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	Forgive, Forget and Forgo Censorship By Dave Van Hoomissen North County Times [San Diego CA] April 26, 2007 http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/04/27/opinion/commentary/19_18_194_26_07.txt We gratefully congratulate the Hon. Robert H. Brom, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of San Diego, for his courageous public admission to our congregation Sunday of widespread sexual abuse among his clergy that has caused bewilderment in the consciences of those who trust our church to be a leader in truth. It is a shocker of a revelation. But the real shocker should be that it has all been so unnecessary. It never should have happened — never would have happened — except that it was born in a culture of secrecy and censorship that we now have hope will hereafter be exiled to the history of the Middle Ages, where it was born. Let's look briefly at the roots of this cancer on the integrity of the Catholic Church as we proceed to excise it and move on to the great work that the Body of Christ is among us to unfold. It is the teaching of the church itself that the clergy are mere men — just like ourselves — and that they will be tempted to yield to the flesh just as we are all tempted — and they will sometimes yield. This is where our complicity comes in. No, we couldn't have done a lot to prevent the original atrocities. Sexual predators have always been with us, in all walks of life, and always will be. And furthermore, none of the deplored activities is known to have taken place in St. Timothy's parish. But we could have done something about the cover-ups, and the denials, and the censorship associated with these breaches of trust. It is in these deceptions that the real threat to civilization lies. And we could have done more about the hide-and-seek with the truth that has nurtured the growth of this scandal. Instead, we have been ignoring warnings for years and not doing enough to make them known to our fellow believers. By not speaking out against cover-ups and unjust censorship, we have contributed to the suppression of the truth that others have long fought to bring to light. Nevertheless, it is time to forgive and forget. We enthusiastically stand by our bishop in asking God's forgiveness on all, including ourselves, who have seen our human weaknesses wreak the spiritual and material havoc we now stand aghast at. Imagine the temptation among the disillusioned to flee the church altogether! And the $95 million going down the drain is a staggering blow to our plans to educate our children in an environment of trust and love. So here is where we stand. We stand with our bishop in pledging (1) to work to make our victims whole — whatever the cost, (2) to forevermore cooperate with each other in the pursuit of justice, and (3) to never again tolerate unjust censorship or any other gag on the teachings of Jesus Christ about peace. — Escondido resident Dave Van Hoomissen is chairman of the Committee for Peace & Justice at St. Timothy's Catholic Church of Escondido.
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