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	Letter from Clergy Sex Abuse Survivor Pete Saracino to New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan Voice from the Desert April 1, 2010 http://reform-network.net/?p=3593 The letter below is from clergy sex abuse survivor Pete Saracino to New York archbishop Timothy Dolan. The archbishop’s blog, which is referenced by Pete in his opening sentence, is called The Gospel in the Digital Age and can be accessed by clicking here. Pete’s letter was brought to my attention by Tom Doyle who called the letter a “terrific summary.” Tom emailed me to say Pete gave him permission to send it on to be included here. Thanks, Pete. Thanks, Tom. * * * Archbishop: I have read your blog and, as a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, I have a few issues I’d like to articulate. To begin with you mention with regards to “father” Hullerman that “the shock of the original abuse is intensified because, tragically, upon his release from treatment, the priest was reassigned to parish work, although not by Archbishop Ratzinger. Horribly, as often was the case, the Reverend Peter Hullerman went on to abuse teenagers again.” Abuse again, indeed. What you failed to tell your readers is that this same priest remained in ministry until only a few days ago when he was exposed by the very press you are so anxious to reproach!! If the church is as “on the ball” as you claim, why did it take so many years to finally protect the Catholic faithful from such a person? That kills me about you guys……always wanting the support of people whose kids you’re not even willing to protect. Actually, we should not be surprised. The ONLY reason the world even knows of the horrible tragedy of clergy abuse is precisely because the free press has exposed it. The mechanisms the church has now put into place (at least in the U.S.) are there precisely because you guys were shamed into doing it……exposed for what you were……individuals who cared more for your reputations and treasures (and abusive colleagues) than you were for children. And the very folks who did the exposing were the press, survivors like me, and the courts! You also state that “the sexual abuse of our young people is an international, cultural, societal horror. It affects every religion, country, family, job, profession, vocation, and ethnic group.” True enough, this tragedy affects all cultures and peoples. But what you fail to tell your readers is that of all the entities you’ve mentioned, none are as good at cover-up, enabling, denying, obfuscating and placing reputation and treasure ahead of God’s little ones than you guys! As a March 26 editorial by the National Catholic Reporter recently commented: For those who have followed this tragedy over the years, the whole episode seems familiar: accusation, revelation, denial and obfuscation, with no bishop held accountable for actions taken on their watch. Yes, there is a depressing madness to this story. Time after time, this is a story of institutional failure of the deepest kind, a failure to defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a failure to put compassion ahead of institutional decisions aimed at short-term benefits and avoiding public scandal. The strategies employed so far — taking the legal path, obscuring the truth, and doing everything possible to protect perpetrators as well as the church’s reputation and treasury — have failed miserably. We now face the largest institutional crisis in centuries, possibly in church history. It is time, past time really, for direct answers to difficult questions. It is time to tell the truth. You go on to say that “We Catholics have for a decade apologized, cried, reached out, shouted mea culpa, and engaged in a comprehensive reform that has met with widespread acclaim. We’ve got a long way to go, and the reform still has to continue.” Well, true to a point – at least in the U.S. But what you fail to tell your readers is that as of this writing, the bishops of New York continue to spend thousands of dollars to defeat the Child Victims Act – a bill that would give survivors like me a one year opportunity to identify predators CURRENTLY IN MINISTRY. There you go again…….asking for the understanding and support (including financial) from the very folks whose children you are STILL unwilling to protect! One final comment. I am ashamed of you Archbishop Dolan – deeply ashamed. For a number of reasons. To begin with, as a practicing Catholic I resent your turning the church into the victim here…………the true victims are the may thousands of children and their families around the world who have experienced felony rape at the hands of Catholic clergy. I should also mention that many of these same children/families were re-abused when they naively approached church officials thinking they would be helped. I am also ashamed by your disingenuous attempts to trick your readers into thinking that the world is attacking the church. Any clear thinking person knows the truth: this is NOT about attacking the church; rather it is about holding the men ACCOUNTABLE who lead the Church – including the pope. After all, we are not talking about “inappropriate touching” here; we are talking about the felon rape, sodomy and sometimes murder of MANY thousands of children. As a Catholic man and the parent of four children, I should think church leaders like yourself should be on their knees begging the forgiveness of the families you’ve hurt. Instead, what you end up defending (in the words of another survivor) is not the Church, but the silence of power, the sin of willful ignorance and the sin of omission by those who turned a blind eye to the torture and horror at the hands of “men of God”. What you end up defending is the murder of the soul. This survivor goes on to say that the greatest theft came from the Cardinals and Bishops and authorities who were soundless accomplices to the murder of these souls. They stole truth from those who needed its protection most. They stole the right to be heard and to be believed. They stole love and hope and the sanctity of the church. They stole God. To defend any of this is to steal the last vestige of dignity and honor and justice from those who deserve it most. Pretty reprehensible stuff Archbishop. I should think your readers would be alarmed – especially if they have children of their own….. Which leads me to my last comment which I would like to address to these very readers. To them I would like to say this: long ago, a reformer and doctor of the church by the name of St. Catherine of Siena wrote: “Cry out as if you had a million voices, it is silence that kills the world.” The tragedy that has ravaged the lives of many thousands of CATHOLIC American and European children and their families is still to unfold in Asia, Africa, and Latin and South America. The time to speak truth to power is long past. I urge readers to heed the words of St. Catherine and find your voices. Refuse the silence that is complicity with evil. Speak up, instead, on behalf of children. Tell the leaders of the church enough! Remind them our children are more precious than the church’s reputation and treasure. Tell them concern themselves with their safety instead of protecting the identity of predators. And inform public officials who support these bishops you will no longer elect those who tolerate the criminal endangerment of children. My final words to the Archbishop: to quote a man we both love: “if you were blind, there would be no sin in that. But “we see”, you say…………….and your sin remains. “ Pete Saracino
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