DAVENPORT (IA)
Des Moines Register
By REKHA BASU
REGISTER COLUMNIST
December 26, 2004
So many unpleasant things have been done in the name of religion this year that some people were left wondering where God was. ...
• While the Davenport Catholic Diocese grappled with priest-abuse allegations, Father David Hitch of St. Mary's parish in Tipton showed he wouldn't be just another mouthpiece for the institution, that he stood with victims and for accountability. Hitch, whose own brother was one of the alleged victims, was quoted in this paper saying, "Personally, I wouldn't mind if the diocese had to stand trial for a case or two. . . . It may take going to trial for the people of the diocese to understand what the victims have been going through."
David Clohessy is executive director for the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and calls Hitch "amazing."
"It's extremely unusual for a priest to criticize a bishop, much less a diocese," he said, noting other statements Hitch had made. He called Davenport "the best example of where Catholic lay people stood with victims and helped make a big settlement. In the majority of cases, lay Catholics are bystanders, and in a few cases they work against the victims."
Posted by kshaw at December 26, 2004 09:04 AM