UNITED STATES
The Garden of Roses: Stores of Abuse and Healing
Virginia Jones
I read what others are writing about the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI; sometimes with interest, sometimes with eyes glazed over from reading the same thing being said over and over. Two articles, however, caught my attention — one New York Times op-ed written by Jason Berry and one about Paolo Gabrielle, the pope’s butler. Thank you to Abuse Tracker for posting one article and Frank Douglas for drawing my attention to the other.
First, Jason Berry, who is very well researched, wrote about a detail that should be well known but had not been catalogued in my brain before. In his New York Times op-ed he wrote about Cardinal Sodano. Apparently Pope Benedict XVI, when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger, wanted to investigate Marcel Maciel, the founder of the Legionnaire’s of Christ and legendary, chronic abuser of boys and women and girls and men. Cardinal Sodano pressured Pope John Paul II to end this investigation, and he did. The former Cardinal Ratzinger attempted other positive steps concerning the clergy abuse issue, only to be opposed by the powerful Cardinal Sodano. Pope Benedict XVI has slime on his hands too. He knew about abuse and covered it up too, but we should give credit for what he did do — namely investigate and punish Marcel Maciel as well as meet with some clergy abuse survivors to hear their stories and a few other positive actions.
Why I am so concerned is that Cardinal Sodano was elected dean of the College of Cardinals which will elect the next Pope. This cannot be good news for anyone who wants to end abuse and care for survivors wounded in our Catholic Church.
When the clergy abuse scandal burst forth in 2002, pressured by media stories and legal action, the Church made some genuine progress in it’s handling of the issue. As the lawsuits and the bankruptcies and media coverage of the issue abated, the Church seems to be regressing. It appears we are in for much more regression. In my opinion this means even less support for survivors and increased likelihood for more abuse in the present and the future. It we want to end abuse, we have to talk about it; we have to tackle it head one. We can and should try new approaches, but we must not sweep the issue under the rug. We must act on our moral convictions.
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