions.
Muller explained the vote expresses an overwhelming sense
that people favored the document and the call for Cardinal Law to resign. But
because of the ground rules, the document was not adopted as a matter of policy
out of respect for the views of the minority.
Throughout the week, the local media buzzed with speculation that
Laws resignation was imminent. For more and more Catholics, the
cardinals insistence on remaining in office only exacerbates the
crisis.
Inadequate
record-keeping
My desire to is to serve this archdiocese and the whole
church with every fiber of my being. This I will continue to do as long as God
gives me the opportunity, Law wrote to priests.
The cardinal wrote that the case of Fr. Paul Shanley, accused of
sexual abuse by many victims, is particularly troubling for us. He
added, For me personally it has brought home with painful clarity how
inadequate our record-keeping has been. A continual institutional memory
concerning allegations and cases of abuse of children was lacking. Trying to
learn from the handling of this and other cases, I am committed to ensure that
our records are kept in a way that those who deal with clergy personnel in the
future will have the benefit of a full, accurate and easily accessible
institutional memory.
Laws letter to priests triggered an immediate response from
the Coalition of Concerned Catholics, which for months has led public prayer
services and protests.
Through an e-mail action alert, Anne Barrett Doyle, St. Agnes
parishioner and one of the coalitions spokespersons, notified hundreds of
members of a protest and vigil outside the cardinals residence. We
are mobilizing now, Friday afternoon, [April 12] in front of the
chancery, she wrote. Well stay through at least 7 p.m., when
we will have a candlelight vigil.
The coalitions e-mail alert said: Law must go now --
hes a disgrace to our faith and all we hold dear. Other concerns
raised by the organization include the need for archdiocesan full
disclosure of its records on all abuse cases, full and fair
settlements for all victims, and church reform -- change so that
lay people have voice and this abuse never happens again.
The April 12 mobilization and vigil played out under the lights of
local broadcast cameras, as well as in print media. Because so many media
outlets expected Law to resign, broadcast vans with satellite dishes had
assembled outside the cardinals Lake Street residence. Law, who had not
been seen in public for several days, had not spoken to the press for weeks.
Outside the cardinals mansion, other protesters held signs
asking motorists to honk car horns if in agreement that Law should leave
office.
Freelance journalist Chuck Colbert writes from Cambridge,
Mass.
National Catholic Reporter, April 26,
2002
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