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	Many in Harrisburg Area's Catholic Community Stand by the Pope, Their Religion Amid Clerical Sex Abuse Allegations By Ivey Dejesus The Patriot-News April 11, 2010 http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/04/many_in_harrisburg_areas_catho.html Steadfast in their faith; unwilling to pass judgment in light of insubstantial evidence. Those two characterizations represent some of the sentiments shared among the midstate's Catholic community in the wake of the latest spate of clerical sex abuse allegations on the church. The fact that the head of the church — Pope Benedict XVI — has become a target in the scandal makes those two sentiments even more compelling for ordinary Catholics. Indeed, scores of Catholics contacted during the reporting of this story declined to share their thoughts on the topic, some outwardly emotional and crying. "There are many early accusations without any foundation to them," said Tony Kearney of Palmyra, who is studying to be a deacon at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Annville. "I will not pass judgment on anything at such an early stage." Harriet Glass says the news has done nothing to erode her faith. "I'm devoted to the Lord and that is not wavering," said Glass, secretary of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. "I believe in my faith and I would not change churches. We have to remain strong." The firestorm surfaced last month amid reports that as then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the pope might have mishandled the adjudication of at least two abuse cases, possibly helping to protect the priests. Benedict, a hard-line conservative theologian who became pope in 2005, did not address the issue publicly while the controversy swirled during Holy Week. Meanwhile, support for Benedict among Catholic ranks continues to increase, from a statement last week from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops expressing concern for victims and full support for the pope and his leadership, to the pledge of support from a prominent Cardinal prior to the pope's Easter Sunday message from the Vatican. Benedict may have already suffered collateral damage, though. A Gallup poll released March 31 showed only 40 percent of Americans view Benedict favorably amid the new criticism. That's a major shift from two years ago, when the pope, finishing up a popular tour of the United States that included meetings with sex abuse victims, enjoyed a favorable rating of 63 percent. The current scandal, the latest addendum to the 2002 maelstrom that exposed decades of child sexual abuse at the hands of hundreds of clergy, has fired up comments from pundits in the media and blogosphere ranging from a fervent defense of the church to calls for the pope to step down. "It's an incendiary issue that raises justifiable outrage, sadness and confusion," said the Rev. James Martin, cultural editor of America Magazine, a national Catholic weekly. "Most American Catholics know that the church in the United States had to address this squarely in 2002 but nonetheless, they are depressed to see stories that this happened elsewhere." Martin is referring to the stories out of Ireland and Germany involving possibly hundreds of clerical sex abuse cases. "The Pope's response or non-response turns on documentation and conversations that are very hard to ascertain. The actual abuse itself in Ireland and Germany is a much more important story." Indeed, Randy Lee, a professor of law at Widener University in Harrisburg, says scrutiny of the pope is premature — possibly out of line — given the lack of concrete and clear facts. "I'm struggling to actually get accurate reliable information. I can't say I've been able to do that," he said. "I find a lot of stories are about opinion or characterization rather than actual information." Lee, a parishioner at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Harrisburg, subscribes to his legal background as he follows the story. "As an American, I function under the premise of innocent until proven guilty," said Lee, the 2008 recipient of the Fidelis Award from the Saint Thomas More Society of Central Pennsylvania, which recognizes commitment to justice. "It would be inappropriate to assume someone was guilty until I had all the background information." He said he is troubled by language used in reports of possible lawsuits against the Vatican, in particular that the church handled the defrocking of priests as a religious — not legal — matter. "To the extent that government would have a say in who is or isn't a priest, that threatens the traditional notion of church and state," Lee said. "What actually are legal questions and what are not legal questions. You have to be careful when you have government overseeing the function and administration of church." Reports that Benedict, in 2001 as prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, may have faulted in his duties to look into allegations of victims, has prompted the church faithful to once again defend their church. "The Catholic Church isn't perfect and it never claimed to be," Kearney said. "But in spite of itself, it's always existed. There will always be accusations, some founded, some unfounded. It doesn't change the basic theology, which is the foundation of the Catholic Church. This is God's church on earth." From blogs to comments on online news outlets, Catholics have suggested the media has leveled unfair attention and scrutiny on the church, given that child sexual abuse plagues society at large, not just the clergy. "They seem to always be attacking our faith when I'm sure things like this happen in other faiths as well but it doesn't hit headlines as well," said Barbara McCarthy, president of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. "I think the media is always in every situation over-dramatizing situations. It's simply attacking our faith again." Kearney echoes that sentiment. "People love to talk. They always attack major institutions whether it's a political party or government. This is the largest church in the world — Christian church. When something like this comes about everyone has an opinion even without knowing all that is going on," he said. Yet, Martin, a priest and a journalist, says the media, in particular The Boston Globe, have played an important role in exposing the abuse and helping to bring about church policies that will protect generations to come. "The focus should be on the abuse, not on the coverage," he said. "Most religion reporters in this country are not anti-Catholic. A story about an international institute that is involved in sexual abuse is a natural story for the media to cover." Not all the scrutiny has been negative. Last week, The New York Daily News published an editorial calling for fairness in the media's coverage of the pope. "...the grievous sins in this matter cannot be laid to Pope Benedict," the editorial said. Joseph Aponick, director of communications for the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, said the timing of the scrutiny might account for the emotional toll on Catholics. "One would have to look at this in light of the timing in terms of this is Holy Week and the most holy and sacred time for Catholics and Christians," he said last week. "One would have to ask with an eye of skepticism." Aponick said the fact that the bulk of allegations pertain to incidents that happened 40 to 50 years ago has to be weighed against the changes in how society treats physical and mental illness. "We do that much different today," he said. Since the mid-1990s, the diocese has had a zero-tolerance policy toward child sexual abuse, he said. "Any priest or deacon who has admitted to or found guilty of sexually abusing a minor, can no longer engage in public ministry," Aponick said. The diocese subscribes to a rigorous screening process that includes state police and FBI screenings, as well as an education component. The diocese, like others, undergoes audits from U.S. bishops. "It's a very real statute that is enforced," he said. "Quite honestly when that went through, a lot of that was being supported by Cardinal Ratzinger." Still, some think the church's highest ranking official has just one recourse. "The issue is taking responsibility rather than moving these priests around — to take responsibility for what they have actually done," said Paul Hearn, the central Pennsylvania spokesman for SNAP, the abuse survivor's network. "It's not so much the person who did crime. That in itself is bad, but to cover the crime up that's the real issue here." Benedict, he said, is ultimately responsible. "He was in charge of the office," Hearn said. Any calls for the pope to step down will be ultimately answered by him alone. Under canon law, a pope may deliver his resignation to the College of Cardinals, but only of his own free will. "He cannot be coerced," Aponick said. "There is no obligation that it be accepted because they are not above him. If he were to resign, it would be his choice."
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