PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Hawk
February 12, 2019
A panel discussion held on Feb. 6 about Pennsylvania’s 40th Grand Jury Report was an opportunity for candid conversation on reconciling Catholic identity with the Church’s sexual abuse crisis and cover-ups.
Despite the event’s importance, it was sparsely attended by St. Joe’s students, predominantly attracting community members including Charles Gallagher, a former prosecutor who worked on a 2005 grand jury investigation of sexual abuse concealment within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Contributions from people outside the St. Joe’s community can add new dimension and insight to open forum discussions, especially those regarding issues as widely impactful as sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. Events like last week’s panel can and should be promoted to members of the outside community.
However, as part of a Catholic university, St. Joe’s students have a responsibility to be informed on the topic of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
Even if we do not identify as Catholic, and whether or not we have ever known anyone who was a victim of priest abuse, we live and learn in an environment steeped in Jesuit-Catholic identity.
Catholic values are enshrined in our General Education Program in the form of Faith, Justice, and the Catholic Tradition, the theology requirement.
An education on Catholicism is incomplete without an understanding of the institution behind it, and that requires learning about the Catholic Church’s internal structuring and its institutional history of protecting priests who commit sexual abuse. Last week’s panel was an opportunity to learn from experts who have worked with victims of priest abuse and who study the crisis within the Church.
Scheduling conflicts and busy days may also be to blame for the lack of turnout from St. Joe’s students, and that is perfectly understandable. With discussions as important as these, however, the focus should be on making time rather than finding the time.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.