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	…And, What About the Misconduct Advisory Board? By Paul Cromidas Orthodox Reform September 15, 2007 http://orthodoxreform.org/columns/paul-cromidas/misconduct-board/ The recent sad news about Fr. Michael Pappas of San Francisco admitting infidelity and leaving his position as a priest, also contained the ironic information that he had been a member of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese's (GOA) Advisory Board on Clergy Sexual Misconduct. It may be too early to know just how this matter will turn out, although his bishop, Metropolitan Gerasimos, while expressing deep sadness, also said he would be moving toward Spiritual Court and defrocking for Fr. Pappas. In the meantime, the question can be raised: what about the Advisory Board? What do we know about it and what has it been doing? The short answer is that we know little about it and, from what we know, it has been doing virtually nothing. The Board was established by the GOA's 2002 policy on Clergy Sexual Misconduct, and an introductory session was held at that year's Clergy-Laity Congress. However, it took at least a year for most of the several members to be appointed, and by mid-2004 there had only been two meetings, and the names of the members had still not been made public. In February 2005, the GOA, in its official paper, the Orthodox Observer, proudly headlined: "Six Distinguished Members Comprise Clergy Sexual Misconduct Advisory Board". A highly-credentialed psychiatrist, certified in adolescent psychiatry, was one of those named, and, Fr. Pappas was one of two priests appointed. The last of the few meetings that the Board has held was in the summer of 2006. There have been at least three Metropolitans who have served as chairmen of the Board. The guidelines called for at least one bishop and at least one other clergyman as members, but did not say that a bishop had to be the chairman. One might think that with Metropolitans as chairmen, much would be accomplished, but it appears that exactly the opposite has been true. In a May 2007 conversation with Metropolitan Isaiah, who served as one of the chairmen, he told me that he had not been clear about the role of the Board and said he was surprised when one of the members wrote to him asking when the next meeting would be held. He left the chairmanship without explanation, although there had been calls for his stepping aside by two abuse victims' organizations, SNAP – Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, and POKROV, a resource for Orthodox victims. They had claimed a conflict of interest by the Metropolitan in his handling of the Fr. Gabriel Barrow case in his Denver diocese. Barrow has since been defrocked. Another ironic twist regarding Fr. Pappas is that he had also been a member of the Catholic Diocese of Stockton (California) Clergy Sexual Misconduct Review Board, and served as Ecumenical Officer of the San Francisco Metropolis of the GOA. Apparently, in that latter capacity, he was sent to Rome last year by Metropolitan Gerasimos to help honor the former Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, William Levada, on his elevation to the rank of Cardinal. Critics of the Cardinal had questioned his handling of pedophile priests while he was serving as a bishop in Portland, Oregon and San Francisco. Last year, I wrote an article questioning the sending of Fr. Pappas to Rome and the trip to the same ceremonies by Metropolitan Methodios of Boston. The Metropolitan was photographed in Rome with his old friend, the discredited Cardinal Bernard Law, formerly of Boston. I suggested that this sent a message that the GOA was willing to minimize the issue of child abuse by clergy. Here's part of what I also wrote in that article: "Fr. Pappas, it turns out, is also a member of the GOA Advisory Board on Clergy Sexual Misconduct. While he may have been following orders in going to Rome, one may also wonder whether his trip says anything about his role on that board, and his views on clergy misconduct. If he is willing to help honor a Catholic prelate of questionable background in the abuse area, how would he handle an Orthodox case? (In a typical lack of full disclosure by the GOA, the Greek Orthodox faithful have been told very little about this advisory board.)" Whether the news about Fr. Pappas effectively sounds a death knell for the Advisory Board or its credibility, remains to be seen. In the meantime, one can certainly say that the Board never really had a life to begin with. It is my view that the Advisory Board sadly exemplifies how the GOA has mishandled the sexual misconduct issue. It pronounced its policy with fanfare, saying it regarded the matter with "extreme seriousness", but did not really change its ways of doing business. This Board could have been a dynamic body showing how lay people and clergy could work together on a difficult, vital issue. Instead, it has been unorganized and ineffective, kept so by the GOA administration. A lay person as chairman might have helped. While the operative word here may be "Advisory", it does not appear, even, that any real advising has taken place. The GOA has conducted its business about misconduct as though this Board did not exist. What a shame and what a waste.
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