The History of the Archbishop Who’s Concerned about Girl Scouts

By Francis X. Clines
New York Times
February 26, 2016

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/02/26/the-history-of-the-archbishop-whos-concerned-about-girl-scouts/?_r=0

Archbishop Robert Carlson in 2012.

Archbishop Robert Carlson’s recent caution to his parishes in St. Louis about the “troubling pattern of behavior” of the Girl Scouts is stirring stark recollections of the prelate’s past role in managing accusations against priests for sexually abusing children. In a deposition two years ago, he insisted that he was not certain sexual abuse of a child by a priest constituted a criminal act in 1984, when he was auxiliary bishop for St. Paul and Minneapolis handling sex scandal cases.

“I’m not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not,” Archbishop Carlson testified when asked in the deposition about the 30-year-old case. “I understand today it’s a crime.”

To the contrary, a document released by the alleged victim’s lawyers after the deposition showed the cleric’s clear concern for criminal law. He told his diocesan superiors in 1984 that the parents in another case were considering complaining to the police, noting the law’s statute of limitations was applicable for two more years.

There was little uncertainty in the archbishop’s letter this month about the threat he found presented by Girl Scouts’ affiliation with Catholic parishes. He contended the organization’s global associations were “incompatible” with church teachings on such issues as contraception and abortion. He urged pastors to search for alternatives, but Catholic parents quickly defended the wholesomeness of Girl Scouts.

After the pedophilia deposition was made public, the archdiocese released a statement that, whatever Archbishop Carlson’s earlier legal uncertainties, they were distinct from his “moral stance on the sin of pedophilia, which has been that it is a most egregious offense.” Vatican reforms in the wake of the widespread coverup of sexual abusers now order dioceses not to keep allegations under wraps, but to report them to state authorities for criminal investigation.

In the deposition, Archbishop Carlson claimed a faulty memory on more than 190 questions. When he was asked whether he knew it was a crime in 1984 for priests to engage in sex with children, he replied, “I’m not sure if I did or didn’t.” It was in an early time in the history of the scandal, he said. “Obviously, based on some 25 years later, I would do it differently.”

“Don’t you think you should have done it differently then?” the archbishop was pressed. He replied, “I did what I did.”