BishopAccountability.org
	My Turn: Church Should Be Ready to Pay More By William Cleary Burlington Free Press June 1, 2008 http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080601/OPINION/806010307/1006 Why did a Vermont jury hit the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington with not only damages for the person its priest molested, but also $7.75 million to punish the diocese? We need only look at how the diocese handled the verdict. The first thing Bishop Matano did was to try to influence the next jury. He claimed the diocese was poor and then brought out the head of the diocese's child-abuse prevention program to talk about what the diocese has done. I talked about this with David Clohessy, the head of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests). He thought it untrue and misleading. The Burlington diocese, he reminded me, has known since the '60s that several of its priests were molesting children. Nonetheless, the diocese apparently never really voluntarily reported abuse by its priests. Did someone say the abuse of children by priests is no longer going on? One of the bishop's lawyers made that claim. But how could anyone know that? The same root causes are still in existence, however uncertain these are. Retired bishop Geoffrey Robinson just wrote a book saying the Catholic Church needs to change 2,000 years of wrong teaching on sex, but he was instantly condemned. Bishop Matano wants the diocese's priests' abuse to go away. In May 2006, while trying to move diocese assets beyond the reach of creditors, he described the priest abuse claims as an "unbridled, unjust and terribly unreasonable assault." The jury told Bishop Matano otherwise, but he still does not understand. Contrary to the stated policies of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops going back to 2002, he unleashes his lawyers to wreak havoc on former altar boys. This was evident in the most recent trial, just as it was last June when one of his lawyers caused the judge to discharge the jury because of the misconduct of the diocese's lawyer. The diocese has apparently not begun to sell its valuable real estate to pay for what its abusive priests have done and settle these cases out of court. Is it not time for that? Instead it prefers to put its victims through brutal public trials, hoping they will give up, or just take whatever settlement money the diocese deigns to offer them. The recent jury verdict shows that Vermont juries will not let the diocese get away with its tactics. If this verdict is in any way a predictor, the diocese can expect to pay a heavy price for its continued unwillingness to address what is wrong. The Burlington diocese needs to stop claiming poverty and focus on taking take care of children. No more energy protecting its priests! Many of them are justly beloved, close to their people and well protected. Once the diocese puts its hierarchical house in order, it can put these cases behind it. Until then, the jury's verdict may just be a sample of what may be yet to come. William Cleary of Burlington is a retired priest and author. His latest book is "Prayers to an Evolutionary God."
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