Cupich to Get Firsthand Look at Archdiocese's Biggest Ills

By Manya Brachear Pashman
Chicago Tribune
November 19, 2014

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-blase-cupich-sex-abuse-response-met-20141119-story.html

Archbishop Blase Cupich will make the first of three visits to ethnic parishes across the city this Sunday, when he celebrates Mass at the predominantly African-American St. Agatha Catholic Church.

The visit will bring him face to face with some of the biggest issues within the archdiocese. At St. Agatha, the largest African-American congregation on the West Side, Cupich will see how one parish has grappled with violence in its surrounding neighborhood, clergy sex abuse by one of its own and a struggling school that will be downsized to an early childhood center next school year.

Daniel McCormack, former pastor of St. Agatha Catholic Church, was convicted of abusing five boys. (Chicago Police Department, Chicago Police Department)

"His emphasis on violence, anti-violence, immigration, the sex abuse stuff all hits home here in Chicago," said the Rev. Larry Dowling, pastor of St. Agatha, who said he didn't know why Cupich chose to make the parish his first stop. "In a lot of ways it makes some sense if he's going to make a statement symbolically. Our parishioners are interpreting it as affirmation of what we have been through and moving forward."

After this Sunday's visit in North Lawndale, Cupich will continue to get acquainted with his flock by celebrating Mass on Nov. 30 at St. Agnes of Bohemia, a largely Latino parish in Little Village, and Dec 14 at St. Hyacinth Basilica, a spiritual center for Polish Catholics in the Avondale neighborhood.

Cupich, 65, became Chicago's ninth archbishop Tuesday in an elaborate ceremony, during which he called on local Catholics to move beyond their comfort zones. In that day's homily, he acknowledged the lingering pain of the sex abuse crisis and the expectation that as an archbishop, he reach out to victims.

"Working together to protect children, to bring healing to victim survivors and to rebuild the trust that has been shattered in our communities by our failures is our sacred duty, as is holding each other accountable, for that is what we pledge to do," Cupich said, referring to his brother bishops across the U.S.

Dowling said he would have been more surprised if Cupich had not mentioned the sex abuse crisis in his debut as archbishop. The damage done to the church's credibility and the pain of victims endures, he said.

It especially endures in Chicago at St. Agatha, where now-defrocked priest Daniel McCormack served until he was arrested in 2006 on charges that he sexually abused minors. He was later convicted of abusing five boys and earlier this year was charged with molesting more. During his tenure as archbishop, Cardinal Francis George apologized for putting more children in danger by not removing the priest when he first learned about allegations against him.

Cupich has taken a leadership role in dealing with the sex abuse crisis since it came to light in 2002. He credits the media with forcing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to develop a charter, or set of policies for addressing allegations of sex abuse of minors by Catholic clergy.

"I don't think we as a bishops conference would have come up with the enforcement of a charter in 2002 were it not for the media," he said in a recent interview. "By putting a spotlight on it for us to take a really hard look and do something that had teeth, it was a great service."

In addition to serving four years on the team that helped develop those protocols, Cupich later became chair of the bishops' Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People.

In that role, Cupich made an impression on three former FBI agents hired by the bishops to monitor the enforcement of the charter in U.S. dioceses, develop standards and conduct a study that measured the incidence of sex abuse of minors by Catholic clergy. Those retired colleagues traveled to Chicago to attend Cupich's installation Tuesday.

"I think he's extraordinarily sensitive to the issues of children and the victims as well," said Sheila Horan, former deputy director of the bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection, who said she came out of personal respect for Cupich. "Bishop Cupich's voice was heard on this. He was the moral authority, the moral beacon on this particular issue."