Men [of God] at work, dodging prosecution
Michael Newton
limitations.
Foul corruption everywhere you look in the "House of the Lord."
mn
--
http://www.michaelnewton.homestead.com/
PRIEST CHILD RAPISTS
VATICAN
April 24, 2002
THE STRUGGLE
Catholic Teachings Are Among Obstacles to Resolving Crisis
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Associated Press
Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York spoke with the media today before
attending the second day of meetings at the Vatican. Associated Press Pope
John Paul II meeting with American cardinals on Tuesday in his private
library at the Vatican.
ROME, April 23 - It started as a terrible secret, behind the doors of a
rectory, or in a dark sacristy, or in a classroom after everyone else had
left: a child was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic priest. Now satellite
television trucks are parked outside St. Peter's Square covering a
groundbreaking Vatican meeting in which Pope John Paul II told American
cardinals and other top advisers that sexual abuse by the church's priests
required "a purification of the entire Catholic community."
Yet with intense attention focused on whether the meeting would produce
remedies to wash clean the stain on the world's most powerful church,
several prelates acknowledged that purifying the church of its criminal
priests would be a struggle.
Although no bishop wants to be perceived as protecting sexually abusive
priests, certain fundamental church teachings are standing in the way,
including the nature of the priesthood and the belief in the absolution of
sin and the possibility of redemption.
Just as critical is the clerical wall of silence that church critics say
has protected some priest abusers. As with the police, soldiers or any
profession that grooms members to see themselves as part of a select elite,
church leaders have been hesitant to turn in their errant brethren, even if
they have committed serious crimes.
During a break in the sessions, several cardinals and a bishop said that
they were still debating whether it was permissible to allow a priest who
had been accused of sexual abuse in the past to work in ministry. This is
the very problem that has stoked the scandal in the past four months, as
communities learned that one bishop after another reassigned priests who
had been accused of abuse.
"The question of the reassignment of priests or religious who have harmed
children is still a thorny issue," said Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president
of the United States Catholic Conference, the national forum for American
bishops. But some of the church's critics following the meeting from the
United States asked why the issue was even a matter of debate.
David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused
by Priests, said that if the bishops really wanted to purify the church
they would announce a moratorium on reassigning priests who have sexually
abused children. "They're out of touch with most of Western society," Mr.
Clohessy said. "It's not a thorny issue in public education, in therapeutic
circles or in day care. In most occupations dealing with kids, it's a
no-brainer, and fundamentally given the church's history, it ought
especially to be a no-brainer. "
Some bishops and cardinals have recently announced a zero-tolerance, policy
for sexual abusers and have suggested that every American diocese should
mandate this standard.
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony said his archdiocese in Los Angeles had instituted
a zero-tolerance policy several years ago, likening it to what happens to
doctors guilty of malpractice. "He's a restored human being, but he's not
practicing medicine any more," Cardinal Mahony said. With priests who abuse
children, "once that threshold has been crossed we simply cannot take a
chance," he said.
But other bishops would like the prerogative to be able to reassign to
ministry a priest who has gone through treatment and rehabilitation, and
who can be closely supervised by his fellow pastors or religious community.
Cardinal Francis George said in an interview that in his archdiocese in
Chicago there were some, but "very few," priests still in ministry who had
been judged by the archdiocesan sexual-abuse review board to be unlikely to
repeat past inappropriate behavior with young people.
Cardinal George said that perhaps bishops should be allowed to make
distinctions between serial pedophiles like John J. Geoghan, who was
convicted of victimizing children in Boston, and priests who "crossed
boundaries" with older teenagers. Cardinal George said he had still not yet
made up his mind about whether zero tolerance is a good idea because, he
said, it might prove to be just as unfairly punitive as mandatory
sentencing for drug possession and other crimes.
"A little more wiggle room enables you to be more just," Cardinal George
said.
In a news conference earlier, Cardinal George had said, "There is a
difference between a moral monster like Geoghan who preys upon little
children, and does so in a serial fashion, and someone who perhaps under
the influence of alcohol engages in an action with a 17- or 16-year-old
young woman who returns his affection. That is still a crime in every
instance, and so the civil law doesn't distinguish. In terms of culpability
and in terms of the possibility for reform of one's life, they're two very
different sets of circumstances." Sometimes there are "mitigating
circumstances" that might lead a bishop to prefer to keep a priest in
ministry, Bishop Gregory said. He suggested that one solution might be for
all bishops to have review boards comprised largely of laypeople, including
experts and victims, who could judge case by case.
