By Charles Lewis
National Post
October 4, 2009
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/holy-post/archive/2009/10/04/archbishop-of-halifax-responds-to-lahey-charges.aspx
[text of the letter]
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| Bishop Raymond Lahey arrives at a police station in Ottawa October 1, 2009. Photo by Chris Wattie/Reuters |
The Archbishop of Halifax says “my heart is broken, my mind is confused and my body hurts” and that he has “silently screamed” in the aftermath of the revelation that one of his bishops was now facing charges related to child pornography.
In an emotional pastoral letter read to all the Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Halifax this weekend, Archbishop Anthony Mancini responded in the strongest possible language yet to the news that Bishop Raymond Lahey was arrested for the possession and importation of child pornography last week.
Read full text of the letter here(PDF file).
He described the reaction of many Catholics as being akin to the pain and suffering of Christ’s crucifixion and the letter suggests strongly that the Archbishop and his flock are now undergoing a dramatic spiritual crisis to which there is no easy answer.
“In the past days, I have been asked over and over again: What do you say to the parishioners, to the priests, the people and to the faithful communities that make up our Church in Nova Scotia?” Archbishop Mancini wrote.
“What will you say to the victims of sexual abuse, as we all struggle in the aftermath of unbelievable revelations and allegations of even more unacceptable shocking and possible criminal sexual behaviour?
“What I want to say is: Enough is enough! How much more can all of us take. Like you, my heart is broken, my mind is confused, my body hurts and I have moved in and out of a variety of feelings especially shame and frustration, fear and disappointment, along with a sense of vulnerability, and a tremendous poverty of spirit.”
Bishop Lahey, 69, was stopped on Sep. 15 by the Canada Border Services Agency while returning on a flight from the United States. His computer was subjected to a “secondary examination” and Bishop Lahey was released pending further investigation.
On Sept. 25 Bishop Lahey was charged and the following day he resigned his position — though his only explanation for leaving was he needed time for “personal renewal.” His resignation was considered highly unusual because most bishops, who are appointed by the pope, stay until the mandatory retirement age of 75. The only reason a bishop will leave early is because of grave illness, and those who know Bishop Lahey said he has been in good health. Bishop Lahey was formally arrested on Thursday and he is now free on bail.
While child pornography charges are always shocking, in the case of Bishop Lahey they went off like a bomb. Bishop Lahey had been highly lauded for the compassion he showed in dealing with victims of sexual abuse, and the victims had praised him too. Those close to the settlement said the bishop did not want to put the victims through the indignity of a public trial.
In August, he concluded an historic $15-million settlement with parishioners who had been sexually abused as children as well as offering a public apology.
The Halifax lawyer for the victims, John McKiggan, called the settlement “extraordinary and unprecedented.”
Archbishop Mancini’s letter reflected the genuine shock and sadness expressed by many Nova Scotia Catholics last week about the child pornography charges.
“I have cried and I have silently screamed, and perhaps that was my prayer to God: Why Lord? What does this all mean? What are you asking of me and my priests? What do you want to see happen among your people? Is this a time of purification or is it nothing more than devastation? Are people going to stop believing, will faithful people stop being people of faith? Lord, what are you asking of us and how can we make it happen?”
The letter goes on to say: “We are personally going through the passion and the death which Christ experienced, but we have not yet gone beyond death to the resurrection. It is as if we are presently sealed up in a dark tomb waiting for the power of the Spirit of God to overtake us and raise us up to a new day and a new future.”
clewis@nationalpost.com
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