http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B87B8947-CCBC-4DE4-8D40-C5BB968CAA9B.htm
The Catholic leadership continues to try to sweep the sex abuse scandal under the rug. Here is how a prominent church official responded to reports of an upcoming protest in Rome over the scandal:
But speaking on CNN television on Sunday US Catholic clergy said the sex abuse scandal, while serious, should not be allowed to overshadow the conclave.
"For the one billion Catholics throughout the world, this is not the most important issue," said Father David O'Connell, president of The Catholic University in Washington, DC.
I'm sorry, Mr. O'Connell, but the next pope must confront the problem of sexual abuse in the church head-on if the church is to remain a viable moral voice against the War in Iraq and develop a culture of life.
It is amazing how the church is so zealous over protecting unborn fetuses and then loses its zeal for protecting fetuses once they become babies and are born. Many right-wing archbishops, bishops, and priests in the US were threatening rank and file Catholics with mortal sin if they voted for a candidate who "supported abortion." And then these right-wingers don't make a sound when people come forward with credible evidence of sexual abuse. For them, electing George Bush was more important than cleaning up their act.
People who complain about sexual abuse are frequently lied to and told that their case is unique and that they're alone in their complaints. Or they're told that the priest is a good `ol boy and would never do such a dreadful thing.
The church is enveloped in a culture of secrecy. Cardinals, when they are first selected, swear to the Pope never to reveal any secrets that might make the church look bad. So many church officials have learned that it's more important to make the church look good than it is to tell the truth to hurting people.
There is an unwritten rule within the church (http://www.snapnetwork.org/priest_stories/priests_homepage.htm) that if priests speak out against the lies and silence, they will be shunned. Here are some examples the site links to:
1. In New Jersey, a priest was denied promotion for his passionate efforts to help survivors of abuse. He brought healing and closure to over 100 people within his parish;
2. In Seattle, a priest who came forward with allegations that he was molested by another priest was asked to resign and undergo psychological counseling to determine if he was mentally ill;
3. Throughout the country, church officials refuse to remove public tributes to priests accused of abuse. Their promotional materials continue to make glowing references to them;
4. In Massachusetts, things have not gotten better since Law quit in disgrace. A priest fighting the abuse called the new archbishop, Sean O'Malley, about problems he had learned through counseling victims. O'Malley refused to return his calls and other priests are blasting him publicly in the local paper.
5. The crisis has contributed to the massive shortage of priests in this country;
6. Many priests who abuse people have been abused themselves.
Speaking of Massachusetts, the situation has gotten so out of hand that individual congregations are forming their own support groups to discuss the crisis, according to Voices of the Faithful (http://www.votf.org/index.html). And VOF events, in which survivors tell their stories, always have trained counselors on hand in case someone gets distraught over the stories.
Actions speak louder than words. The Bishops' document which addressed the sexual abuse problems will be just lip service as long as Cardinal Bernard Law holds a position of trust and authority within the Church. The fact that Law is speaking at a mass for the Pope tells me the church still does not care about the pain and suffering tens of thousands of suffering that Catholics experienced as a result of being molested.
I have a deal for Mr. O'Connell and others like him who are trying to minimize the problem of sexual abuse in the church: If the church elects a pope who will clean up the church's act, excommunicate all the Bishops who lied about the extent of the abuse, fire Bernard Law for his misconduct, and send all the priests who abused someone to jail where they belong, then they will earn my trust back. If they take the sexual abuse problem seriously, then they will get their reputation back as far as I'm concerned.