BishopAccountability.org
 
  Archdiocese's Denials Fail Believability Test

The Daily Times [Philadelphia PA]
September 22, 2005

Confronted finally on Wednesday with the unspeakable results of a three-year-long grand jury investigation into the sexual exploitation of children, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia responded like anyone trapped in a corner: It came out swinging. While Cardinal Justin Rigali's public statements in response to the grand jury's 418-page report were measured, an 80-page document drafted by church lawyers was filled with wild evasions, feeble justifications and statements that are just flatly contradicted by the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.

D.A. Lynne Abraham empanelled the grand jury because of the archdiocese's unwillingness to respond with candor to the burgeoning Catholic Church sexual-abuse scandal in the late 1990s.Its investigation found credible evidence that at least 63 priests despoiled children and minors in their charge since 1967 and detailed some nightmarish instances of abuse:

A priest raped an 11-year-old girl, who became pregnant. The priest made sure she got an abortion.

A 12-year-old boy, raped repeatedly by a priest, who told him that his mother approved of the abuse.

A fifth-grader molested in the confessional.

They're tales of childhoods ruined and adult lives scarred, all aided and abetted by the conscious decision by the leadership of the archdiocese to cover up the offenses by doing whatever it took. Many times, the report states, it took transferring abusive priests out of their rectories and sending them to other parishes, where they were free to begin their abuse anew.

The report is scathing in its criticism of Cardinal John Krol, who ruled the archdiocese from 1961 to 1988, and Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who reigned from 1988 to 2003. It found that Krol conducted a policy of concealment, but Bevilacqua, who was trained as an attorney, designed new policies to further bury the problem and shield the archdiocese from lawsuits.

The archdiocese did not report sexual-abuse complaints to police "simply ..(because) Pennsylvania law did not require them to,"Bevilacqua told the grand jury.

Despite all that, no one can be prosecuted because the statute of limitations on the crimes has passed, Abraham concluded.

Astonishingly, the archdiocese in its response to the grand jury called the investigation "discriminatory," "mean-spirited" and filled with "mistakes, unsupported inferences and misguided conclusions" that are comparable to the "rampant Know-Nothingisms of the 1840s," a time of widespread anti-Catholicism.

It was not a good day for the archdiocese to play the role of the victim. The conduct detailed by the grand jury went well beyond the most lurid falsehoods lodged against the church during the Know-Nothing era.

The archdiocese defended itself curiously: Lots of priests didn't molest children, it says in its response. Other religions and organizations have molesters, too. Nobody was indicted. The D.A. only looked at Catholics! Prosecutors were nasty to Cardinal Bevilacqua, and besides, he's old! Most incredibly, it contains this wholly unbelievable assertion:

"The archdiocese did not engage in a cover-up."

Church leaders should understand that, in light of all that was revealed on Wednesday, anyone with a lick of common sense will find Abraham's version of reality slightly more believable.

In response to the scandal, the archdiocese has instituted new policies mandating that any credible abuse allegation be reported to law enforcement. Clergy and children have received sensitivity training. Other reforms are in the works.

The grand jury urged the Pennsylvania Legislature to review statutes of limitations. (Until two years ago, victims had to file charges within two years of the abuse and no later than the victim's 18th birthday. Now victims have until the age of 30 to file.)That is an appropriate task for lawmakers to consider, with the full input of the public.

Sadly, there were no winners Wednesday, only losers -- the archdiocese that has sacrificed so much of its moral authority and the victims who were stripped of their innocence. It will take more than a team of high-priced defense lawyers to repair the damage. For those who have no faith, or have lost it, it will take strength and courage. Believers will need prayer, and grace.

May all those involved find the peace, and the healing, that they need.

 
 

Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.