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	Editorial: Light at the End of the Tunnel? By Frank Wessling The Catholic Messenger July 28, 2007 http://home.catholicweb.com/CathMessDavDio/index.cfm/NewsItem?id=207469&From=Home Davenport (IA) — The scandal of sex abuse by priests hasn't made American Catholics abandon the church. We've been shocked, shaken and stirred to pity for victims, but few of us think that bad behavior by some priests and questionable action by some bishops completely ruin our spiritual home. Our faith and hope are still fed here. New surveys confirm this. But how long must we live half-focused on the past? As a community we've lived with this scandal in the background of our awareness for more than five years now, ever since it exploded with revelations in the Boston Archdiocese. Stories of abuse had come up now and then in earlier years, but after Boston in 2002 a rolling horror of stories surfaced across the country, followed by a rush to reform in the church and to the courts by victims. Here in the Davenport Diocese the pressure from victims and their lawyers for monetary compensation became so intense and open-ended that the bishop felt he had to declare bankruptcy before all Catholic physical assets were in jeopardy. Not that we lack sympathy for people who were abused and their families. They deserve whatever they need that will help in recovering from the awful crimes committed against them. Our sympathy is strained, though, when the drive for money as compensation looks more like blind lashing-out punishment of the church as a whole. Our general discomfort over the uncertainties and financial burden of paying for sins of the past doesn't hold a candle to what victims of sex abuse have suffered, but it needs saying that we need to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Repairing the past is essential work, but if it comes at a cost of depleting resources for the future, we the people of the church and our local communities are the ones hurt. It isn't priests or bishops who are punished; it's the ordinary Catholic. No one gains if the church of this generation is crippled by payment for clergy sex abuse. Our energy and resources need to be directed toward building a healthy future for the church. That's the best way to answer the scandal and complete our obligation to the victims. The $660 million abuse cases settlement in Los Angeles announced early this month led to another round of reaction that indicates no end to the scandal story. Commentators and editorialists gave Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony credit for the depth of his apology to victims as he announced the settlement, but in many cases they coupled that with renewed criticism of legal "stonewalling" in the past and continued resistance to the idea that archdiocesan records should be thrown open to the public. As part of the settlement in Los Angeles, Cardinal Mahony has agreed to a procedure in which an arbitrator will review priest personnel records and archdiocesan files related to abuse claims. The arbitrator will decide what is relevant for disclosure. Presumably, there will then be a complete public record of the who, what, when and where of clergy misbehavior there — without identifying victims if their stories have not already become public. Further, the arbitrator's report is supposed to include whatever he finds that throws light on what the bishops in Los Angeles did with priests accused of abuse. Is there any doubt what will happen when that arbitrator's report comes out? It will be another opportunity to fan the flames of controversy about everything from celibacy to episcopal malfeasance. Voyeurs and cynics will have a field day. And lawyers will be searching the material for new ways to snag the church into court. Someday the great sex abuse scandal of our time will fade to a background lesson in church history. We will be more aware of both the power and the vulnerabilities in our sexuality, but not preoccupied with them. Catholics will be able to give full attention to hearing the Gospel. Church leadership will be more humble in its role while more confident in preaching the Gospel. The Holy Spirit, after taking us through the fire of pain and humiliation, will renew the consolation of our faith. May that day be soon.
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