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	Priest's Stand Lights the Road to Healing By Mike Moore The Journal Times [Wisconsin] February 16, 2005 At last, a chance for the Catholic Church to move forward. You might have read that the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests wants to honor the Rev. Paul Esser for objecting to the transfer of a sexually abusive clergyman in the 1970s. Sunday, they met Esser and passed out fliers encouraging locals to call the archbishop in support of the idea. This is a new tactic for SNAP, at least in our area. I don't mean the fliers. Sadly, victims of priest abuse passing out fliers has become nearly as commonplace as stained glass at parishes. This time was different. Rather than look for victims who'd be willing to prosecute a priest, they wanted volunteers to honor one. Even SNAP had to do a double-take. The group's press release called its visit to Mount Pleasant's St. Paul the Apostle Parish an "Unusual Situation." Three representatives from the group came to St. Paul on Sunday with armfuls of the leaflets. For once, no nasty comments were directed toward them. As Mike Sneesby of Bay View stood at one exit, parishioners took the leaflets with a simple "thank you." Hopefully this signals a change in the life of this scandal, sort of like the progression through the stages of grief. We've been in the anger phase for several years now. It's time to move toward acceptance. Mary Guentner would like to see that. True, she said one of the group's hopes is that, "If you read that somebody in the Church is approachable and in support of victims, you'll come forward." The victims' demands for accountability often put them in battle with the Church. But they're not out to destroy it. In many cases, they're still deeply devoted to their faith. "A lot of us remain Catholic and continue to go to church and love the Church," Guentner said, "and feel really called to help the Church and to help resolve this issue for victims." Reading the California court documents that prompted SNAP to do this, it's obvious three decades later why Esser had objections. As red flags go, these were practically glow-in-the-dark. The Rev. Rolland Glass indicated to Esser that the Rev. Siegfried Widera was a danger to children, even showering with them. Glass worked with Widera at a parish in Port Washington. Too bad, as a member of the Priests' Personnel Board, recommending against Widera's transfer was the extent of Esser's say. The abusive priest was sent to California anyway. That backfired badly. Now, the Milwaukee Archdiocese is on the hot seat for failing to cut this off. One man stood firm: "Father Paul," as we know Esser. It's hard for him, this many years later, to remember all of the specifics of his involvement in the Widera case. Considering how monumental those events seem today, that might seem odd. At the time, it wasn't viewed as part of a systemic problem, nor did we have a true understanding of pedophiles and their behavior. "I thought we were dealing with the moral lapse of a priest," Esser said. Since the scale of the abuse and cover-ups has become apparent, Esser has spoken openly about his feelings of anger. "This has done irreparable damage to the reputation of the priesthood," Esser said. "To see it trashed this way is awful." It won't take much of a push for people to support Esser. Ask Catholics around the area to describe him and they'll give us one word: holy. As he explained the SNAP visit during Sunday's late Mass, churchgoers gave him two rounds of applause. Being singled out certainly makes him feel awkward. Esser doubts the Archdiocese will agree on any big event in his name anyway. Too many legal implications, with so many cases still in limbo. At least bringing it up gives us scandal-weary Catholics a reason to look ahead to brighter days. Esser is confident the recently implemented and ongoing Virtus training program, which covers how to deal with sexual abuse, will reduce the problems. It might yet be a distant spot on the horizon, but we could be on our way toward the final stage of healing: hope.
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