Ten years ago this month, the scandal concerning the sexual
abuse of children by Boston Catholic clergy was revealed by the Boston
Globe. The revelations contained in the
newspaper’s reporting sent shockwaves throughout the Boston Catholic
community. The shockwaves have continued
to be felt in the national Church, indeed throughout the entire Catholic
Church. Like many Catholics, I was very angry;
I felt betrayed by the very men I had believed were suppose to look after their
faith communities, to be caring shepherds.
Instead, I saw bishops more concerned with covering up the scandal, to
protect the image of the Church. Anybody
in public life could have told them that what really upsets people is not the
crime, but the cover-up of the crime.
The scandal was a pressure cooker, waiting to explode; and because it
was ignored by the bishops, it did.
Despite my anger, I have never considered leaving the
Church, or cutting back my involvement in the life of my parish. Maybe it was because of my years of formation
with other seminarians, who I came to love and respect. Maybe, it was because of my knowledge of
Church history, and experience within the institution; I have known the Church
to be both very holy, and unfortunately, very human. But, mostly, it has been my own encounter
with Christ, and where those encounters have been, that have kept me in the
Church.
The effects of the scandal are still with us. I cannot tell you how many CORI (Criminal Offender
Record Information) release forms I have had to sign because I am both a parish
volunteer and a Candidate for the Permanent Diaconate. The measures taken to pay compensation to the
victims are still controversial. There is
still a tug of war between those who want of the names of all accused priests
released, and those who believe a person is considered innocent until proven
guilty. The guidelines to handle sex
abuse cases, written by the US
bishops, have not been followed by all bishops (Incidents in the Philadelphia and Kansas
City dioceses come to mind). This wound is going to be with us for a very
long time.
One bishop who is working to heal that wound has been
Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM CAP, Archbishop of Boston. He was recently interviewed by John Allen,
Jr., a reporter for the National Catholic Reporter. The link is
here.