"Perhaps one of the ways that might be best addressed is by not having the
bishop make such difficult decisions alone," Bishop Gregory said in the
news conference.
One obstacle facing the bishops is a Catholic doctrine that distinguishes
the church from other Christian denominations: ordination is a sacrament,
and a priest is a priest for life. There is no mechanism for punishing an
ordained man by taking away his ability to administer the sacraments,
unless he wants to give it up. A priest who strays is not like a
schoolteacher who can be fired, or a police officer who can be banned from
the union. A priest can be reassigned to the Siberia of an office job or
even sentenced to prison by the courts, but unless he decides to cut
himself off from the priesthood, he is still a priest. Even a defrocked
priest is still a priest.
There are eight American cardinals in charge of archdioceses who are
attending the meeting at the Vatican, as are the two bishops who lead the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Many of them have said that
one goal of these meetings is to produce a set of protocols for dealing
with sexual abuse that would be required for all American bishops. The
measures would be taken to the American bishops to be voted on at their
meeting in Dallas in June. But today the pope read a "discourse" to the
bishops in which he cautioned them against closing the door on priests who
may repent and reform. "You are now working to establish more reliable
criteria to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated," the pope said. "At
the same time, even while recognizing how indispensable these criteria are,
we cannot forget the power of Christian conversion, that radical decision
to turn away from sin and back to God, which reaches to the depths of a
person's soul and can work extraordinary change."
As with previous dense papal documents and encyclicals that are parsed for
meaning, the pope also gave support to the notion that only a
zero-tolerance policy could restore credibility in the church. "People
need to know that there is no place in the priesthood and religious life
for those who would harm the young," he said.
Pope calls sex abuse crime
Pontiff says cases mishandled, voices solidarity with victim\ s
By Charles M. Sennott, Globe Staff, 4/24/2002
VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II, in opening remarks to American Catholic
leaders he summoned to confront the priest sexual abuse crisis, said
yesterday there was ''no place in the priesthood ... for those who would
harm the young.'' John Paul added that sexual abuse by the clergy was not
only an ''appalling sin'' but a crime, and he pointedly noted that ''many
are offended at the way in which church leaders are perceived to have acted
in this matter.'' He said bishops had in the past acted on the advice of
specialists and made ''decisions which subsequent events showed to be
wrong.'' US church leaders ''are now working to establish more reliable
criteria to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated,'' he said. The
statement was by far the pope's strongest and most direct response to a
scandal that has shaken the Roman Catholic Church in Boston and across the
country.
The pope spoke at the opening of an extraordinary two-day meeting in which
12 American cardinals and two prominent bishops met with some of the
highest officials in the Vatican to draft binding and unified standards on
how the Catholic Church in the United States will investigate allegations
of sexual abuse by priests.
There was no mention in the opening session of whether Cardinal Bernard F.
Law would resign for mistakes he admits he made in allowing two priests who
had numerous complaints of abuse against them to continue serving in
parishes. The pope's statement was seen by Vatican observers as an
important sign that the frail, 81-year-old pontiff was determined to
correct a widespread feeling among America's 65 million Catholics that he
had failed to understand the severity of the crisis.
The words also seemed intended to correct an impression that the Holy See
had not gone far enough in expressing sympathy for the victims of sexual
abuse by priests, nor in condemning decisions by church officials who often
moved offenders from one parish to the next, rather than defrock them. The
pope's only previous public reference to the crisis was made on Holy
Thursday, when he said a ''dark shadow of suspicion'' had been cast over
priests ''by some of our brothers who have betrayed the grace of
ordination.''
In contrast to that statement, which did not mention the pain and anger
felt by victims, the pope said yesterday: ''To the victims and their
families, wherever they may be, I express my profound sense of solidarity
and concern.''
