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	Barnidge: These Are Hard Times for Men of the Cloth By Tom Barnidge Contra Costa Times May 31, 2010 http://www.contracostatimes.com/columns/ci_15183304?nclick_check=1 THE DARK CLOUD that has hovered over the Catholic Church since revelations of a child-abuse scandal still casts a long shadow over the members of its religious community. Everyone from the pope to cardinals to bishops to priests has been scarred by the stigma of pedophilia. But no one has felt the reverberations quite like parish pastors, who are stationed on the frontline interacting with parishioners. They have been asked to keep the flock together in the midst of a thunderstorm. Monsignor Theodore Kraus of Santa Maria Church in Orinda, who has worn the cloth for 45 years, regards the challenge as "one of the most important issues during my priesthood, because it deals with the very question of the priesthood itself." The Rev. Robert Rien, pastor of St. Ignatius Church of Antioch, laments the fallout he and colleagues have endured: "It's been a source of embarrassment for those of us who were not involved. It is an experience of guilt by association, not so much by Catholics as non-Catholics." The wonder, judging by the four East Bay parishes we surveyed, is that Mass attendance remains steady and the collection basket still gets filled. Catholics have gritted their teeth and marched on, which is not to say they are at peace with what happened. Many still cannot fathom how the church allowed such transgressions. Or why they went unchecked for so long. Catholics well steeped in the virtues of confession ask why no one in the clergy confessed these sins long ago. "There is incredible anger toward the bishops and the hierarchy for the cover-up and the unwillingness to take responsibility," Rien said. "The anger has been directed at how the institutional church has handled things," said the Rev. Vincent Cotter of St. Agnes Church in Concord. "The bishops in our country have not responded well." There has been ample blame to spread around. Nearly a decade ago, Cardinal Bernard Law, of Boston, knew of sexually abusive priests in his diocese but declined to act. He was rewarded with a new job in Rome. The Vatican tried to hide the scandal instead of addressing it and then blamed the media for attacking the church. Apologies were much too slow in coming. Pastors were left to confront the outrage, which they have done with surprising candor. The Rev. Richard Mangini of St. Bonaventure Church in Concord has written about the scandal several times in church bulletins, most recently April 11, when he touched on a news report that Pope Benedict XVI, years earlier as archbishop of Munich, had been party to a cover-up: "As well intentioned as he may have been, he labored under the same naivete that many other bishops did — a hope that the incident would not happen again, that the fallen priest would recover, that the secret would not return to haunt the church." Mangini knows that parishioners loathe revisiting this issue, but as he wrote, "It is more than an 'issue' because what has happened has had permanent, harmful effects on those who survived the experience." Cotter has addressed the controversy in homilies, and this week plans to hold a town hall meeting. "I don't presume to have all the answers," he said, "but I want to hear people's concerns." The four pastors we interviewed said the church needs to be more proactive in baring its wounds and making amends. They urged a newfound openness where secrecy always has reigned. "I thank God for the media," Rien said. "If the press had not pushed this, the church would not have been forced to deal with it, and we still would be operating the same way, which is to cover up, hide and protect the institution." Mangini wants the church to uncover all transgressions. "If we wait until these things arise as we go," he said, "we'll be picking up the pieces for another 10 years." "This is part of a much bigger issue," Rien said, "and that's how the church deals with sexuality. Part of it has to do with seminary formation and the requirement of celibacy." Candidates for the priesthood receive more screening now than ever, the pastors agreed, including background checks, personality profiles and psychological tests. Seminaries have become as much about scrutiny as they are about prayer. These are difficult times for the Catholics. Still, the pastors carry on. "In spite of the public realities and issues of our vulnerability as Catholics," Kraus said, "at Easter vigil we had seven people baptized into the Catholic community here at our parish. This is not purely an obstacle. It's also an invitation to move forward."
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