Seattle Archbishop will meet with Catholics who want commission on abuse

By Joel Connelly
SeattlePI.com
January 28, 2020

https://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Archbishop-will-meet-with-Catholics-who-want-15011949.php

Anchorage Archbishop Paul Etienne, 59, is not happy about it, but will meet with Heal Our Church group of lay Catholics, who want a commission to study past sexual abuse by clergy and its coverup.

Hundreds of people gather and march through Capitol Hill and First Hill to Saint James Cathedral in Seattle on Sunday, August 12, 2012. Hundreds of people came out to support Catholic nuns on the steps of Saint James Cathedral, the episcopal seat of Archbishop Peter J. Sartain, the Roman Catholic bishop tasked by the Vatican to oversee nuns in the U.S.

Catholic nuns gather on the steps of Saint James Cathedral in Seattle on Sunday, August 12, 2012. Hundreds of people came out to support Catholic nuns on the steps of Saint James Cathedral, the episcopal seat of Archbishop Peter J. Sartain, the Roman Catholic bishop tasked by the Vatican to oversee nuns in the U.S.

The Catholic hierarchy has repeatedly fumbled the clergy sex abuse scandal. Now a group of prominent Catholics in Seattle is calling for a lay Truth and Reconciliation Commission to report on the history of abuse in Western Washington, and low it was covered up. Here, in 2010, Archbishop J. Peter Sartain is installed as the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle, succeeding retired Archbishop Alex Brunett.

The Most Rev. J. Peter Sartain, center, speaks with, from left, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Cardinal Francis George and Cardinal Roger Mahony before an installation ceremony at Saint James Cathedral on Wednesday, December 1, 2010 in Seattle. Sartain was installed as the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle, succeeding retired Archbishop Alex Brunett.

Clerical power: Bishops, including Archbishop of Seattle J. Peter Sartain (center), newly ordained Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg (bottom center-right), and Cardinal Mahony (in red) line up for a photo after the ordination of Daniel H. Mueggenborg as a bishop, Wednesday, May 31, 2017 at St. James Cathedral.

He's not happy about it, but Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne said in a Tuesday letter that he will meet with prominent lay Catholics who want a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine church records on clergy sexual abuse and its cover-up.

Etienne sounded very much like a bishop in letters sent to laity and bishops in his Western Washington diocese.

"As archbishop I am asked to shepherd our flock, which means I listen to the concerns of our people and prayerfully discern how we may address them," the archbishop wrote. "At some point after my ad limina visit to Rome, I will engage this group because we share the same goal bringing healing to the church."

The group had asked to set a meeting date by the end of January. Its leaders include former U.S. Attorneys for Western Washington John and Mike McKay, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes and two retired King County Superior Court judges.

The offer by Etienne to meet "at some point" is a step away from the past. Under his predecessor, Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, the archdiocese turned a cold shoulder to Catholic laity protesting a Vatican investigation of nuns' "radical feminist themes" and Eastside Catholic students upset at the removal of a gay vice principal.

Etienne said he has "not officially reviewed" a letter from Heal Our Church, saying it was delivered on Friday afternoon "when I was out. I wish they had given me the opportunity to review the letter and enter into a real dialog (sic) with them before going public, especially since I share some of this group's concerns."

Heal Our Church took the reprimand in stride, given the result. "We are delighted Archbishop Etienne plans to meet with us. That unto itself is a very big step that, hopefully, speaks to an open mind," said Greg Witter, once a senior congressional aide, speaking for the group.

"Going public now really gets to the heart of this matter. The Church generally, and the archdiocese specifically, have an unfortunate habit of trying to do things in a secret, top-down fashion. The fact that Archbishop Etienne refers to parishioners as his 'flock' speaks to the hierarchical mindset of the church that led to this worldwide scandal in the first place."

The call for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission may have left Etienne feeling blindsided.

The letter arrived on Etienne's desk Friday afternoon, hours before he and John McKay appeared together (repeatedly) in the Grand Ballroom of the Seattle Sheraton for the annual Fulcrum Foundation fundraiser for Catholic schools. McKay was the emcee. There was no indication of a heads-up that Heal Our Church would go public on Monday.

After recent aftershocks in the sex abuse scandal -- the defrocking of former Cardinal Theodore McCarick, and a devastating Pennsylvania AG's report on past coverups of abuse by dioceses -- Seattle's three bishops held a service at St. James Cathedral to express their sorrow and confess that bishops have failed to protect their flock. The archdiocese pledged itself to transparency and has published financial settlements with victims.

Etienne indicated, however, that he is not open to laying out all files of the archdiocese.

"We must continue to share our expression of sorrow for what (abuse victims) have endured and acknowledge the serious impact abuse has on their lives," the archbishop wrote. "We must also continue to protect their privacy, which is at the heart of the issue."

Sam Sperry, a former journalist with Heal Our Church, responded: "Yes, privacy absolutely must be protected and certainly would be in a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Redacting names is a standard part of a process like this. The church's responses, despite good intentions, have been pro forma and legalistic.

"There is a deep and enduring melancholy and sadness among Catholics. A litany of apologies and paying money has not and will not heal the damage and hurt the hierarchy has caused by their years of coverup and denial regarding the abuses of clergy and others in the church."

Sperry pointed out that the existing review board does not have unfettered access to church records and is "not charged with determining the "how and why" of the decades-long cover up in Western Washington ... We propose to dig into history, culture and context to get at how and why this happened here in the Archdiocese of Seattle."

The lay Catholics, in proposing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, are borrowing a concept of South Africa's late President Nelson Mandela.

The post-apartheid commission took testimony from victims of gross human rights violations including torture, as well as some police officials who perpetrated it. Grants of amnesty were made. The goal was a transition to justice without vengeance.