But he also asked that the scandals, estimated to involve not more than 1
percent of all priests, be seen in the context of the good works of the
church and its priests on behalf of the poor and in schools and
universities. ''A great work of art may be blemished, but its beauty
remains,'' he said. The pope said he hoped the crisis would lead to ''a
purification of the entire Catholic community.'' ''So much pain, so much
sorrow, must lead to a holier priesthood, a holier episcopate, and a holier
church,'' John Paul said. The pope read his roughly two-page statement in
English, while sitting in a chair in his private library in the papal
residence. He summoned the American cardinals there from the conference
room in the frescoed Sala Bologna in the Apostolic Palace where their
meeting was being held.
The meeting, which will conclude today, was led by the Vatican's secretary
of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and three top prelates who oversee the
Vatican's doctrinal matters. Added to that list yesterday were other senior
Vatican officials responsible for areas such as seminaries, religious
orders, and canon law. The increased participation of leaders in the
two-day meeting was seen as a sign of the gravity and importance the
Vatican is giving to the problem. The Vatican seemed eager to ensure that
the guidelines being developed by the American cardinals, to be presented
to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in June in Dallas, are in line
with Catholic doctrine. Their participation also suggested that wider
issues, including how celibacy is taught in seminaries, are being debated
in the meeting. One of the issues on the table is whether some of the abuse
cases - many of which involve not children but young teenagers and
seminarians - have any link to homosexuality in the priesthood. Here the
clerics seem to be delving into complex psychological terrain.
Psychologists say that there is no link between homosexuality and
pedophilia and that a homosexual is no more likely to be a pedophile than a
heterosexual.
The most horrific of the cases involve allegations of pedophilia, which is
abuse of a prepubescent child. But the greater number of cases revolve
around allegations of ephebophilia, which is the abuse of a postpubescent
teenager. The pope's spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, recently stated in
connection with the scandals in the United States that homosexuals should
be excluded from the priesthood. Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit told
reporters yesterday that behavioral scientists think ''it's not truly a
pedophilia-type problem but a homosexual-type problem,'' and that bishops
need to ''cope with and address'' the extent of a homosexual presence in
Catholic seminaries.
Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Bellville, Ill., president of the US Conference
of Catholic Bishops and a participant in the meeting, said, ''It is an
ongoing struggle to make sure that the Catholic priesthood is not dominated
by homosexual men.''
The church officially does not forbid homosexually oriented priests, but it
requires that all priests maintain celibacy. Speaking in order of
seniority, Cardinal Law was first among the cardinals to address the
gathering. He presented his proposed plan for establishing the unified
guidelines, which will be formally introduced and possibly mandated for the
194 dioceses in America at the June meeting of the Conference of Bishops.
Each cardinal spoke for approximately 15 minutes. One critical issue is how
the guidelines will deal with the reporting of allegations to law
enforcement authorities without violating the relationship of trust between
bishops and their priests. While in the past the church has been accused of
sheltering priests accused of abuse, the pope's remarks appeared to
indicate that the church would put up no impediment to cooperation with
authorities investigating crimes.
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles told reporters that the Americans
planned to work out a list of formal proposals for the church in the United
States that would be announced at the end of the meeting. One cardinal
proposed creating a nationwide panel of prominent Catholic laymen and women
to ''make sure we have the best possible standards,'' Mahony said. The pope
used ''the strongest language I've seen about what we call at home `zero
tolerance''' for abusive priests, Mahony said. The pope ''made it very
clear that there is no place in the priesthood for anyone who abuses
minors,'' he told the Associated Press. But Cardinal Francis George of
Chicago said that the pope's position was open to interpretation. He
pointed out that the pope spoke of the possibility of ''Christian
conversion, that radical decision to turn away from sin and back to God.''
Maida said that while in the past sexual abuse was seen as a sin, ''today
we view it as a crime.'' Reports of abuse in the Archdiocese of Detroit
were taken to civil authorities for investigation, he said. ''That's the
way to handle it.
''We need to root out the priest or other people who would take advantage
of our young people,'' Maida told reporters.
But, George cautioned, ''there is a difference between a moral monster like
[the Rev. John] Geoghan, who preys upon little children and does so in a
serial fashion, and the someone who perhaps under the influence of alcohol
engages with a 16- or 17-year-old young woman who returns his affection.
That is still a crime ... so the civil law does not distinguish. But in
terms of the possibility of reform of one's life, there are two very
different sets of circumstances.''
