Springfield Bishop to Discuss, Answer Questions on Clergy Sex Abuse

By Anne-Gerard Flynn
The Republican
January 30 2019

https://www.masslive.com/living/index.ssf/2019/01/springfield_bishop_to_hold_dialogue_sessions_on_clergy_sexual_misconduct.html

Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski said he will answer questions from parishioners on diocesan handling of clergy sex abuse allegations during four 'listening and dialogue' sessions starting Feb. 6. (Anne-Gerard Flynn photo)

Springfield diocesan Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski will discuss and respond to questions about how the diocese has been addressing allegations of sexual abuse against clergy in the first of four "listening and dialogue" sessions Wednesday, Feb. 6, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Mary, Mother of Hope Church, 840 Page Boulevard.

In a Jan. 15 letter to parishioners, Rozanski noted the Catholic Church has "once again found itself confronting the crisis of child sexual abuse, specifically the past failures of the church to respond to this terrible evil within our midst."

Rozanski cited two such church-related failures of reporting in the letter - Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick and the Pennsylvania grand jury report - as having "no direct relationship to our diocese" but being the "cause of renewed concerns within our Catholic community."

He said this "has given way to questions regarding how we as a diocese have responded to allegations and reached out to victims of abuse, both in the past as well as through ongoing efforts."

"There is a collective sense we need to do more."

Rozanski said during the upcoming sessions people "will have the chance to share concerns and questions with me and representatives from the diocese."

"The sessions will be moderated and interactive," Rozanski wrote.

"We will try to provide answers to as many questions as possible."

The others sessions scheduled are Sunday, Feb. 10, at St. Joseph Church, Pittsfield, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; Monday, March 18, at St. Mary Church, Westfield, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.; and Sunday, March 24, at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Northampton, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

The Pennsylvania 18-month grand jury report released in August revealed that 300 priests in six dioceses there had sexually abused 1,000 children over seven decades and that the cases were covered up by church hierarchy.

McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington, was removed from ministry after a review board of the New York Archdiocese found credible allegations that he had abused a teenager 47 years ago. He also resigned from the College of Cardinals in the wake of the allegations.

In the letter, Rozanski asked churches in the diocese to open Monday, March 11, the first day of Lent, for a "Day of Prayer for Healing and Reconciliation."

"I have also asked parishes to consider offering a rosary prayer service or Eucharistic adoration on this same day, and have requested that those churches with bells toll them throughout the day as an outward call to prayer," Rozanski said.

On Sunday, April 7 at 2 p.m., there will be prayer services at St. Michael's Cathedral and at St. Joseph Church in Pittsfield.

"It is my hope that all will join in some aspect of this effort as a sign of our collective commitment to victims that we are truly sorry for our church's past failure and remain steadfast in our ongoing efforts to prevent any future abuse," Rozanski said in his letter.

The Springfield diocese is estimated to have paid more than $12 million to sex abuse victims since 2004, and a 2016 list of "credibly accused clergy" in the diocese shows 18 names.

In November, Rozanski said the diocese, which covers the four counties of Western Massachusetts, had been asked by the U.S. Department of Justice, as all dioceses have in the wake of a Pennsylvania report, to "preserve" any documents related to clergy sexual misconduct.