BishopAccountability.org
	Recent Cases Put Spotlight on Clergy By Kelli Lackett The Coloradoan [Colorado] April 2, 2007 http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070402/NEWS01/704020322/1002 Americans have been bombarded in recent years with images of clergy who have fallen from grace. Last week the story hit home when a former priest at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish was convicted of child sexual assault and abuse. For some, the sex scandals are a culmination of a decades-long trend of parishioners and lay people seeing clergy as subject to human frailties with warts and foibles like the rest of us. "I do feel that priests are human beings," said Lois Schmidt, a parishioner and lay leader at Blessed John XXIII University Center, who also was a school principal for 24 years. "Justice should be served," she said. "(But) if we can all learn a lesson from this, it is that we all are broken. Everyone has their skeletons in the closet and crosses to bear." The scandals have affected all churches, not just those of particular denominations, said one Fort Collins pastor. "I think outside the church community, the respect for clergy has diminished and now clergy need to earn (that) respect," said the Rev. Rich McDermott, pastor of First Presbyterian Church. "I think people who are not part of the church community tend to lump us all together," he said. Schmidt said priests are often singled out for attention, while there are less-visible cases of abuse among coaches, teachers and other people in positions of trust. The Roman Catholic Church is not the only denomination to struggle with allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior by clergy. In November, the Rev. Ted Haggard, pastor of the 14,000-member nondenominational New Life Church in Colorado Springs, was fired after being accused of paying a male prostitute for sex. That scandal has cut attendance and giving and the church has laid off more than 40 staff members. Although many people may have less respect for the clergy in light of the scandals, some people have actually become more forgiving, said Barb Wallner, chair of the pastoral council at John XXIII and an assistant professor in the school of education at Colorado State University. "I think people have gotten more compassionate. Our society is a lot looser than it was in the past," she said. "We are a forgiving people. We need to be forgiving and start the healing of the victims." Contact: KelliLackett@coloradoan.com
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