John Allen, who covers the Vatican for the National Catholic Reporter, said
the pope's statement and the meeting itself need to be seen as symbolic
messages. ''The decision to do this meeting in such a dramatic ...
high-profile way was to say that they are on the job, to make the point,
`We get it,''' Allen said.
This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 4/24/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
NYC
April 24, 2002
Priests' Cases Too Old, Queens Prosecutor Says
By SARAH KERSHAW
NY Times
After reviewing the cases of 21 priests accused over the past several
decades of sexual abuse, the Queens district attorney said yesterday that
all the events appeared to have occurred too long ago to allow criminal
prosecution. The district attorney, Richard A. Brown, said that although
the cases in his borough appeared to be too old to prosecute under the
statute of limitations, he would continue to investigate those cases as
well as other leads on possible sexual abuse by priests.
The 21 cases Mr. Brown referred to were turned over to his office recently
by the Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes parishes in Queens. A law
enforcement official said that the most recent accusation of abuse in that
batch involved incidents reported to have happened in October 1995. The
statute of limitations on criminal charges of sexual abuse of a minor is
five years for a felony and two years for a misdemeanor, but in some cases
the time limit does not start to run until after the victim turns 18,
officials said. In an interview, Mr. Brown said that most of the cases his
office reviewed were decades old, dating from as far back as the 1960's,
and that the drop-off in reported cases concerned him.
"I have difficulty in my own mind in believing that the curtain has
suddenly dropped, that clerical sexual abuse suddenly stopped 5 or 10 years
ago," he said. However, asked if he thought the diocese was withholding
information on more recent cases, he said, "I'm not suggesting that." Along
with his findings, Mr. Brown released a letter to the bishop of Brooklyn,
Thomas V. Daily, urging him to encourage parents and children with
knowledge of more recent cases of sex abuse to come forward.
"I very much fear that there may exist youngsters who have recently been -
or who are currently being - sexually abused, but who, paralyzed by
inaction, confusion or fear, are reluctant to seek help," Mr. Brown wrote.
Frank DeRosa, a spokesman for Bishop Daily, said that the bishop felt Mr.
Brown's letter included "good suggestions" and that "the diocese will
cooperate and will reach out to parents in the parishes."
After initially resisting, the Diocese of Brooklyn this month forwarded the
names and files of about 42 accused priests, including several whom the
diocese suspended recently as the scandal grew, to prosecutors in Queens
and Brooklyn. The Brooklyn prosecutors, as well as authorities in
Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester - who are reviewing cases sent to them
by the archdiocese of New York - said they were still reviewing the reports.
PHILADELPHIA
Protest will greet cardinals in Phila.
Women's-ordination and gay-rights groups are among those that will be
rallying Friday.
By Jim Remsen
Philadelphia Inquirer
The U.S. Roman Catholic cardinals visiting here Friday will be greeted with
a protest rally when they gather for an afternoon Mass at the Cathedral
Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul. The Women's Ordination Conference is the
demonstration's prime sponsor, but members of Call to Action, the
gay-rights group Dignity, and other Catholic dissidents also are expected
to turn out. It is to be the first large-scale demonstration locally since
the church sex-abuse scandal broke in January. The protest is set for 4
p.m. outside the cathedral, at 18th Street and the Parkway. Regina Bannan,
president of the ordination conference's local chapter, said that the
groups would voice their various grievances about the hierarchy but that
there would be a common theme. "We are all calling for more accountability
in the church, more democratic structures that allow for genuine
involvement of laypeople in decision making," she said yesterday.
The cardinals will be returning from the Vatican summit in Rome, which ends
today, and coming directly to Philadelphia to attend the gala American
Cardinals Dinner. The annual black-tie benefit for Catholic University
scholarships is booked for Friday evening at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza
Hotel. Meanwhile, priests from around the archdiocese will be assembling
today at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary for a special Day of Atonement and
Sanctification. Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua called for the priests to
pray for victims of any kind of abuse. In a related development,
Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham announced yesterday that
she would hold a news conference at her office at 11 a.m. today regarding
sexual abuse of children by priests. She declined to elaborate. Cardinal
Bevilacqua has refused to turn over information about the 35 priests who
the archdiocese has said molested 50 victims over the last half-century, a
stance that has frustrated some area prosecutors. Abraham met privately
with archdiocesan lawyers earlier this month. She has kept silent about her
goals.
