MASSACHUSETTS
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
kshaw@telegram.com
PAXTON— A new appointee to a key panel advising the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the clergy abuse scandal maintains that the most pressing needs confronting the church are restoring trust and devising means of better monitoring priests who have been credibly accused of sexual misconduct.
William D. McGarry, president of Anna Maria College, said in an interview that he believes the Catholic Church in America and its bishops are on the right track in dealing with the crisis but acknowledged that considerable work remains.
Mr. McGarry, one of four people recently named to the conference’sAbuse Tracker Review Board, returned this week from the panel’s first meeting in Chicago. There, he learned that the bishops will pay for a new study of the causes of the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and that the review board will oversee the investigation.
Mr. McGarry, president of Anna Maria College since 1999, is hopeful that the board can help restore American Catholics’ confidence in their church. The church’s credibility suffered after the extent of the clergy sexual abuse scandal became evident in 2002. Even now, he said, regaining trust is “a slow process.”
The scandal remains the primary problem confronting the church in America, according to Mr. McGarry. It continues to be widely discussed among parishioners and will be “the topic of discussion for many years,” he said.
Discussion of the scandal and the surrounding issues of how it should be dealt with, including differing points of view, is healthy, he said. “These discussions would not have been held six years ago,” he pointed out.
Mr. McGarry said that effectively monitoring priests who have been accused of sexual misconduct by someone considered credible is a difficult issue, because many of them are no longer active clergymen but still operate within the larger Catholic community.
He believes church officials must report all credible allegations to civil authorities so they may monitor suspects.
In some cases, he pointed out, an accused priest has been acquitted or has never been charged with a crime. There should a process for restoring the reputations of priests in that situation, he said.
The process of handling the clergy abuse crisis is evolving, Mr. McGarry said. He believes there should be a standard process for bishops to follow when an accusation is made against a priest.
Mr. McGarry supports the bishops’ zero tolerance policy, which means a priest is removed from ministry after even one credible allegation, but said more study is necessary to determine if this is the way to handle the situation.
Anna Maria is also home to a center for child abuse prevention under auspices of the Molly Bish Foundation. Although the center at the college deals with child sexual abuse in all its forms, he believes the work of the center and his work with the review board will be compatible.
TheAbuse Tracker Review Board’s major tasks are to monitor compliance by all dioceses in the United States to the bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young people, which Mr. McGarry called a historic document. The panel also makes recommendations to the bishops on how the church can better protect young people.
As was the case with many Catholics, Mr. McGarry said he had no idea about the extent of sexual abuse by priests and was shocked to discover what had been happening. He noted that sexual abuse of young people is contrary to his Christian faith and violates teachings of his church.
The bishops have been told of more than 11,000 claims of sexual abuse by clergy since 1950. A survey by The Associated Press showed that more than $1 billion has been spent nationally to settle lawsuits involving sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
The college president said he did not apply to serve on the review board and does not know who nominated him. He said he wanted to thank Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus for his support.
It all began a short time ago when Mr. McGarry received a call from Washington, where the board is headquartered, asking if he would be interested in serving. He had to undergo a background check. He got a call two weeks ago saying he had been cleared to serve on the board.
Mr. McGarry was appointed to a two-year term on the board. Other new appointees are Dr. Joseph G. Rhode of Midland, Texas, president of Midland Family Physicians; Thomas A. DiStefano, former interim president of Catholic Charities, U.S.A.; and Milann H. Siegfried, a retired registered nurse and former board chairman of St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla. Patricia O’Donnell Ewer of Chicago, who was appointed several months ago, is chairman of the panel.
Posted by kshaw at June 23, 2005 01:20 PM