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  Mass of Reconciliation for Sexual Abuse Scandal Held at St. Agnes

By Adam Cirucci
Suburban Advertiser [West Chester PA]
October 27, 2005

WEST CHESTER -- About 50 area faithful gathered Monday evening at St. Agnes Church for a Mass of reconciliation and healing for the sexual-abuse scandal that recently shook the Catholic Church.

"I am very uncomfortable standing here. I usually am not," Monsignor Edward Deliman said during his homily. "It is a topic that I never thought I would have to speak about."

He described Monday's Mass, a Eucharistic liturgy of reconciliation, as a call for the beginning of a healing process for the entire Church as a result of the sins of sexual abuse of children and minors committed by priests.

Still, Deliman emphasized that it is an invitation to begin, and that the actual reconciliation may be a long way in the future.

As the Mass began, Deliman and two other parish priests approached the altar and laid face-down in prostration for the remainder of the opening hymn.

Last month, a grand jury convened by Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham reported that leaders of the Philadelphia Archdiocese covered up sexual abuse by the clergy for two decades.

But state laws, including legal time limits, prevented prosecutors from filing any criminal charges against the church or individual priests.

Abraham convened the grand jury investigation in 2002 amid a nationwide scandal following the discovery of widespread abuse in the Boston archdiocese.

The report documents assaults on minors by more than 60 priests since 1967 and alleges that former church leaders helped conceal the abuse.

The Rev. Raymond Leneweaver, an assistant pastor at St. Agnes between 1975 and 1980, was among the list of priests who admitted abusing children, according to the report. When the misbehavior came to light, Leneweaver was reassigned to another parish. Later, new allegations surfaced and he reportedly left the ministry of his own accord in 1980.

Deliman spoke frankly with parishioners Monday, asking them not to forget, but to move forward. He also cautioned against self-righteousness and anger.

"I know that I won't give you many answers, but I wish to convey that we all share the same feelings ..anguish and anger," he said. "I don't know of any other way of putting it -- it was terrible. But let God be the judge. That does not mean not to ask questions or not to challenge authority."

Several local Catholics said they were relieved to finally hear a priest speak candidly about the situation.

"It was comforting to hear him talk openly about it," said Mary Moore, of West Chester.

Tom Bayer, of West Chester, said that to move forward, the church needed to express "compassion for the unfortunate victims," while ensuring that such behavior is never tolerated again.

"We couldn't ignore it," he said.

Two parish nuns, who huddled under an umbrella on their way back to the convent, said all priests cannot be grouped together.

"Our priests here today are fantastic," Sister Georgine Marie said. "And you must remember that the Church is made up of humans."

"It is a hospital for sinners," Sister Claire Marie added.

Both were confident that the Church would survive and carry on its mission.

In this week's parish bulletin, Deliman asked all Catholics to take an active role in the healing process as the Church moves forward.

"People in our parish were married by abusive priests," he wrote. "Their children were baptized by the same. This writer sat in seminary class alongside some of them. We can't change what was. But we can change what will be."

 
 

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