WORCESTER
Victims seek more than words
Wednesday, April 24, 2002
By Kathleen A. Shaw
Telegram & Gazette Staff
WORCESTER-- Area victims of sexual abuse by clergy had mixed reactions
yesterday to a speech by Pope John Paul II at the beginning of a two-day
meeting with American cardinals to discuss the scandal in the church. Those
interviewed said they were glad that the pope finally spoke out publicly on
the issue, calling sexual abuse of young people by priests a crime. They
want tough policies for the entire church and believe much more still must
be done to help the victims heal. Philip Saviano, who was molested by the
Rev. David Holley at St. Denis parish in East Douglas, said he was happy to
hear the pope finally say that the abuse he endured was criminal. He said
he wants to see the words followed with strong action by the Vatican and
the American hierarchy. Mr. Saviano, who now heads the New England Chapter
of Survivors Network Against Sexual Abuse by Priests, said the church needs
firm guidelines across-the-board on how to handle instances of priests'
abuse of minors.
Mr. Saviano said he was getting "tired" of hearing the pope and other
church leaders talk about the "good priests" who did their jobs and were
true to their vows.
"There were plenty of good priests who knew what was happening and looked
the other way and failed to report what they knew," he said. "My initial
reaction was, 'finally he's actually talking about the reality we're
dealing with here without cloaking his words in Latin gibberish about the
mystery of evil,' " said William J. Allen of Worcester, who said he was
abused by the Rev. David L. Blizard when he was at St. Roch's in Oxford.
Mr. Allen was a college student seminarian at the time. Mr. Allen said he
still thinks the pope is trying to walk a "fine line" of supporting the
clergy while trying to show some sensitivity to those who were victims of
clergy. "I think he could have been more bold in coming down clearly on the
side of and having pastoral care for those of his flock who have been so
injured by pedophile priests. Maybe it is an issue of translation from his
original language, but a 'profound sense of solidarity and concern' just
doesn't feel bold enough for me," Mr. Allen said.
He questioned whether the pope was trying not to offend his brother
priests, some of whom have been sexual predators. "Maybe I'm not being
realistic, but I wish he had taken on the issue of scandal upon scandal
when abusive actions were treated with such secrecy and cover-up," he said.
The Catholic clergy and laity must be told strongly that there is no place
in priesthood or religious life for those who would harm young people, he
said. Mr. Allen lauded the pope for saying church leaders need to focus on
the children, families and communities rather than being involved in
"frantic efforts to preserve the public reputation of the church." He said
he also favors a clear and enforceable policy for dealing with abusive
clergy and lay workers. "It should eventually be spelled out in detail and
clearly communicated to all levels of the church and should draw on
reliable expert advice in all the necessary fields," he said. "It should
also clearly state that there will be no attempts made to cover up, keep
secret or silence those who come forward with accusations of abuse."
He said he believes Cardinal Bernard F. Law needs to "face the music" and
search his own heart to find his motives for refusing to resign from his
position as head of the Boston Archdiocese. Edward Gagne, who received a
$300,000 settlement from the Worcester Diocese because of allegations that
he was abused by the Rev. Brendan O'Donoghue and Rev. Peter J. Inzerillo,
said the victims are the important group missing from these meetings. He
thought "sweeping changes" would occur if victims could be heard at the
highest reaches of the church. "It is the victims who have led this crusade
bravely, it is the victims who can answer truthfully what the church
should, could and can do, and it is the victims who deserve that honor," he
said.
Mr. Gagne said he was perplexed by some comments made by the pope. He does
not agree that there was general lack of knowledge of the nature of the
problem. "There are documents that have detailed damaging evidence to the
contrary, and can be proven otherwise," he said.
The pope asked people to turn to God for forgiveness, but Mr. Gagne said he
thinks it is the victims who need to be asked for forgiveness and they
deserve an apology from all who abused their power. Mr. Gagne said the
pope may believe the church can help society understand the problem, but
the victims have brought the clarity and understanding of the problem. He
took exception to the pope's remark that the bishops and superiors are
concerned with the spiritual good of souls. "I recommend that a survey be
taken from every victim who has had to deal with the church's tactics
designed to intentionally create a hostile, hurtful and hateful process
toward the victims because the church's authority and hierarchy were
challenged," he said.
