Catholics hail report for thoroughness, 'essential step forward', by Carla Hinton, Oklahoman (October 7, 2019)

A law firm's report on the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City was praised Sunday not only for its listing of priests who preyed on minors but its detailed description of the ways the faith organization's leaders dealt with the perpetrators.

Several parishioners attending services at St. Monica Catholic Church in Edmond said information included in Oklahoma City-based McAfee & Taft's report was disturbing but they lauded Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley for having the firm conduct an independent report and for releasing those findings on Oct. 4.

They said this was praiseworthy, particularly because the report was critical of the archdiocese's response to abuse allegations in some instances.

The Rev. Stephen Hamilton, St. Monica's pastor, told parishioners he personally spoke to a victims' advocacy group leader who told him the archdiocese was to be commended for the thorough report that was made public. Hamilton referred to Zach Hiner, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP, who told The Associated Press that he was impressed with the Oklahoma City report, which he described as one of the most comprehensive investigations commissioned by church officials that he’d ever seenSt. Monica parishioner Maria Cooney said the report's release and her pastor's discussion about it on Sunday helped bring a sensitive but important topic out of the shadows and into the light.

"I think it's important to talk about and I appreciate the father taking time do it in such a way to open up conversation further," she said.

"It's an important conversation and I think this is a good way to move forward."

"Obviously, the subject matter is disconcerting to say the least but I'm encouraged at the length and depth the archdiocese went to to open the doors. It sets a precedent for the rest of the country," he said. "It's a good step forward in healing and restoring — an essential step forward."

Joel McMichael, who was visiting St. Monica, 2001 N Western, from the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, said he also thought the archdiocese's willingness to release detailed findings was a positive sign.

"I think it's really cool that individual dioceses are doing their own in-depth look at this. Even though I'm not local, I appreciated the pastor being so transparent with his parishioners," he said.

James Akins said his heart breaks when he hears that someone has mistreated children and teenagers, society's most vulnerable.

He said he was concerned that the media was not correctly reporting all of the facts surrounding McAfee & Taft's 77-page report. One news outlet, he said, reported that the law firm only shared information about "credibly accused" priests from 2000 to the present when the report actually included details about abuse allegations from the 1960s to 2018.

Akins said this was important because the majority of the abuse allegations in the report occurred several decades before the U.S. Catholic Church stepped up its efforts in 2002 to protect children and root out abusers.

"One is too much but it's not like the rectories are full of molesters. They are not," he said.

"Get all the information right because most of these priests were taken care of years ago."

Meanwhile, St. Philip Neri Catholic Church parishioner Auston Clark visited St. Eugene Catholic Church, 2400 Hefner Road, on Sunday evening, where St. Eugene's pastor the Rev. Don Wolf read Archbishop Coakley's letter to the faithful about the report.

"My heart goes out to all those who've been victims, obviously. There's truth in it, obviously. But my heart goes out to all those who have been unjustly accused because I know there are those as well," Clark said.

"Catholic and non-Catholic, in some way, we've all been affected. I pray that we can be strengthened as our eyes are opened and we can be strengthened as we move forward."

Reporting abuse Under Oklahoma law, all individuals must report incidents or suspicions of sexual abuse of a minor (person under age 18) to law enforcement authorities. The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City said victims of abuse, past or present, also can report abuse to church officials by contacting the Archdiocesan Pastoral Response Hotline at 405-720-9878. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has established a statewide abuse reporting hotline at 800-522-3511.