Local Catholics Outraged by Recurrent Pedophile Priest Scandals, Jennifer Garza, Sacramento Bee, March 27, 2010

Local Catholics Outraged by Recurrent Pedophile Priest Scandals

By Jennifer Garza
Sacramento Bee
March 27, 2010

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/27/2637098/local-catholics-outraged-by-recurrent.html

Paul Cultrera was molested as a child by a Massachusetts priest and received a settlement. No longer a practicing Catholic, the Sacramento grocery store manager says the church is doing a lot of fancy footwork, trying to justify everything.

aul Cultrera was molested as a child by a Massachusetts priest and received a settlement. No longer a practicing Catholic, the Sacramento grocery store manager says the church is doing a lot of fancy footwork, trying to justify everything.

New allegations about old molestation cases in the Catholic Church – and reports that top Vatican officials were more interested in protecting the church than abused children – have worried and enraged local parishioners who now watch church leaders again defend themselves.

Catholics from throughout the Sacramento diocese said Friday that the continuing sex scandal and reports that Vatican officials ignored repeated warnings about a Wisconsin priest who may have molested 200 deaf boys have shaken their confidence in church leadership.

"I am absolutely outraged," said Rita Mize, vice president of the Sacramento-area Call to Action, a group of Catholics that describes itself as working for equality and justice in the church. "The church has not taken responsibility for this. They really don't get it."

Mize is angry that female priests have been excommunicated but the Wisconsin priest, the Rev. Lawrence Murphy, who worked at the school for deaf children from 1950 to 1974, was not. He died in 1998.

"This guy repents and he's allowed to stay a priest? What does it mean to repent after you've abused 200 innocent boys?"

Many expressed shock at the growing scandal that has reached the top echelons of the Vatican, including Pope Benedict XVI. Parishioners worry about the damage the scandal has done to the church and other clerics.

"That this is still going on is amazing and sad," said Rafael Hernandez, a parishioner at St. Charles Parish and one of about 900 worshippers who attended Thursday's Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

"By not taking care of them (abusive priests) the first time … they're hurting the church. How much longer is this going to go on?"

The most recent allegations follow nearly a decade of molestation charges against the church, including the Sacramento diocese. In 2005, the church paid $35 million to 33 victims to settle claims of clergy sexual abuse. The diocese recently launched a marketing campaign, "Catholics Come Home." In TV ads Catholics talked about returning to the church.

Bishop Jaime Soto said much has changed in recent years.

He said in a statement issued Friday: "At the urging of the Vatican, the U.S. bishops created the 'Charter for the Protection of Young People,' putting the full force of the Church behind creating a safe environment for children, mandating the report of any crime against minors, promoting healing and reconciliation with victims, and removing any clergy, religious or Church worker guilty of sexual abuse of a minor.

"It has been a difficult and painful phase in the Church's history. Too painful and too difficult to ever forget. It's something we have to live with and make sure is never repeated."

Some parishioners said church leaders need to be more more aggressive about removing pedophile priests.

"I firmly believe those involved should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and the victims amply compensated," said Richard White, retired FBI special agent in charge of Sacramento and former president of Catholics for Life. "My heart really breaks for them."

Paul Cultrera knows how the victims must feel. The general manager of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op was molested when he was a teenager by a Massachusetts priest. He received counseling and a $60,000 settlement from the church. He has been watching closely as the recent crisis unfolds.

"They're doing a lot of fancy footwork, trying to justify everything," said Cultrera, who was featured in a PBS documentary titled "Hand of God."

Some groups, including Voice of the Faithful, have called on the pope to resign. "The pope is not the church. The people are the church, and they need to realize that," said Ed Gleason, founder of the Voice of the Faithful in Northern California, a laity group calling for accountability in the church.

Church experts said Pope Benedict, who will turn 83 next month and celebrate his fifth anniversary as pope, is unlikely to resign.

Vatican officials have defended the pope and accused the media of smearing him. But many Sacramentans believe the pontiff should address the scandal.

"I think the pope is trying to clear up the matter," said White. "I just want to face it, get it over with … this has cast a cloud over the Catholic clergy who have unselfishly devoted their lives for the good of others.

No longer a practicing Catholic, Cultrera said many of his family members are still active and he knows many good clerics. "My problem is with the hierarchy for letting this go on for so long."

Contact: jgarza@sacbee.com