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  Gaydos Should Do More Than Minimal Penance

By Kim Dillon
Columbia Daily Tribune [Missouri]
January 2, 2005

Members of Voice of the Faithful Mid-Missouri, a group of lay Catholics in the Diocese of Jefferson City concerned about the sexual abuse crisis in the church, read with outrage and sadness the recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch series about abuse at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Hannibal called "Secrets, Sins and Silence." We offer our prayers and support to all abuse survivors and their families. Unfortunately, the history of abuse at the seminary is not news to us, nor is the inept handling of the situation by bishops and diocesan officials, past and present.

Some have defended the diocese, claiming that a few "bad apple" priests are the only problem, or that the enemies of the church are on the attack again, or that sexual abuse happens elsewhere in society, or that not every seminarian was abused.

We, however, believe the core issue is that sexual abuse occurred and the diocese failed to pursue justice.

The unwillingness of the institutional church to accept responsibility, truly repent and meaningfully reform is sinful. Our frustrations can be summarized in one question: What will the Diocese of Jefferson City do to atone for its sins?

As Catholics, we are taught that when we sin, we bring our whole selves to God, own and admit our offenses, sincerely seek forgiveness, and ask for the grace not to sin again. In contrast, the Diocese of Jefferson City has been reluctant to take responsibility for abuse perpetrated by its priests. Instead, officials deflect criticism by pointing to the prevalence of nonclerical sexual abuse throughout Missouri while ignoring the fact that 6 percent of its priests have had credible accusations leveled against them - a rate 2 percent higher than the national average for priest abuse.

Even worse, the diocese extends halfhearted apologies, as when Bishop John Gaydos noted at the closure of St. Thomas, "I’m very apologetic for the crimes and sins and maybe how we’ve handled it." These small, cold, reactive gestures are not enough. Only when, in the words of a survivor’s father, the bishops go to the survivors and fellow Catholics and "open themselves up and bleed for people like Christ bled for people" will true healing begin.

Though we are pleased the diocese has been found largely in compliance with the 2002 charter governing clergy abuse allegations, we call on Bishop Gaydos, especially as a member of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, to go beyond these minimal requirements. We encourage him to provide a full, public accounting of abuse allegations and subsequent investigations - without violating survivor confidentiality, of course. He should meet with his fellow Catholics so they can ask important questions. We need to know exactly what diocesan officials did in our names: the number of abusing priests he or previous bishops transferred, the number of survivors to whom the bishops have never spoken, the names of credibly accused clergy that have not been revealed, the reasons why 27 priests have been accused and none is in jail. Most of all, we need him to take full responsibility for what has happened, regardless of the consequences. True repentance demands nothing less.


Kim Dillon is a member of Voice of the Faithful Mid-Missouri.

 
 

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