PORTLAND (OR)
UP Beacon
October 13, 2018
By Wes Cruse
This is part three of a series of articles
For the third article in a three part series, The Beacon sat down with Rev. James Gallagher, director of Campus Ministry and pastoral resident of Mehling Hall, to discuss how the news of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report releasing the names of more than 300 clergymen accused of sexual abuse in August.
And in September, a report also released the names of 18 additional priests “credibly accused” for the abuse of minors in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend in Indiana.
Gallagher shared the impact these reports have had on his vocation as a priest and provided advice for students struggling with their faith because of the recent news.
The Beacon: What were your initial thoughts and feelings with the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report was released?
Gallagher: When I was first in the seminary was when all the news from 2002 came out. One can’t even call that the first wave, because there were times in the ‘80s and the ‘90s where news of this broke. But that was, in my awareness, one of the biggest breaking openings of this. So I had done a lot of processing already about the fact that people in the Church who are meant to do good can also do a great deal of harm. And so, it may not have been the best thought, but my initial thought was wondering about what was new about this in relation to what had broken in 2002.
The Beacon: Why do you think we’re experiencing this again?
Gallagher: In 2002 and in the years after that, there were certain areas in the country that the spotlight was on and there was a lot of this brought to the surface. But I think what’s going on now is the realization that there were also things happening in Pennsylvania, that there were things happening in many other places. For there to be healing, the people who were hurt in those places also need their stories told.
So this is why this is coming up again because the story hasn’t been told in Pennsylvania, and I’m guessing it will come up again in the future as other places are able to have their story told. There’s an aspect of the healing process that requires these things to be told and revealed. Not just that there are abusers in the Church, but who they are and where they worked needs to be acknowledged.
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