BishopAccountability.org
	Your View: Church's Reaction Adds to Cycle of Abuse By Robert Ward South Coast Today April 9, 2010 http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100409/OPINION/4090330/-1/NEWSMAP The recent uproar over allegations of sexual abuse by a small number of priests in Ireland and Germany is a sad and bitter reminder. Just when we thought that things could not get worse, they did. It is not surprising that those loyal to Pope Benedict XVI are quick to come to his defense. We learned, sadly, that this too is part of the terrible cycle of abuse. First comes denial. Then there's the finger pointing. Cardinal Bernard Law and those beholden to him did the same. Unfortunately, this is part of the pathology of enablers. Regrettably, this only adds to the pain of the victims. Somewhere amongst all the chatter, a simple principle has been lost. At least since World War II, if not much earlier, virtually every civilized community recognized that abusing children is wrong in addition to being a sin. The question isn't what should be done now, but how anyone in the church could think that it was OK not to hold the perpetrators accountable. Yes, those accused were entitled to due process. However, they should not have been moved around like pawns on a chessboard to become the problem of another parish, state or country. Pope Benedict XVI ought to discuss his actions or inactions publicly — not just for the sake of the church but because what happened is essentially a crime against humanity. If he is unwilling to do this, then the United Nations should begin to review what was a worldwide problem. This would not be the first time that the UN intervened in a global crisis. Crimes committed by church officials in the name of the Catholic Church must be addressed. It is pathetic to compare those who demand to know what then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger knew, and when he knew it, as petty gossipers. The activities that took place were child abuse, not a sophomoric prank. These were crimes of the most heinous nature. Many years ago, I was a county prosecutor. I learned that there was a hierarchy in our penitentiaries. Even in prisons, pedophiles were ostracized by other inmates as the lowest of low. Those convicted of murder and robbery did not want to be associated with child molesters. It is probably worth noting that many of our nation's prisoners were themselves abused as children. If convicted criminals want nothing to do with child abusers, then why would the church go through the extraordinary efforts it has to hide the details of wrongdoers? Attempting to draw parallels between the critics of the church's reaction to the allegations of abuse to those who engaged in the shameful conduct of anti-Semitism leading up to World War II is ludicrous. What were Pope Benedict's defenders trying to say? Did I miss something? It is time for the Catholic Church and those who lead and love it to come clean about a shameful period in its history. The cleansing light of day should have been focused on perhaps the darkest aspects of the church's past years ago. Nobody believes that every cleric committed these vile acts. But clearly, some did. They must be named and if they are still priests, ousted. Their victims deserve the compassion of the church's leaders, not its scorn. Only when this sordid period of history has been fully vetted can the long, rich history of the Catholic Church be held up for all to admire. There is so much to be proud about in the Roman Catholic Church's past. But that past is being tarnished by the church appearing to care more about how it looks in public than it does for those who were injured by a small band of criminals.
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