Editorial: This Delco Duo Personified 'Grace under Fire'

Daily Times
May 29, 2013

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2013/05/29/opinion/doc51a56c243283c951744804.txt

Amid the turmoil in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia over the last decade, it is reassuring that the Vatican recognizes those in the front lines who have had to bear the brunt of public ire.

Donna Farrell of Springfield and Richard McCarron of Haverford are scheduled to be presented with two of the highest papal honors awarded to laypersons in the Roman Catholic Church during 6:30 p.m. Mass Sunday at the Cathedral Basilica of SS Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.

Farrell, who was director for more than seven and a half of her nearly 14 years in the archdiocesan communications office, is set to receive the Pro Ecclesia et Pontiface medal, also known as the cross of honor.

McGarron, who served as secretary of Catholic education for nearly 12 of his 27 years with the archdiocese, is scheduled to be dubbed Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory.

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput recommended McGarron and Farrell for the honors that were bestowed upon them by Pope Benedict XVI before he resigned his papal duties at the end of February “because his strength of mind and body... had deteriorated.”

One of the most intense issues overshadowing Pope Benedict was the clerical sexual abuse scandal that broke open wide nationally with the child molestation conviction of a Boston priest in 2002, and has since exploded internationally.

Farrell had become chief spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2005 just eight months before the release of the first Philadelphia grand jury reports regarding clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The grand jury determined that 63 priests had allegedly abused children over four decades. Six years later, a second grand jury report resulted in the arrest of a lay teacher and three priests for allegedly abusing children, and the suspension of more than 20 other priests.

One priest pleaded guilty, another priest and the lay teacher were convicted in a jury trial and a third priest is awaiting retrial after his first trial resulted in a hung jury. The 2011 grand jury report also resulted in the arrest and conviction of former secretary of the clergy the Rev. Monsignor William Lynn for child endangerment for not turning a suspected pedophile priest over to civil authorities, making him the highest-ranking church official in the United States to be convicted in such a case.

When the public wanted answers about the handling of these horrendous allegations, Farrell had to speak on behalf of archdiocesan officials. Of course, there are no satisfactory answers for how these egregious betrayals of trust could have gone on for so long, and Farrell absorbed much of the outrage unleashed at church officials.

Farrell and her staff also had to deliver the ominous news of the firing of a chief financial officer who later pleaded guilty to stealing more than $900,000 from the archdiocese, and the merger and closure of several parishes because of declining membership and increasing debt.

In addition, she had to deliver disappointing decisions that occurred under McCarron’s watch regarding the closure and merger of archdiocesan schools including the closure of 10 parish grade schools in Delaware County just between 2003 and 2011.

When McCarron became superintendent of archdiocesan schools in 1990, he was handed a $6 million deficit to resolve. As the 1990s unfolded, declining enrollment and increasing debt forced the closure of several archdiocesan high schools and grade schools. In late 2010, former Philadelphia archbishop Cardinal Justin Rigali appointed a Blue Ribbon Commission to assess the sustainability of Catholic education in the five-county archdiocese. In early 2012, McCarron had to implement their recommendations that included the closure of five Delaware County grade schools and dozens more in neighboring counties.

There are still embittered individuals who are convinced their archdiocesan schools were unjustly closed and who point their fingers at convenient targets such as Farrell and McCarron. McCarron recently retired and Farrell has left the archdiocese for another job, but the fact that they maintained grace under terrible pressure, for so long, is to their credit.

Obviously the Vatican appreciates the stoic efforts of messengers who are “shot” because of the unpopular messages they are delegated to deliver.