BOSTON
Law aide knew of Reardon
by Maggie Mulvihill
Wednesday, April 24, 2002
Boston Herald
One of Cardinal Bernard Law's top archdiocesean deputies was informed a
Middleton church youth worker was accused of molesting boys months before
police were alerted to the abuse, a Suffolk Superior Court judge was told
yesterday by an attorney for the victims. Vicar General Francis X. Irwin
was told by Rev. Jon C. Martin that Christopher Reardon had been accused of
molesting young boys at St. Agnes Catholic Parish in Middleton at least six
months before law enforcement authorities were tipped off to the abuse,
attorney Jeffrey A. Newman said during a hearing before Judge Thomas E.
Connolly. Irwin, 68, was appointed to his post as regional bishop of the
archdiocese of Boston by Pope John Paul II in 1996.
Irwin is one of six auxiliary bishops working directly under Law and is the
highest-ranking member of the archdiocese to be accused of knowing Reardon
was allegedly molesting children well before Reardon's June 2000 arrest.
Newman has sued Martin, the former pastor of St. Agnes and Reardon's direct
supervisor, as well as the archdiocese, for failing to supervise Reardon.
His disclosure about Irwin came during a hearing in which he pressed Judge
Connolly to force Martin's lawyer, Timothy O'Neill, to turn over to him
Martin's psychiatric and personnel records. Reardon, 29, pleaded guilty
last year to 75 of 129 criminal counts of rape and sex abuse involving 29
boys and is currently serving a 40- to 50-year state prison sentence.
Newman said if archdiocesean officials had looked into the Reardon claims
immediately, scores of young boys in Middleton would have been escaped
Reardon's clutches. ``Reardon's activities escalated to a fever pitch
during January, February and March,'' Newman said.
Police knew nothing of Reardon's activities until June, 2000 when a victim
came forward, investigative and court documents in the case have shown.
Newman's assertion about Irwin was backed up by a former St. Agnes
secretary who herself contacted a lower-level Chancery official in January
2000 to relay complaints being made about Reardon to church officials. The
woman, who has requested anonymity, has told the Herald and law enforcement
authorities she called James M. Flanagan, coordinator of youth services for
the archdiocese, to alert him to the Reardon allegations.
Flanagan promised to tell his direct supervisor, Rev. Thomas A. Dunne, head
of youth services. Flanagan also advised her to speak directly to Martin,
which she did.
The secretary said Bishop Irwin came to St. Agnes for a senior citizens'
Mass several months before Reardon's arrest, and also met privately with
Martin in the pastor's office. ``Father told me beforehand that when Bishop
Irwin comes we are going to discuss this,'' the former secretary said
yesterday. ``I remember when he was there, because I went in to tell Father
the coffee for the seniors was ready and he and Bishop Irwin were in his
office. Father asked me to shut the door. They were already talking, and
Father seemed kind of nervous.''
Martin himself told state police during a Sept. 27, 2000, interview that he
had called the ``bishop's office'' at one point before the arrest to relay
the complaints about Reardon, a police summary of the interview shows.
However, that summary did not specifically mention Irwin. It also remains
unclear whether Irwin ever told Law about the meeting or the claims against
Reardon. A spokeswoman for Law did not return phone calls yesterday. Irwin
did not respond to messages left at his Peabody residence.
But the former secretary said that in the days after Reardon's arrest, Law
angrily called Martin at the St. Agnes rectory and discussed the Reardon
situation.
``Cardinal Law hung up on Father because Father made some comment about it
after, like `I can't believe he just hung up on me','' the woman said.
Also yesterday, Newman said a Reardon victim heard Martin and Reardon
discussing sex in the rectory in late 1999 on at least two occasions. In
one instance, Martin, who was the chaplain at the Middleton Jail, grabbed
his crotch and told Reardon he was going to the prison to ``get some,''
referring to sex with inmates, Newman said.
Church workers have told police Martin regularly had young males, often
inmates he counseled, stay overnight at the rectory and a used condom was
found in his bed at the rectory.
Sources have also told the Herald Martin is on sick leave from the
archdiocese and being treated for ``sexual issues.'' O'Neill has objected
to the release of his client's records, claiming they are privileged.
