Pontiff's Meeting with Abuse Survivors Praised As a Welcome First Step
By Beth Miller
News Journal
April 20, 2008
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080420/NEWS01/804200340
Pope Benedict XVI's meetings with survivors of priest sexual abuse was stunning to several abuse victims and their advocates here.
During his visit to the United States, the pope said the crisis caused "deep shame" and "enormous pain," acknowledged that it sometimes was badly handled, and exhorted the nation's bishops and their parishioners to express love and compassion to victims.
"I think it shows how serious this issue is, when he comes to the United States and decides to address it," said John Dougherty, whose life took a turn after the late Rev. Edward Carley, then pastor of Wilmington's St. Ann's Church, took an interest in the 10-year-old Dougherty in 1954 and abused him for years afterward. "I never thought I'd see that in my lifetime."
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| Ed Burke, of Avondale, Pa., said the pope's meeting with victims was "a nice gesture." |
But the head of the Roman Catholic Church hasn't gone far enough to resolve the issue, Dougherty and others said.
"It was a nice gesture," said Ed Burke of Avondale, Pa., who was abused by a priest during his boyhood in Iowa in the 1940s. "He's the pope. It's nice to meet. But if you're going to tell us again that we're going to do everything in the future to protect our youth, then you should replace some of those in charge who are abusers and are not enforcing the charter."
In 2002, when the scandal emerged nationally, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted a new charter requiring church officials to report allegations to authorities, remove those with credible allegations from the ministry, put an end to confidentiality agreements and develop policies to protect children and youth from such abuse in the future.
Thousands of priests have been accused since 1950 and the church has paid more than $2 billion to settle cases.
Burke noted the current pope handled such issues for the Vatican under Pope John Paul II.
"He knows better than anybody else in the world how widespread this is," Burke said.
John Sullivan, who chairs the Coastal Delmarva chapter of Voice of the Faithful, a national Catholic lay group that has been a vocal advocate for abuse victims, said the pope's action was a welcome first step. Now the pope needs to hold the bishops and cardinals accountable, Sullivan said.
"Not one bishop or cardinal has been held accountable for this," he said. "If the pope is sincere about this, he needs to take that next step."
In the Diocese of Wilmington, which includes more than 200,000 Catholics in Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore, Bishop Michael Saltarelli adopted a policy in 2003 requiring criminal background checks for all who work with youth and adopting new regulations for all programs.
In 2006, after a previously accused retired Wilmington priest was arrested for abusing a teen in Syracuse, N.Y., Saltarelli released the names of 20 diocesan priests -- 10 of them already deceased -- against whom the Diocese of Wilmington had credible allegations.
In recent months, the Diocese of Wilmington has settled cases involving a former priest at St. Elizabeth Church and a former faculty member of Archmere Academy. A Wilmington man also reached a settlement in his case against a former principal of Salesianum School. Attorneys say 40 or more cases still are likely here.
Dougherty, a Las Vegas musician who settled his abuse case against the Diocese of Wilmington for $65,000 in 2005, continues to struggle with the effect Carley's abusive behavior had on him. He said he helped another of the priest's victims in recent months and went into a tailspin that is just ending.
"When I get involved in that stuff, I'm right back to square one," he said. "I've had a hell of a time for the last couple months."
Dougherty said he continues to hope other victims will find the courage to come forward and get the help they need.
"I know people think we survivors are in it for the money, but the truth for me is the money did not make me a rich man but rather punished the church for what they did to all of us little boys," he said. "The church's words are hollow but their money is sacred to them and their ultimate source of power. I feel like I took away some of their power."
Contact Beth Miller at 324-2784 or bmiller@delawareonline.com
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