Most of us interested in justice for survivors of childhood sexual abuse have understandably focussed on the news out of Happy Valley recently. But there is another story, the implications of which may even be more important. That is the news that a member of the Catholic Church hierarchy has been sentenced to prison for covering up childhood sexual abuse in the church. More details and commentary below the fold:
On Tuesday, July 24th Monsignor William J. Lynn was sentenced to 3-6 years in state prison, after having been convicted on June 22nd of child endangerment. Here is a link to the story written for the Philadelphia Inquirer. A couple of points about the sentence: First, the maximum sentence would have been seven years. Second, this is Pennsylvania. What that means is that Monsignor Lynn will serve no less than three years. And, given the history of actions by the state parole board in the past, it is unlikely that he will be released after three years.
Why is this such a big deal? You may not know that no member of the Catholic Church hierarchy in the United States has ever been criminally convicted of, essentially, covering up of childhood sexual abuse inflicted by certain priests on the community. Ever. Sure, there have been plenty of civil cases; the Church has been active in fighting, settling, reacting to legislation related to statute of limitations, retroactive or otherwise, and so on. We have all seen how the Church has been trimming expenses by closing schools and parishes, all the while denying it has anything to do with the financial cost of the abuse-related litigation.
This is different. Why? Well, all you have to do is to look at Monsignor Lynn's case. His defense was, essentially, that he was following orders. He made recommendations, but often-times those were ignored by his boss (Cardinal Bevilacqua). The jury in its verdict, and the judge in imposing close to a maximum sentence said "Sorry, that's not good enough." So, let's say you're a member of the church hierarchy who has been tasked to "handle" these cases. And you've been telling yourself that your first responsiblity is to respect and obey your bishop (/archbishop/cardinal). The recent history of the Church has been the increasing emphasis on deference to the leaders, after all. Guess what? Now, your priority must be given to those to whom it should always have been given; the innocent victims. Or else.
There is a temptation to be cynical. As Judith Herman details in her landmark study Trauma and Recovery, the history of advocacy for trauma survivors has been spotty. There have tended to be waves of sympathy followed by years of apathy. But this may be a new day. Perhaps, finally, we have progressed to the point that we will loudly declare Enough. I am heartened by what has happened, and pray that it will be so.