However, Judge Connolly ordered the parties into his chambers tomorrow
morning, when he will review the records and decide what, if anything,
should be released.
For church, a false issue
By Eileen McNamara, Globe Columnist, 4/24/2002
When a popular gym teacher and basketball coach in Mattapoisett pleaded
guilty to the rape and sexual assault of several high school girls, we sent
him to prison.
When a schoolteacher in Seattle characterized her conduct with a
13-year-old middle school boy as a ''love affair,'' we called it by its
rightful name and imprisoned her for the rape of a child. When a high
school band director in Miami was arrested and charged with the sexual
assault of several female musicians at a previous teaching post in
Michigan, we convicted him and criticized administrators at his old school
for failing to tell administrators at his new school about his history.
Each of those crimes provoked public outrage at the exploitation of
children by a trusted adult. None, however, prompted a call to ban
heterosexual teachers from the classroom.
Why, then, has the sexual abuse scandal roiling the Catholic Church turned
into a referendum on homosexual priests in the pulpit? ''People with these
inclinations just cannot be ordained,'' the papal spokesman, Dr. Joaquin
Navarro-Valls, proclaimed last month. ''It is, most importantly, a struggle
to make sure that the Catholic priesthood is not dominated by homosexual
men,'' Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the National Conference of
Catholic Bishops, said yesterday during a break in the meetings of American
cardinals in Rome.
That members of the Catholic hierarchy equate criminal sexual misconduct
with sexual orientation says more about the need for sex education in
seminaries than it does about the scandal of child molestation now
unfolding across the world. That the cardinals are talking about purging
gay men instead of confronting the need for systemic change suggests a
profound misunderstanding of the crisis at hand.
The Catholic catechism condemns homosexual acts as ''intrinsically
disordered'' and describes homosexuality's ''psychological genesis'' as
''unexplained.'' But, as a psychiatrist, Dr. Navarro-Valls knows medicine
does not classify homosexuality as either a disease or a disorder. There is
no evidence that homosexual men abuse children at a higher rate than
heterosexuals. To suggest this is an expression not of concern for
children's safety but of ignorance of sexuality.
It is not the existence of gay priests but the reticence of Catholicism to
address sexuality that has led the church to this juncture. The refusal of
the church to imagine a priesthood that could embrace women and married men
is a reflection of that profound reluctance. With the door closed to women
and men with wives, with vocations drying up, who exactly do the cardinals
think will lead the liturgy in this new century if they go on a witch hunt
against gay priests?
Whatever the percentage of homosexuals in the priesthood, it is irrelevant
if, as the church contends, it condemns only sexual activity, not sexual
orientation. All priests, gay and straight, are expected to live celibate
lives.
To consider the rape of children by priests to be primarily a betrayal of
that vow is to confuse sex with violence. Those altar boys did not have sex
with those priests; they were raped by them.
Separate from this crisis, a lack of faithfulness to their vows of celibacy
is not the exclusive sin of gay priests who clandestinely take adult male
lovers. Church history the world over is littered with the secreted
mistresses and children of heterosexual priests. The princes of the church
now meeting at the Holy See spent the last two or three decades shielding
serial child molesters from prosecution and protecting them from public
disgrace. The cardinals can choose to distract themselves in Rome by
discussing homosexuality or they can do the hard work of reform by asking
each other why they put their self-interest ahead of the interests of
children and covered up these crimes.
Eileen McNamara can be reached at mcna...@globe.com
NEGLIGENCE SUIT
Actions of Reardon supervisor at issue
By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff, 4/24/2002
The supervisor of Christopher Reardon, a youth worker in a Middleton
Catholic church who was convicted of sexually abusing dozens of boys, met
with a Boston Archdiocese official months before Reardon's arrest to
discuss concerns about his behavior, a lawyer for Reardon's victims told a
judge yesterday. ''At some time, months before June of 2000, it is my
understanding that Father Jon C. Martin had a meeting on the Reardon
allegations with Bishop [Francis X.] Irwin,'' the lawyer, Jeffrey Newman,
said after the hearing. Newman, who is suing Martin and the archdiocese for
negligence, asked Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas E. Connolly yesterday
to order that Martin's medical records and personnel file be turned over to
him. ''My position is that that we have to find out whether the church
appropriately vested Rev. Martin with the responsibility of taking care of
the kids,'' Newman said. ''The only way we can really do that is to examine
the personnel file and see if there is anything in his records to determine
he wasn't adequate for the task.''
