Transcript: Clergy Abuse Victims Meet with Pope

By Tovia Smith
National Public Radio
April 17, 2008

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89750313

[This transcript was made by BishopAccountability.org from the audio version available at the above link. NPR also posted an edited and condensed transcript of Smith's report with a photo of McDaid and Horne.]

[Intro:] From NPR News, it's All Things Considered. I'm Michelle Norris.

In a dramatic development today, Pope Benedict XVI has met with victims of clergy sex abuse. The meeting took place behind closed doors at the Vatican embassy in Washington DC. In an interview with NPR, two of the survivors who met with the Pope described their encounter as highly emotional and said Pope Benedict indicated he would hold his bishops accountable. NPR's Tovia Smith has the story:

You might say this meeting was a long time coming. Bernie McDaid and Olan Horne say they've been trying to get the church's ear for nearly 40 years, from when they first came forward as boys to report their abuse by their parish priest, to a few years ago, when an utterly frustrated McDaid made a trip to Rome to try to talk to Pope John Paul. Today, he got his moment with Pope Benedict.

"And it was like something I'd been waiting over seven years for, and I couldn't help tears come in my eyes, it was really a moment I wasn't ready for." McDaid says he got to tell the Pope his own story of suffering—how he was devastated, how his life was shattered by the clergy sexual abuse, and how big a problem it is. “I looked at him; he looked at me; and I said, ‘I was not only sexually abused, I was spiritually abused, and I want you to know that.’ And then I said something to the effect of, ‘Holy Father, I want you to know you have a cancer in your flock, and you need to correct that, and I hope you do. [Olan Horne’s voice in the background: “Do more.” McDaid continues:] You need to do more.’ And he acknowledged me with a nod, looked straight at me, and thanked me.” At one point, McDaid says, the Pope looked down at the floor, apparently in pain, as McDaid spoke.

Olan Horne says the Pope went on to give a heartfelt apology that seemed to be more meaningful than any others he’d heard. “I know platitude, I’ve been served platters of it. [McDaid’s voice in the background: “Yeah.”] This was not platitude.” At 48, now a burly and commanding man, Horne is the first to tell you he doesn’t quite look the victim, but he went in to see the Pope armed with photos of what he calls his innocence lost. “I presented him with some pictures of me as a child, and I explained to him that I wanted him to keep them with him. And I wanted him to understand that when he was making decisions, or when he had a policy or choice to make, to take them out, and put them on the desk. I’ve carried those pictures with myself and I never knew. I’ve had them since I’ve been eight years old. That’s 40 years ago. And they’re the only two I’ve ever separated from myself. That was a true gift, from me to him, and he accepted them graciously.”

Horne says the Pope didn’t offer specifics, but he committed to doing more, especially to holding bishops accountable. He says he went into the meeting wary of being used as a pawn, just so the Pope can claim to have made amends. But he left the meeting convinced of the Pope’s sincerity. “I’m not going to be conned with a man in a collar. I guarantee you, my bullshit meter’s pretty good on that one. I left there with a promise, and I can guarantee you that I will hold this man's feet to the fire on the promise that he left me with today. And so will others. I’m not the only one that’s got that responsibility. And I think, I hope that message rings true for everyone else.”

Horne and McDaid got the invitation from the Vatican through the Boston archdiocese. Both have long since left the fold of the Catholic church, but in recent years, as vocal advocates for abuse survivors, they’ve earned the trust of church officials as more moderate voices for reform. As they put it, they’re not looking to tear the church down; they’re only looking to open the windows and let the sunlight in. They say today was a giant first step.

“There was a loud bell rung and the sound was clear, and I think it’s that kind of thing, I don’t think you can unring the bell once it’s been rung. And I think there’s been a certain tone to this whole thing for so long. I don’t want to sound cliché; I don’t want this to sound scripted or boxed, but there was a moment of hope.”

It may be optimistic, Horne concedes, but even though he’s given up on religion, he’s still got faith. After all, who could have imagined that that little eight-year-old boy with the pain in his eyes would grow up and get invited in to share his story in person with the Pope?

Tovia Smith, NPR News.