By Richard C. Dujardin
Providence Journal
April 17, 2008
http://www.projo.com/news/content/pope_tobin_04-17-08_LI9QA5Q_v11.3c62be7.html
Fresh from listening to the pope speak in the downstairs crypt of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said last night he was moved and inspired by what Benedict XVI had to say to the nation's Catholic bishops.
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"It was almost surrealistic being in that setting with the Holy Father," Bishop Tobin said. "As it turned out, I had a great seat, in the second row right behind the cardinals and had a great view and felt personally relating to him."
Although Benedict touched on many topics during his 35-minute address, one that caught the attention of many was his assessment of the priest sex-abuse crisis — remarks that didn't satisfy one Rhode Islander who had been abused by a former priest from West Warwick.
Addressing the leadership of the Catholic Church in America last night, the pontiff said he believed that the sexual-abuse scandal was "sometimes very badly handled."
James Egan, who now lives in Burrillville, said after hearing portions of the pope's remarks read to him that he still wasn't hearing an apology. He said that the church should defrock all priests who abused children, as well as those bishops who covered up the abuse by moving priests from parish to parish.
Bishop Tobin said last night that he didn't know the details of Egan's particular situation, "but the anger and the reaction of victims of sexual abuse are understandable. They have been wounded terribly.
"At the same time, I think it's fair to say the Catholic Church has done and continues to do as much as any institution in society to try to respond to the terrible events of sexual abuse. The Catholic Church now in fact is leading the way in our society and culture and trying to provide a safe environment and to deal with the offenders.
"This crisis was not created overnight. It was created over many years and caused by many factors. It won't be cured overnight but I think we are making enormous strides in doing a better job. In so doing I think the Catholic Church is setting an example for other church communities and other segments of our society."
But should priests who molested children be defrocked, and bishops who covered up their crimes be defrocked as well?
"Defrocking is a specific canonical action and it doesn't happen very often," Bishop Tobin said. "However, it has happened with increasing frequency with priests who have been accused or found guilty of sexual abuse. It should also be noted that priests who are known to be pedophiles or who were found to have abused young people are no longer in ministry. The pope made that clear on the plane yesterday: pedophiles will not be priests."
Bishop Tobin added that it's a "common notion that lots of bishops covered up crimes."
"I don't know if we ever had an objective number on that because sometimes it's very hard to simplify the situations. Some bishops didn't know about it; some bishops did. Sometimes they were responding to the best psychological and medical counseling they received. I think many bishops did the best they could in their particular time and circumstances. Certainly some bishops didn't act properly but I don't think in most cases it was intentional."
As for other aspects of pope's address, Bishop Tobin said he was extremely moved by Benedict's opening words, in which he lavished praised on the goodness and faithfulness of the American Catholic Church.
"He touched upon a bunch of relevant and significant topics. Immigration, of course, and marriage and family life and religious education."
In his remarks, Benedict suggested that the value that Americans place on personal freedom and autonomy is a double-edged sword: it can sometimes cause people to lose sight of their dependence on and responsibilities toward others. This emphasis on individualism can even affect the church, he said, "giving rise to a form of piety which sometimes emphasizes our private relationship with God at the expense of our calling to be members of a redeemed community."
Asked about the declining number of priests and how to reverse it, Benedict said, "Strange to say, I often think that prayer is the one aspect of vocations work which we tend to forget or undervalue.
"To the extent that we teach young people to pray and to pray well, we will be cooperating with God's call. Programs, plans and projects have their place, but the discernment of a vocation is above all the fruit of an intimate dialogue between the Lord and his disciples. Young people, if they know how to pray, can be trusted to know what to do with God's call."
Tobin said he thought the pope's remarks on dealing with the decline in priestly vocations were particularly insightful.
"Generally speaking, he was trying to encourage the reality of faith. One of the things he said that struck me was that we must resist efforts to privatize faith. I've tried to make that point in some of my columns. Faith makes a difference. Faith has consequences for every member of the church. You can't just be a Catholic on Sunday and a pagan the rest of the week. It's a theme that resonated with me very closely."
Contact: rdujardi@projo.com
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