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story Post-Dallas: Priests question fairness of policy
By MARGOT PATTERSON
Those most directly affected by the bishops new
Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People -- Catholic
priests in this country -- voiced both support for the document and
reservations. Many priests said they thought the bishops had dealt with the
issues before them honestly and openly. But many of those NCR
interviewed raised questions about the fairness of the bishops strict
zero-tolerance policy on sex abuse and said that the bishops should have
addressed more squarely their own responsibility for the crisis.
The charter approved by the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops at their annual meeting in Dallas June 13-15 excludes from ministry all
priests guilty of sex abuse, requires the bishops to turn over all allegations
of sex abuse to civil authorities, and calls for the creation of a new national
office to audit dioceses adherence to the policies set forth in the
charter. A new national lay board (see story on Page 10) will oversee the work
of the new Office for Child and Youth Protection.
Even among the bishops, reactions to the tough new standards set
forth in the charter were more mixed than the lopsided vote of 239 to 13 in
favor of the charter would indicate. Particularly controversial was the
provision calling for the blanket exclusion from ministry of all priests guilty
of sex abuse regardless of special circumstances that might apply in individual
cases.
Bishop Joseph Sullivan, auxiliary of Brooklyn, N.Y., said his
fellow bishops had arrived at a standard of unforgiveness, echoing
criticisms made by Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., and several others.
Even among those who spoke for approval of the charter, there was a discernible
lack of enthusiasm for some aspects of it.
Its necessary to pass this policy with its flaws, some
very deep flaws indeed, said Cardinal Francis George of Chicago.
Fr. Robert Silva, president of the National Federation of
Priests Councils, observed that in voting on a national policy the
bishops found themselves between a rock and a hard place. Good priests will
feel they are bearing the brunt of what is in some measure the bishops
own failure, said Silva, who regretted that bishops had not made themselves as
fully accountable for their misdeeds as priests will be made for theirs.
Theyre going to have to be very careful about how they
enforce this, Silva said of the bishops new policy, which he said
could potentially alienate priests from their bishops. Silva said that with the
zero tolerance provision in effect, priests who may have committed offenses in
the past will not feel they can come forward and confide in their bishop.
Fr. Robert Bullock, pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows in Sharon,
Mass., praised the clear, unambiguous apology to victims but said lingering
questions about fairness and due process remain. You worry also about
false accusations. What happens when an unproven charge is denied by a
priest?
Bullock said a reservation many priests have is the same point
raised by Hubbard in Dallas -- that there are priests who decades ago committed
some kind of sexual offense, repented of their crime and were rehabilitated,
have functioned honorably in ministry for years with no threat of recurrence,
and who because of the charter will now be removed.
In St. Louis, Fr. Paul Philibert voiced similar concerns.
The fact that were willing to put aside priests who for 20 or 30
years have been able to exercise a useful and holy ministry and suddenly pull
the rug out from them because of something that happened decades ago is almost
too painful to contemplate, said Philibert, a Dominican priest and
visiting professor of church and society at Aquinas Institute of Theology in
St. Louis.
Fr. Walter Cuenin, pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians in
Newton, Mass., said some priests feel theyve been hung out to dry while
the bishops walk off scot-free. This whole crisis cant be just on
the backs of the priests. It also has to be on the backs of the bishops who
mishandled this crisis.
Our Lady Help of Christians merged in 1997 with St. Jean
LEvangeliste, a French church that once had the notorious child molester
Fr. Paul Shanley as its pastor. As a pastor of a congregation that includes
many of Shanleys victims, Cuenin says the parish has worked extensively
on issues of healing and reconciliation. Cuenin called for greater dialogue
within the church as well as more accountability. The crisis in the church
today has become a crisis of leadership and accountability, not sex abuse, he
said.
I dont think the American people will be able to put
trust back in the leadership of the church if some bishops do not resign or
leave the ministry, Cuenin said.
Nonetheless, I give the bishops a lot of credit because I
think they were struggling with a very difficult issue. The public is so angry
they wont hear of any nuance, he said. Remarking that zero
tolerance is not a Christian concept, Cuenin said that in their hearts
most bishops recognize that as well.
In Kansas City, Mo., Fr. Norman Rotert, pastor of Visitation
Church, said the bishops new policy was not unexpected. I think
politically it was necessary. I dont think its wise, nor do I think
its church, he said. Rotert said he wanted the bishops to turn
their attention to implementing the reforms of Vatican II and was disappointed
that the bishops had not addressed some of the issues underlying the leadership
crisis.
Many priests said the sex abuse scandal was creating widespread
demoralization among priests and worried about the effects both on those now in
ministry and on future vocations.
Like Silva of the National Federation of Priests Councils,
Philibert said he was concerned about a widening gulf between priests and
bishops. A number of diocesan priests are profoundly disheartened,
Philibert said. Some bishops are being perceived more like a judge than a
brother. The very nature of the public pressures that have come upon the church
have been to distance bishops from their priests at a time when priests most
need bishops to be a support to them.
In Newton, Cuenin said relations between priests and bishops could
not get much lower. A member of the Priests Forum, a group of priests who
began meeting in the Boston archdiocese in the fall of 2001 to share
experiences, Cuenin said the forum emerged because of a pent-up need to talk
about issues affecting priests. The priesthood as we know it is
disintegrating. And who can even say what the impact is going to be for
vocations? This kind of crisis wont be healed for years and years,
Cuenin said.
National Catholic Reporter, July 5,
2002
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