WASHINGTON (DC)
The Hoya
April 5, 2019
In 2009, Georgetown University and Fordham University were both notified of a sexual predator who had taught at both institutions. While Fordham immediately banned the predator, Fr. Daniel O’Connell, S.J., from campus, Georgetown failed to take substantial action until just weeks ago.
Georgetown’s delayed response to credible allegations of sexual assault against O’Connell follows a trend of unreasonably long delays in responding to university-connected clerical abuse: at every opportunity, the university has fallen short in condemning perpetrators.
Despite a 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report documenting former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s abuse and Cardinal Donald Wuerl’s complicity in these crimes, Georgetown only rescinded McCarrick’s honorary degree after he was laicized in February — seven months after the report was released — and has not revoked Wuerl’s honorary degree.
Georgetown’s woefully underwhelming response to the clerical abuse crisis casts considerable doubt on the institution’s moral compass and ability to lead the Catholic community. To re-establish its credibility among Jesuit universities, Georgetown must immediately revoke Wuerl’s honorary degree and condemn the 14 university-affiliated Catholic religious leaders credibly accused of sexual abuse.
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