But Martin's lawyer, Timothy O'Neill, argued the files should be kept
private. ''I am objecting to the release of any psychiatric records, based
on patient-therapist privilege,'' O'Neill said after the hearing, adding
that he might even object to the judge reviewing the files. Connolly is
expected to rule tomorrow on the issue.
Reardon, a youth worker at St. Agnes Church and a YMCA swim instructor,
pleaded guilty last June to molestation and pornography charges involving
24 boys and was sentenced to serve 40 to 50 years in prison. Martin, then
pastor of St. Agnes, resigned after Reardon's arrest and disappeared from
public life.
Farah Stockman can be reached at fsto...@globe.com.
CALGARY
Wednesday, April 24, 2002
No exceptions
Calgary bishop speaks out on pedophilia in priesthood
By RICK BELL, CALGARY SUN
Zero tolerance. For one schooled in the art of critical thinking, he admits
he is not usually comfortable with such all-or-nothing notions. But when it
comes to pedophile priests, it is all very different. "What the people
require is absolute clarity, zero tolerance, and that's what it has to be,"
says Bishop Fred Henry, the spiritual leader of Calgary Catholics, who
recently came under fire for hiring a priest who sexually assaulted a
16-year-old boy in Ontario 16 years ago. The priest later quit and the
bishop apologized, saying he'd made the wrong decision.
"I won't run away or duck anything. We have taken our lumps. We will try
and win back the trust of the people. We have to offend on the side of the
safety of children. That is what must prevail," says the bishop, who has
written a soon-to-be-published article on sexual abuse in the church. "This
must be dealt with in black and white. Individuals may be treated unjustly
but, for the overall good, it is absolutely clear what we must do. In the
past we did not have the clarity we have now about the extraordinary
difficulty of rehabilitating pedophiles. We have learned from harsh
experience. You cannot put children at risk. A pedophile cannot be given a
pastoral assignment."
The bishop says in what he calls "much more complicated" instances --
someone involved in a one-time lapse of judgment, someone who is not a
perennial predator -- the action required is still clear. Zero tolerance.
"You have to be so sensitive and so careful. There can't be any ambiguity.
We are into a situation where we can't enjoy the luxury of some
distinctions," admits Bishop Fred. Of course, the bishop's remarks are
timely, made on the same day the Pope hauls American Catholic cardinals on
the carpet, telling them there's no place for pedophile priests in the
church. Bishop Fred says the Vatican's attitude has changed from two years
ago, when Western Canadian Catholic bishops brought up the problem of
sexual abuse with church leaders.
"I'm delighted this time there was no mincing of words. In many cases in
the past, I don't think they understood what was going on. They poo-pooed
it, downplayed it, looked at it simply as a spiritual problem. It's a
crime, it's not just a sin. You just can't be absolved and assigned
elsewhere," says the bishop. "You can't simply pray and think it is going
to go away. "It must be faced squarely, honestly, head on. It must be
named, tackled and amends must be made." Bishop Fred talks about the days
when sexual matters were not in the open. "When I was in college and
seminary the most you'd hear is: Be careful about Father So-and-So, he's a
little strange. We didn't even really know how."
He sees no quick fix in allowing married priests. "Celibacy is always a
great mystery, a radical prophetic statement. It is not meant to be
understood," says Bishop Fred.
"What's we're trying to say is the value of the Kingdom of God supersedes
anything else I'm about. It is a great good where you're willing to forgo
the great good of having a wife and family. Because there are difficulties
in understanding celibacy, people try to find some kind of connection. I
don't think that's the issue, but the church will wrestle with it in the
long term." The religious leader also dismisses the oft-cited equation:
Homosexuality = Pedophilia. "Anybody who makes that statement doesn't
understand either homosexuality or pedophilia," is the curt response of the
cleric. At the end of this day, Bishop Fred is realistic enough to know
many Catholics, including many right here in this area, are "scandalized"
and "hurting."
"I hear some anger," he says. And the bishop also hears the words "zero
tolerance."
"I'm weary, that's safe to say. But my father has a great saying. Don't
complain about the cards, just play the hand you're dealt. If this is the
issue, let's deal with the issue."