O'Malley's moral clarity needed now more than ever

South Coast Today
November 18, 2014

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20141118/OPINION/141119419/101228

SouthCoast's Roman Catholics have reason to feel pride and reassurance about their connection to their church, the result in part of the humble and effective work of Cardinal Sean O'Malley.

    SouthCoast's Roman Catholics have reason to feel pride and reassurance about their connection to their church, the result in part of the humble and effective work of Cardinal Sean O'Malley.

    O'Malley revealed in an interview with "60 Minutes" correspondent Nora O'Donnell both the quiet strength and deep commitment to faith and Christian morality that endeared him to Catholics in the Diocese of Fall River, which he led in the early days of the horrible clergy abuse scandal that has rocked the church both in the United States and abroad.

    In part because of his effective work in Fall River and then in south Florida, O'Malley was given leadership of the Boston Archdiocese as it sought to deal with the far-reaching scandal that nearly bankrupted the church morally and financially.

    In a light moment during his interview with O'Donnell, he referred to the Boston archdiocese as "a fixer-upper" when he succeeded disgraced Cardinal Bernard Law and personally apologized to the victims of clerical sex offenders, then settled hundreds of lawsuits that had been filed against the archdiocese. Those actions and his decision to sell the archdiocese's palatial estate for $100 million helped begin the process of reformation and healing that continues today.

    He also demonstrated moral clarity during the interview when he discussed the Vatican's handling of a case involving Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri. Finn waited six months before notifying police about the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, whose computer contained hundreds of lewd photos of young girls taken in and around churches where he worked.

    Ratigan was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges. Finn pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failure to report suspected abuse and was sentenced to two years' probation in 2012.

    O'Malley said that under the policies of the Boston Archdiocese, Finn would not even be allowed to teach Sunday school there.

    "It's a question that the Holy See needs to address urgently," O'Malley said "We're looking at how the church could have protocols on how to respond when a bishop has not been responsible for the protection of children in his diocese."

    O'Malley also revealed himself as a close associate of Pope Francis, a fellow Franciscan whom he befriended during a visit to Argentina in 2010. Today, O'Malley shares the pope's quarters during his biweekly trips to the Vatican. The two share the virtues of personal humility, faithfulness to church doctrine and a warm humanity that the church needs more than ever as it seeks to remain relevant in a world that needs it to be relevant as never before.