BishopAccountability.org
	Bills Could Cripple Church in Guam By Tim Rohr Tim Rohr May 12, 2010 http://www.guampdn.com/article/20100512/OPINION02/5120330/1014/OPINION/Bills-could-cripple-Church-in-Guam Let's be clear. We Catholics in the pews have no interest in defending clerical wrongdoing nor any attempt to hide it. We have been hit from both sides by the news of scandal among our clergy. First, we are hurt by the news that any child would feel when a child hears bad news about one's own parent. Second, we are hurt by the slander hurled at the Church we consider to be our Mother. It's difficult to know how to respond. We want to see the wrongs in our Church righted. Most of us are extremely saddened by news of these affairs, but we are also offended by the vicious self-righteousness of outsiders. We will deal with it and move on, but in the meanwhile, there are some possible consequences all the people of Guam, not just Catholics, need to consider. Should Bills 334 and 372 pass into law, and should moral entrepreneurs like SNAP, working in concert with local lawmakers hostile to the Church, get their way, the Church on Guam, even if it is innocent, may be forced (as per stateside precedent) to cough up millions of dollars to defend itself. The Archdiocese of Agana does not have millions of dollars, and even with insurance payments, could be forced to sell its properties, as several stateside dioceses have had to do. The Boston Archdiocese, for example, was forced to close more than 65 churches and sell many other properties to pay for the settlements levied upon it in 2003. Should SNAP and Vice Speaker Benjamin Cruz prevail, a few may benefit from punishing the Church, but almost all will pay. Here's why. Currently, archdiocesan agencies are feeding, clothing and housing hundreds of homeless, helpless and aged. Catholic schools are educating 5,000 students per year at a saving to the taxpayer of $6,000 per student. Many hundreds of people are employed within the archdiocese and their paychecks represent income tax revenue to GovGuam. Lay members of the Church also provide countless volunteer hours of charitable works through its many organizations. Should the Church become crippled by lawsuits and forced to begin shutting down its services and schools, GovGuam would need to pick up the tab. But any negative reaction to these fiscal consequences will probably pale in comparison to what will happen once "Catholics in the pew" realize that their village church, and perhaps their alma mater, will have to be sold to pay for the costs inflicted upon the Church by the likes of SNAP as a result of Cruz's legislation. Those churches and schools were built at great personal cost and sacrifice to the people in the pews and their ancestors. They are not likely to give them up without a fight -- a big one. This is not alarm-ism. This is not exaggeration. This is a pattern. Moral entrepreneurs like SNAP, under the guise of protecting children, attack a diocese with allegations knowing that, even if they are unfounded, the seriousness of the allegations will precipitate a "hanging before the trial." Lawmakers cave to the manufactured moral panic and pass legislation to lift the statute of limitations. Decades-old cases are resurrected. Lawsuits follow, churches and schools are forced to close and services are curtailed. I am all for exposing the wrongdoing in the Church. I experienced clerical sexual "abuse" as a teenager in Los Angeles. ("Abuse" is in quotes because I didn't stick around for the molestation part. I ran.) Where there is wrongdoing in our Church, let's have it out. And let's not stop there. The abuse of children is criminal wherever it occurs. Guam Child Protective Services reports an average of 250 child sex abuse cases per year, and experts tell us that the figure probably represents only 10 percent of the actual cases. Guess where most of that abuse occurs.
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