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	Catholic Church Remains Defensive in Abuse Cases CBS News April 3, 2010 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/03/world/main6360194.shtml With Criticism Mounting, Some Call on Pope Benedict to Speak; Former Portland Archbishop Defends Restoring Accused Priest Amid celebrations marking its holiest week, the Catholic Church has continued to close ranks around the Vatican as the controversy surrounding the church's sexual abuse scandal shows no signs of easing. On Friday, revelations in the abuse cases of two Arizona priests cast doubt on the Catholic Church's insistence that Pope Benedict XVI played no role in shielding pedophiles before he became pope. And in a newly released court deposition, a top Vatican official who is a former Portland archbishop defended not telling Oregon parishioners about the sex abuse allegations against a priest he restored to duty. But despite these swirling revelations, defense of the pope - and the Church in general - remained staunch. During a Good Friday homily, Pope Benedict's personal preacher likened accusations against the pope and Church in the sex abuse scandal to "collective violence" suffered by the Jews. The Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, with the pope listening in St. Peter's Basilica, said that a Jewish friend wrote to him to say the accusations remind him of the "more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism." The comments, particularly coming the day Christians mark the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, pointed to vatican frustration over criticism of the church and its leader, reports CBS News correspondent Richard Roth. The remarks drew criticism from victims' groups and Jewish leaders, reports Roth. The Vatican was quick to say they didn't reflect the Church's official position, though they were reprinted in the Vatican's official newspaper. In order to stem the tide of the sex abuse scandal, Pope Benedict must address it more directly than he already has, Politics Daily's David Gibson, who is a published author on the topic, told CBS' "The Early Show: Saturday Edition" "It's really going from bad to worse," Gibson said. "We need to hear from the pope himself. He's the one voice that has been silent in all of this as you've seen these various voices speaking up and saying things that aren't helping anything." Another voice critical of the Catholic Church entered the fray Saturday. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the Church of England, said the Catholic Church in Ireland had lost its credibility among its faithful for its mishandling of abusive priests - comments that left one Catholic archbishop "stunned." "I was speaking to an Irish friend recently who was saying that it's quite difficult in some parts of Ireland to go down the street wearing a clerical collar now," Williams told the BBC. "And an institution so deeply bound into the life of a society, suddenly becoming, suddenly losing all credibility - that's not just a problem for the church, it is a problem for everybody in Ireland, I think." Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said he had "rarely felt personally so discouraged" as when he heard Williams' opinions. "I have been more than forthright in addressing the failures of the Catholic Church in Ireland. I still shudder when I think of the harm that was caused to abused children. I recognize that their Church failed them," a statement, posted on the archdiocese's Web site, said. "Those working for renewal in the Catholic Church in Ireland did not need this comment on this Easter weekend and do not deserve it." Meanwhile, in the deposition of Cardinal William Levada, the former Portland archbishop insisted he had given complete information to the pastor of the parish about the history of Father Joseph Baccellieri. Documents provided by the archdiocese show Baccellieri's position was parochial vicar, an administrative, not pastoral post. The archdiocese says there were limits on his ministry and that no other abuse allegations against him arose. However, there was nothing in records e-mailed by the archdiocese to The Associated Press on Friday showing there was any explicit prohibition on contact between Baccellieri and parishioners. The documents also show that over the years Baccellieri had also been named pastor and co-pastor, before retiring in 2002. Levada was archbishop of the Portland Archdiocese from 1986-95. He now is head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome and has become a central figure in defending the Vatican in its handling of abusive priests. Levada gave a deposition in 2006 as dozens of sex abuse lawsuits were pending against the church. In a transcript of his testimony released Friday by one of attorneys in those cases, Levada said Baccellieri had gone through therapy and the recommendation was that "he was not at risk for reabusing and that it would be prudent to reassign him." Jeffrey Lena, a California-based attorney for Levada, deferred immediate comment and told The Associated Press he would try to send a statement about the release of the deposition on Friday but it did not arrive. Lena was traveling over the holiday weekend and had limited cell phone reception. There was no answer Saturday at Levada's Vatican office; most Vatican offices were closed for Easter. Levada said in the deposition he did not think parishioners needed to be told about the priest's history. "It might give people the implication that if they are being told this, that I am suspecting that he - he may be at risk - he may be a risk to their children," Levada said during questioning by Kelly Clark, one of the attorneys for dozens of men who alleged they were abused by Oregon priests. The deposition was released by Erin Olson, another attorney who represented abuse victims in the Oregon lawsuit. She said she decided to release it because she was angry over Levada's defense of the way the Vatican handled a Wisconsin priest accused of molesting as many as 200 deaf boys. Levada posted a statement on the Vatican Web site saying that Pope Benedict XVI should not be held responsible for a church decision in the 1990s not to defrock the Wisconsin priest. Levada left Portland to become archbishop in San Francisco in 1995. He took over as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from Ratzinger after Ratzinger was elected pope in 2005. The Wisconsin case had been referred to the Vatican's doctrinal office when Ratzinger was in charge of it. As archbishop in Portland, Levada removed Baccellieri in 1992 after complaints involving teenage boys but allowed him to return on a limited basis under close supervision in 1994. Levada also set conditions for Baccellieri, including continuous counseling and therapy, regular reporting by his therapist to the Archdiocese of Portland, close monitoring, limitations on ministry activities and residence outside a parish setting or under the supervision of other priests. In the deposition, Levada told attorneys, "If I thought Father Baccellieri would be a risk to any child, I would never have reassigned him." In the Arizona cases, documents reviewed by The Associated Press show that as a Vatican cardinal, the future pope took over the abuse case of the Rev. Michael Teta of Tucson, then let it languish at the Vatican for years despite repeated pleas from the bishop for the man to be removed from the priesthood. In another Tucson case, that of Msgr. Robert Trupia, the bishop wrote to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would become pope in 2005. Bishop Manuel Moreno called Trupia "a major risk factor to the children, adolescents and adults that he many have contact with." There is no indication in the case files that Ratzinger responded. "There's no doubt that Ratzinger delayed the defrocking process of dangerous priests who were deemed 'satanic' by their own bishop," Lynne Cadigan, an attorney who represented two of Teta's victims, said Friday. It took 12 years from the time Ratzinger assumed control of the case in a signed letter until Teta was formally removed from ministry, a step only the Vatican can take. Teta was accused of engaging in abuse not long after his arrival in the Diocese of Tucson in 1978. Among the eventual allegations: that he molested two boys, ages 7 and 9, in the confessional as they prepared for their First Communion. "The tragedy is that the bishops have only two choices: Follow the Vatican's code of secrecy and delay, or leave the church," Cadigan said Friday. "It's unfortunate that their faith demands that they sacrifice children to follow the Vatican's directions." Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said in a statement Saturday that the way the Arizona case had been presented in the media is "misleading." "The documents show clearly and positively that those in charge at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith ... have repeatedly intervened actively over the course of the 90s so that the canonic trial under way in the Tucson diocese could dutifully reach its conclusion," Lombardi said in the statement. He said the trial ended in 1997 with an order that Teta be defrocked, but a subsequent appeal was delayed because changes were being made to the regulations on sex abuse cases. The appeal was taken up in 2001 and Teta was finally laicized in 2004.
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