A more full accounting of abuse in Catholic Church

Las Cruces Sun-News
November 13, 2018

https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/opinion/editorial/2018/11/13/more-full-accounting-abuse-catholic-church/1994271002/

Gerald Kicanas, bishop emeritus of Tucson and the apostolic administrator for the Diocese of Las Cruces, discusses the list of clergy connected to the Diocese of Las Cruces, who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors, Thursday November 8, 2018 at the Pastoral Center of the Las Cruces Diocese. Photo by Josh Bachman

After years of rumors and allegations, we finally learned the full scope of sexual abuse that has taken place in the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces in the past 35 years.

Or, as close to the full scope as we can get at this point.

Last week the diocese released the names of 28 members of the clergy who served in the diocese and were “credibly accused” of sexual misconduct with a minor. It is still possible the list of alleged abusers could grow as more people who were victimized long ago find the ability to step forward.

The exact number of victims will never be known. The diocese has put out a public request for anyone with knowledge of sexual abuse of a minor committed by a member of the clergy to contact the local police or sheriff’s department.

Church officials said they hope that releasing the list of alleged abusers will lead more victims to come forward. And, they have also established a victim’s assistance coordinator, Margarita Martinez, who can be contacted at 575-523-7577.

Many of the 28 alleged abusers are now dead. We are told by the diocese than none are still active in the ministry.

All 28 names, along with documentation, have been turned over to the Attorney General’s Office, which announced in September that it had launched an investigation into the allegations of abuse and asked churches throughout the diocese for personnel records.

That announced came after stunning revelations in Pennsylvania, where more than 300 priests were alleged to have sexually abused more than 1,000 children during several decades of unchecked horror.

For years, church leaders shuffled abusive priests from one church or diocese to another because they were more concerned with bad publicity than in safeguarding the children whom were in their care. Bishop Gerald Kicanas, the apostolic administrator of the Las Cruces Diocese, said that “possible could have happened” here, and will be one of the things the investigation will try to uncover.

It will be important for the Attorney General’s Office to provide as complete an accounting of what took place as is possible, not just so that the guilty are brought to justice, but also so that the church officials will have a full a complete understanding of the damage that has been done

Church officials stress that protocols set in place in 2002 now mandate that all allegations of sexual abuse be reported to law enforcement. And, they said that all church personnel, including volunteers, have had background checks and specialized training. Children are also trained to recognize inappropriate advances.

We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it. For each of the 28 named last week, there were undoubtedly others who knew what was going or, or at least suspected it, but said nothing. That must be the lesson here.

We can’t turn a blind eye to abuse, no matter who the abuser.