BishopAccountability.org
	Holy Spirit Parishioners Rally around Deacon By Kaitlin Bell The Monitor [McAllen TX] March 6, 2007 http://www.themonitor.com/onset?id=530&template=article.html It may have taken a couple weeks, but some members of Holy Spirit Church are coming to their deacon's defense, saying he never intended to blame parents for priests sexually abusing their children. The small group says Deacon Alvin Gerbermann was merely emphasizing that parents share responsibility with the church for keeping children safe during his Feb. 18 homily at Sunday Mass. The homily prompted a small but bitter outcry from parishioners who interpreted the comments as shifting blame away from the Roman Catholic Church. Gerbermann apologized in writing for his remarks the following Sunday, and last week the Brownsville Diocese announced it had temporarily barred him from delivering homilies. He must undergo retraining on how to deliver homilies and retake the diocese's program on preventing sexual abuse in the church. Parishioner Agapito Gamez, an ardent supporter of Gerbermann who aspires to become a deacon himself, organized the group to publicly speak out after he finally decided last week that the deacon had taken an unfair beating. "His comments were taken completely out of context," said parishioner Diana Ramirez, who also heard the homily. "I know him personally — in no way was he trying to say that this was the fault of the parents and that's why the abuse happened." "All he was saying is, 'Look, we need to take care of our kids,'" Ramirez added. Gerbermann said Monday afternoon that he did not wish to publicly comment on the parishioners' support. The church's pastor, the Rev. Louis Brum, had said a few days after Gerbermann's homily that he believed the deacon was advocating a shared responsibility for protecting children. But, these parishioners' support is the first public backing from church members. They reveal a parish at least partly divided — not only in its interpretations of Gerbermann's remarks, but also in its views of how well the Roman Catholic Church has responded to revelations of sexual abuse. "We have to move on" The apparent absence of any written copy of the homily only adds to the fierce debate. According to Gamez, Gerbermann told him he delivered the homily without notes or a printed text. Gerbermann has been tight-lipped on the matter. Several of Gerbermann's supporters said they felt those who complained had twisted the homily's meaning for political reasons. They noted that most of those decrying Gerbermann's comments are members of the church reform group Call to Action, of which the local chapter has criticized Bishop Raymundo Peña in the past for not releasing the names of priests dismissed from their posts for molesting children. Iris Rodriguez, who has regularly attended Holy Spirit for about four years, said she believed that Gerbermann was entitled to his opinions, and that those who have denounced him should have respected his right to hold those views. Rodriguez believes the protestors should drop the issue and move on. She feels similarly about the sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the church in recent years. She believes the church as a whole, and the diocese in particular, have done plenty to right past wrongs. "In my opinion, we have to move on," she said. "We cannot stay in the same area, because it's going to eat away at you." Call to Action members called that approach akin to slapping a Band-aid on a gaping wound. It discounts the suffering of many people and allows both the church and predatory priests off the hook, said group member and Holy Spirit parishioner Ann Cass. Cass used to work at Holy Spirit and took part in a 2003 lawsuit against the diocese that alleged unionized workers had been let go because they were organized. She said she believes people are conflating that controversy with this one, because she and some of the same people are involved in both. That's unfortunate, Cass says, because it takes the focus away from the real issue at hand: doing justice to those who suffered from abuse. "I wasn't offended" Parishioner Joe Connors, who has been attending Holy Spirit for about a decade, does not buy that explanation. Connors says a priest abused him when he was growing up in the Washington, D.C., area — but he didn't feel hurt by Gerbermann's remarks, he said. "I wasn't offended. I thought it was good advice," he said of the deacon's urging parents to be careful about whom they trust with their children. After Connors came forward with his allegations, he said church officials transferred the priest so he would no longer work with children. He said he thinks that solution is sufficient, and that the Church mostly does a good job of keeping predator priests away from kids after allegations surface. Gerbermann's supporters also emphasized that people should not mistake their words of support for a protest against Peña's decision put the deacon through additional training on how to give homilies and help prevent sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church. "I don't question why" the bishop made his decision, Rodriguez said. "I just accept and say 'yes' and that's it. Just like an obedient child." Kaitlin Bell covers Mission, western Hidalgo County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4446.
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