BishopAccountability.org
	And Miles to Go Clergy Scandal: Our Response By Bishop John C. Nienstedt DNU.Org April 2, 2007 http://www.dnu.org/bishop/0402bl.html The joy of this wondrous Easter Season has been somewhat diminished for me this year because of the clergy scandal rocking Boston and other Catholic dioceses. I must confess I have a heavy heart in reading reports about all this. I became a priest to help, not to take advantage of God's people. I presumed every other priest did the same. To learn of the number of victims that have suffered from child abuse by clergy is more than shocking, it sickens me. Science tells us that the disease of pedophilia or ephebophilia is based in an arrested sexual identity. The pedophile or ephebophile is not necessarily homosexual; he might prey on girls or boys depending on their availability. Like the unreformed alcoholic in the presence of a drink, he is tempted sexually in the presence of a child or an adolescent. And, like the unreformed alcoholic, he will go to great lengths to hide his desires. We are talking about compulsive behavior here. It is important to point out that a very small percentage of priests are involved in this perverse activity. Yet, even one case of child abuse by a clergyman is one too many. As one Boston priest noted, it is as if one of our own has driven through a mud puddle and all of us as priests have been covered with grime. This is indeed unfortunate. Evil does have an extended reach. The other half of the equation is the allegation that bishops have moved priests who are charged with such crimes from parish to parish, seemingly unconcerned with the children who were placed in harm's way. I have worked closely with three archbishops. I know that none of them would have been so callous. I do not intend to excuse any bishop who might have been, but I think it is helpful to explain that in the 1950s the world thought this kind of activity was a moral failure. It could be resolved by confession, penance and a disciplined will. In the 1980s, it was still thought that psychotherapy could resolve the issue. Now we know, only too late, that some cases are not curable. What is of immediate concern, I believe, is a social climate that presumes every unsubstantiated charge is necessarily true. I remember well the months after the late Cardinal Bernardin was publicly accused. Day after day, the press followed him wherever he went. The pressure must have been enormous. Then came the hour when his accuser confessed that he was mistaken. All's well that ends well, but what about the suffering needlessly endured in the meantime? Already one Boston priest seems to be living that nightmare. It is essential somehow to repair the breach caused by this terrible scandal. I have asked our Priests' Council to review our procedures for handling complaints so that we can respond quickly, yet fairly, to protect the rights of the accuser and the accused until the truth is discovered. We are fortunate in this diocese to have had a sexual misconduct policy in place since 1990, which was revised again in 1994. The policy gives a structured procedure wherein complaints can be handled by a Review Board already in place. Overall, the policy seeks to "promote healing where there is injury, guidance when it is called for, change when it is warranted, with firm justice and mercy toward all and a determination to do what is needed to correct and prevent sexual misconduct." It also calls for the careful adherence to all relevant State laws and regulations. Again, one has to hope that the actions of a few will not cast doubt on the good work of many. Priests cannot exclude the youth of the diocese from the attention they deserve in participating fully in the life of the church. Inspiring the young to respond to God's call as a priest or religious must not take a back seat on our collective journey of faith. The message of Jesus requires us to trust the messenger. Where suspicion reigns, we must work with resolve to rebuild a sense of trust. I ask you, then, not to lose faith in your priests or in the priesthood itself. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that every priest "is able to deal patiently with erring sinners, for he himself is beset by weakness and so must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people." (Heb. 5:2-3) The call to conversion is aimed at every member of the church, bishops and priests as well. Please pray for the priests you have known and for all priests. Pray, too, that this dark moment in the church's life may not impede her mission of being the Body of Christ and the source of salvation to all people. And finally, I ask my brother priests to join me daily in this prayer from St. Ignatius Loyola: Dear Lord, Teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve: To give and not to count the cost, To fight and not to heed the wounds, To toil and not to seek for rest, To labor and to ask for no reward, Save that of knowing that I do your will, Oh God. God love you!
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