BishopAccountability.org
	My Turn: Priest Judgment Hurts Innocent the Most By Kelly Bartlett Burlington Free Press June 14, 2008 http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080614/OPINION/806140302/1006 Recently some of my children helped out at the local food shelf. One had volunteered in order to fulfill community service hours for the Confirmation program at St. Thomas parish in Underhill. Two others went because community service is for people of all ages. In fact, my daughter considered this work so important that she asked if they could volunteer next month as well. During a recent Sunday Mass, we listened to Bishop Matano's letter about the sexual abuse case in Burlington. This issue is disturbing to all. We mourn the plaintiff's lost innocence. We are appalled to hear the nature of the abuse reported in the papers. We pray not only for this plaintiff, but also for all victims of sexual abuse, especially children. The Vermont diocese now requires that all who teach children receive training to learn how to recognize perpetrators and victims, and the safe and proper way to handle them. Because I volunteer as a teacher, I started this training last summer. The program, called Virtus, involves a workshop as well as ongoing updates online. We are even learning about types of abuse that didn't exist 30 years ago, such as cyber bullying. As important as this training is, it cannot erase the pain of the past; the goal is to protect children now and in the future. The $7.75 million in punitive damages awarded to the plaintiff ("Jury awards $8.7 million to victim of clergy abuse," May 14) will not erase the pain of the past, either. I want to be clear that I am not talking about the compensatory damages of $950,000 granted to the victim. I am referring to the additional "$7.75 million in punitive damages, meant to punish the diocese." I urge Judge Katz, the jury and the plaintiff to let the punishment fit the crime. Which persons are responsible for this crime? The perpetrator in the abuse that occurred 30 years ago is no longer a practicing priest and no longer lives in Vermont. The bishop of 30 years ago is now deceased. And who knows where the psychiatrist who deemed the pedophile cured is? Judge Katz and jury, whom are you actually punishing? You are not penalizing a nameless, faceless institution: You are punishing us, our friends, our neighbors, and by extension, all of Vermont. Worst of all, the ones who will end up bearing the brunt of the financial fallout are the ones who are the most innocent: the children. You could seek restitution rather than retribution. Please consider this alternative: We are the church. We are well aware that we are all sinners, that we are all connected, and that we are a community. Consider allowing us to pay off the $7.75 million in punitive damages by doing community service instead. All willing Vermonters of all ages could work in solidarity to accrue 7.75 million dollars' worth of community service in restitution to the plaintiff. I pray that this outpouring of service and charity for the victim's sake will heal him in the way that punitive damages never can. Kelly Bartlett lives in Jericho.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.