Unanswered Question Linger...

Monday January 8, 2007

Boston Globe on the Fifth Anniversary of Disclosure
By Steven Krueger | January 7, 2007

It couldn’t be stated more aptly not only about Boston but about the conglomerate of U.S. dioceses.]

JAN. 6, 2002—the feast of the Epiphany, when the
Magi followed a star to the Christ Child—was the
day The Boston Globe broke the story about one priest
who had sexually abused more than 130 children. More
important was the revelation that three cardinals knew
his history of sexual abuse and had knowingly
transferred him to six different parishes over 34
years.

Unlike the three wise men who broke from Herod after
meeting infant Jesus, the three cardinals followed the
toxic secrecy of a hierarchical culture that became
exposed that day.

It’s been five years now, but for too many it has been
a lifetime. This happens when your world is turned
upside down, particularly your faith—or, in the
case of the bishops, a threat to their power and
privilege. While we’ve been told it’s “history,” the
multitudes of those affected by the clergy sexual
abuse crisis—from the victims and survivors to lay
Catholics and the clergy who serve them, and, yes,
even the once-revered leaders of the church, the
bishops—still wonder when it really will be.

With a history that dates back to the fourth century,
the modern sexual abuse crisis began to emerge in
1984. However, the Globe article was the seminal story
for the upheaval we are in today, with Boston as
“ground zero.” Like the “shot heard ‘round the world”
it has had far-reaching, revolutionary consequences—for the church and society—that few could have
imagined.

As the headlines spread across the globe, so too did
the crisis. More victims came forward—as repressed
memories were unlocked or new courage was found.
Attorneys general and grand juries became involved.
Four dioceses filed bankruptcy. Today, the church
continues to downsize. Bishops seek to close vibrant
parishes while parishioners fight back. Now laity,
along with victims, are seeking justice in courts of
civil law. Statute of limitations reform legislation
is sweeping the country. Many Catholics are taking
responsibility while others are leaving for other
faiths or forming new faith communities. Some just
feel like they are in limbo—can it be?

At the same time, the institutional church has only
responded to what has been forced on them by the court
of public opinion or the legal system. While there has
been progress, it has been painfully slow,
inconsistent, and too often lacking in the values of
social justice and Christian charity. The expressions
of sorrow, the prayers, the Masses, have all been
said, but they have fallen short for too many victims,
many of whom can not bear to even drive by a church.
Policies based on an intention of “zero-tolerance”
have been implemented to varying degrees but still
only 15 dioceses disclose the names of known
perpetrators. Today, bishops are attempting to
reassert their authority on everything from gay
marriage to who can wash liturgical vessels.
Bishops—on the whole—still treat the direct
victims as adversaries. The collateral victims, the
people in the pews and faithful Catholic clergy, have
yet to be meaningfully received at their rightful
place at the table of church governance. Across the
country, not one bishop has been held accountable for
putting children in harm’s way. More important, the
devastating effects of childhood sexual abuse are
still with many of the victims and will be for decades—if not all of their lives.

Too much truth is too disturbing for too many people.
No matter how tired of it we are, and even though it
no longer dominates the headlines, the clergy sexual
abuse crisis is far from history. A question posed in
that now historic story still remains unanswered, “Why
did it take a succession of three cardinals and many
bishops 34 years to place children out of John
Geoghan’s reach?”

The history of the crisis is still being written, and
it will not be over until we know why it happened.
More important, it will not be over until the truth is
exposed in every diocese throughout the world; until
victims are sought by bishops in the interest of
justice; until the responsibilities lay Catholics are
necessarily taking are welcomed by the institutional
church. It will not be over until we take the long
journey of healing, through the gates of truth,
acknowledgment,and accountability. The crisis will not
be history unless and until our bishops are asking us
to do more in the name of justice and the protection
of children than we are asking of them.

Steven Krueger, founding executive director of Voice
of the Faithful, is a nonprofit consultant.

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