Pottstown Mercury
April 10, 2010
http://www.pottstownmercury.com/articles/2010/04/10/opinion/srv0000008004335.txt
[Report of the Philadelphia Grand Jury] http://www.bishop-accountability.org/pa_philadelphia/Philly_GJ_report.htm
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| Wilfried Fesselmann of Gelsenkirchen, western Germany, says he was sexually abused by a priest as an alter boy. He is accusing Pope Benedict XVI of failing to remove his abuser while serving as a Cardinal in Germany and is demanding compensation ‘even if the church may go bankrupt over it.’ Columnist Jean-Marie Nadeau suggests another possibility: resignations at the highest level. |
A grand jury investigation launched by former Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham in 2002 revealed in 2005 that 63 Catholic priests allegedly abused children as far back as the 1940s, 43 of whom had connections with Delaware County. All of them escaped criminal prosecution because Pennsylvania's statute of limitations had expired by the time civil authorities became aware of the alleged abuse.
Officials in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia had taken it upon themselves to address abuse allegations, quietly sending some priests to treatment centers for pedophilia. Often these alleged abusers were returned to parish life and access to children on the mistaken belief that pedophilia is curable.
It is not unusual for victims of childhood sexual abuse to wait until adulthood to come forward because of intimidation by abusers who swear young victims to secrecy or threaten violence against them or loved ones if they reveal the abuse.
In 2006, the Pennsylvania Legislature attempted to address the issue by expanding the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse to age 50 for victims. Previously, charges had to be filed within two years of the alleged abuse and no later than age 18.
Archdiocesan officials now inform civil authorities of alleged abuse as directed in 2002 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children.
That is little comfort to children who were abused by men of the cloth, the very people entrusted with their spiritual well-being. They often feel shame well into adulthood resulting in self-destructive behavior, even to the point of suicide.
Those psychological wounds most likely have been ripped open by the current controversy in Rome, following recent revelations of alleged clerical sexual abuse in Europe including Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark.
To add fuel to the fire, when Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, headed the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, he reportedly dictated that he handle all abuse cases. The future pope reportedly oversaw the case of an Arizona priest who a church tribunal determined molested children as far back as the late 1970s, for 14 years before the man was defrocked in 2004.
Outrage over these current revelations have been dismissed by the pope's minions as an anti-Vatican smear campaign by the media, despite the call by many European bishops for transparency in dealing with the abuse of children. On Good Friday, the pope's personal preacher actually likened the allegations that the pontiff covered up sex abuse cases, to the "more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism." It was an insult to the intelligence of both Jews and Roman Catholics. Vatican officials quickly distanced themselves from the remark.
For eight years now, Roman Catholics in the United States have been facing the issue of clerical sexual abuse head-on with the help of priests and bishops who wish to rid their ranks of such sinners. The faithful worldwide have now made it clear, they want answers. Denials from the Vatican will only set back the healing.
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