Church in
Crisis Rome trip brings Law little relief
By CHUCK COLBERT
Boston
Cardinal Bernard F. Law headed home from the extraordinary meeting
in Rome, leaving the solidarity and support he enjoyed among his fellow U.S.
cardinals and Pope John Paul II. He returned to persistent difficulties arising
from the sex abuse scandal.
The Boston Globe, for example, repeated an earlier
editorial call for Law to resign. This time, the newspaper on April 25
criticized the cardinals for ignoring lay people: If the cardinals and
the Vatican were open to the voices of the laity, they would hear the pleas
from many Catholics in the Boston archdiocese that Law resign immediately. [The
editors] agree. This scandal has destroyed his ability to function as a church
leader.
Local church observers said they expected to see stepped up
demonstrations and protests outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross when Law
presided at the 11 a.m. Sunday liturgy. Meanwhile, some said, church-reform
advocacy groups, such as Voice of the Faithful and the Coalition of Concerned
Catholics (NCR, April 26), may become more active, continuing to develop
procedures that incorporate a greater voice and role of the laity -- along with
the clergy -- in formulating and implementing church policies pertaining to
governance and finance, among other areas of church life.
Despite support among Boston Catholics -- and non-Catholics -- for
Laws resignation, there is a growing awareness that, at least for the
time being he will remain.
Many victims have said they want Law gone immediately. On
CNNs Talkback, Patrick McSorley, who alleges clerical sex
abuse, said Law should step down: He was very negligent when 18 years ago
he knew [of cases of abuse]. He added, The only way to take a good
step forward in the right direction is to start cleaning
house.
But a thorough house cleaning could have far-reaching
consequences, a point illustrated April 22 in The Boston Globe.
An editorial-page cartoon pictured the pope holding on to a toppling-over
figure of Law, with four other similarly falling prelates -- Bishop John B.
McCormack of Manchester, N.H.; Bishop Robert J. Banks of Green Bay, Wis.;
Bishop Thomas V. Daily of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Cardinal Edward Egan of New York
-- lined up behind him. Dominoes vobiscum, an observer says
in the cartoon.
If Law must resign, then by that same logic, so should other
prelates who have been shown, by documents, lawyers and victims, to be
connected to harboring and protecting priest sex abusers.
Ann Barrett Doyle of the Coalition of Concerned Catholics told CNN
that the cardinals leaving is a crucial thing for victims as the
first authentic recognition that the hurt they have experienced matters to the
church. She added, however, Cardinal Laws leaving wont
solve anything, but it would be a sign of respect for victims, who should be
first.
Not all victims are so quick to call on Law to go. Bob Barrett,
another victim who alleges clerical sexual abuse, said on CNN that Law could be
given a chance to remedy the Boston situation if certain conditions
were met, such as a realistic and verifiable policy
that included input from victims and victims lawyers.
The fate of Bostons cardinal is not the only matter of
concern here in the nations fourth largest diocese. Attorney Robert
Sherman expressed agreement with the proposed one strike policy,
which the U.S. bishops have not yet approved. Sherman and colleague Roderick
MacLeish are representing more than a hundred victims of clerical sex
abuse.
One strike and youre out is the right policy,
Sherman said. If somebody is engaged in an act of sexual abuse, he cannot
be part of the moral leadership society and part of the Catholic
church.
Furthermore, Sherman asked, What happens in cases of past
abuse? Do they get an intentional walk here? Are they allowed to just continue
on? That has certainly been the policy of the past. He said that that in
order to deal effectively with the sex abuse issue, bishops need to deal with
past abusers and bring them to justice.
Gay Catholics expressed concern about the content of the
cardinals statement, released by the Vatican through Reuters. Marianne
Duddy, executive director of Dignity/USA, an organization for gay and lesbian
Catholics, said she was troubled by a section of the document that said,
The pastors of the church need clearly to promote the correct moral
teaching of the church and publicly to reprimand individuals who spread dissent
and groups which advance ambiguous approaches to pastoral care.
Said Duddy, That paragraph has Dignity written all over
it. According to Duddy, prior to the meeting at the Vatican, no U.S.
official made a link between homosexuality and pedophilia. But, she said, the
Vaticans statement implies that homosexuality is synonymous with
promiscuity and molestation.
Duddy noted the Vatican statements lack of credible
scientific evidence linking homosexuality with sex abuse, but said it went out
of its way to distance clerical celibacy and pedophilia.
It is so clear what drives the Vatican agenda, said
Duddy, who lives in Boston.
The Vatican statement says: Together with the fact that a
link between celibacy and pedophilia cannot be scientifically maintained, the
meeting reaffirmed the value of priestly celibacy as a gift from God.
Freelance journalist Chuck Colbert writes from Cambridge,
Mass.
National Catholic Reporter, May 3, 2002
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