BishopAccountability.org
	Local Bishop Restores Faith By Bill Zajac Republican [Springfield MA] March 27, 2005 SPRINGFIELD - In his first year as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, the Most Rev. Timothy A. McDonnell has been seen by many local Catholics as a healer who has restored people's confidence in the local church and possesses the skills to continue moving the diocese forward - even through financially difficult times. Others see him as unwilling to listen to others, tied to old church ways and offering little more than a jovial demeanor when desperate measures are needed. McDonnell, who served as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of New York before coming to Springfield, was unavailable for an interview for this story because of Holy Week commitments, according to diocesan spokesman Mark E. Dupont. Regardless of how people measure McDonnell's first year on the job, almost everyone agrees he stepped into a difficult situation. When he was installed as the diocese's eighth bishop on April 1 last year, both clergy and lay people were feeling hurt, confused and disillusioned in the wake of the resignation of Bishop Thomas L. Dupre in February 2004 amid allegations of sexual abuse. Seven months later, Dupre was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of rape of minors. The charges were immediately dropped because Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett said he couldn't overcome the statute of limitations. "Bishop McDonnell came into a difficult situation. There is no road map on how to handle things like this pastorally. He handled it well," said the Rev. Stanley J. Aksamit, pastor of three parishes in Turners Falls and Greenfield. McDonnell's friendly, unpretentious demeanor has been critical in helping the diocese heal, Aksamit said. Many lay people and clergy believe McDonnell brought stability to a church caught in the tempest of the national clergy abuse scandal. Priests like the Rev. Paul E. Manship believe McDonnell helped improve clergy's morale. "Priests feel more respected," Manship said. "Priests are happy with what he has done." Laura F. Reilly, the diocesan secretary of health and human services, said McDonnell relieved the diocesan staff's anxiety in the wake of Dupre's departure. "He dealt with things openly and honestly. I think it gave everyone permission to feel pain and not feel like things were being brushed under the rug. It reassured people. Within a couple months, we had felt very comfortable, like he had been here for years," said Reilly. Some staff and clergy, who didn't want to be identified in this story, said privately McDonnell is at times authoritarian, but his hands-on style is a welcome change from Dupre's aloofness. The Rev. James J. Scahill, who has had a tumultuous relationship with McDonnell, said McDonnell has failed to properly address issues surrounding clergy sexual abuse. "The bishop would perhaps do a fine job in dioceses where affability is a major component for harmony. But our diocese needs a bishop who is strong, willing to make changes and able to listen to diverse opinions. Sadly, in his first year, Bishop McDonnell has not provided any of that for us," Scahill said. Scahill, the popular, maverick priest from East Longmeadow who criticized Dupre for being lenient with sexually abusive priests and combative with victims of abuse, began publicly challenging McDonnell almost immediately after he arrived here. Last May, Scahill told McDonnell if he didn't cut off diocesan financial support for convicted child molester and defrocked priest Richard R. Lavigne, it would undo all the goodwill McDonnell had done in his first month on the job. McDonnell eventually decided to stop monthly stipends of $1,030 and health insurance benefits for Lavigne. But Scahill said it was done "under duress," and that McDonnell should also stop financial support of 12 other diocesan priests who have been removed from the ministry for sexual misconduct. At a time when the diocese is suffering from financial woes, it would save the diocese $250,000 a year, said Scahill, who believes all abusive priests should be defrocked. Scahill said the number of priests removed from ministry is based upon a recent meeting he and his staff from St. Michael's Parish of East Longmeadow had with McDonnell. At least one alleged victim of clergy abuse, Martin P. Bono, 50, of Chicopee, praises McDonnell. Bono, one of the 46 claimants who settled claims with the diocese for $7.75 million in August, credits McDonnell for reaching out to victims pastorally, settling most claims and being open to suggestions about helping victims. McDonnell provided $50,000 of support for Bono's idea to create an outreach program for clergy abuse survivors who are struggling with housing, addiction, education and other problems. The program, which is in the hands of Behavioral Health Network, was launched in December. "He did everything he said he was going to do," Bono said. "And anytime I have ever called him, he has returned my call." Bono said McDonnell recently accepted a suggestion that when the Review Board meets with alleged clergy abuse victims, the meetings be held away from diocesan offices that might be an impediment to a victim coming forward. "The meetings are now held at Elms College," Bono said. Reilly, the diocesan victim outreach coordinator, said McDonnell has met separately with 40 victims of abuse. "He has met with any survivor who has sought a meeting ... I hope they have been healing. It's not unusual for them to end in a hug," Reilly said. But Scahill says McDonnell needs to do more to prevent abuse. At their recent meeting, Scahill said he also asked McDonnell to continue external audits of the diocese's handling of clergy abuse. "I told him the way the hierarchy has handled clergy abuse is criminal and that the church has lost credibility except with those Catholics who don't think for themselves," said Scahill. Ruth Connor, a 72-year-old retired nurse from East Longmeadow, agrees with Scahill. She said if bishops like McDonnell don't do more to show their intolerance for abuse, then the church will lose credibility with people like her eight grown children and their children. She would like McDonnell to publicly express support for a bill in the Massachusetts Legislature that seeks to remove the criminal statute of limitations on sexual crimes against children. "Why is he not speaking in support of it," Connor asks. "From my perspective, Bishop McDonnell is a lovely, jolly man, but he is old school. He will never do anything new," Connor said. She said the church breached its trust with laity when she and thousands of other people in this country felt compelled in recent years to ask their sons if they had been abused when they were altar boys. She said she felt lucky when her seven sons all responded that they weren't harmed. "Some people think this whole scandal is over. It's not. There are a lot of victims who have not come forward. McDonnell needs to act like it's not over," Connor said. A substance abuse specialist, Connor said she encountered many men who revealed they were victims of abuse during treatment for addictions. While the diocese settled claims with 46 people, another 30 or so are still waiting for the diocese to settle with them. Several of the alleged victims, who want to remain anonymous, said McDonnell led them to believe their claims would be settled more quickly. They believe they have been dealt with unfairly. McDonnell has said that the diocese cannot settle the remaining claims until it learns from its insurance carriers how much they will be contributing to the settlements. Aksamit, the Turners Fall priest, said McDonnell deserves credit for the continued inclusion of lay people in the diocesan dialogue about deciding which parishes should be closed, merged or yoked. "If you work from the bottom up, things tend to go better. We haven't had the problems of church takeovers like Boston," said Aksamit. The naming of the Rev. John J. Bonzagni to the newly created position of director of pastoral planning reflects McDonnell's commitment to downsize the diocese painlessly, Aksamit said. Manship, the head of Latino Ministry, lauded McDonnell's decision to reopen St. Francis Chapel in downtown Springfield as a way to reach out to poor, inner-city minorities. "The bishop sees Latinos as the future of the church and has made them feel welcome in the church," Manship said. When the Franciscan Capuchins closed the chapel four years earlier, then-bishop Dupre said the diocese couldn't afford to keep it open. The diocese opened the chapel during a several-year period of overall operating deficits. McDonnell has said he is imposing an 18 percent across-the-board reduction in budgets. Reilly, the first female lay member of the diocesan cabinet, believes McDonnell will handle the diocese's financial challenges. "He's up to the challenge. He is a good fiscal manager. He is quite comfortable with numbers," Reilly said. Maurice J. Ferriter, a Holyoke lawyer who has worked on the diocese's campaign to raise $9 million for a new Holyoke Catholic High School, has been impressed with McDonnell's inclusiveness. "He is a man of exceptional talents. He was able to grasp our situation immediately. And he has included in the process anyone who has wanted to participate in it," Ferriter said.