Parents Object to Priest's Sex Questions during Confession, by Mark Douglas, TBO, January 14, 2011

Parents Object to Priest's Sex Questions during Confession

By Mark Douglas
TBO
January 14, 2011

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/jan/14/141223/parents-object-to-priests-sex-questions-during-con/life/

The Rev. Joseph Waters is rector at the Cathedral of St. Jude, the church at the center of the St. Pete diocese.

The Rev. Joseph Waters

ST. PETERSBURG - Dozens of parents from the Cathedral School of St. Jude say they are shocked and upset that a priest questioned their seventh- and eighth-graders about sexual matters during pre-Christmas confessions in December.

An officer in the school's parents association, Diane Donnelly Myers, said she's heard several parents complain that the priest broached the subject of masturbation and pornography during student confessions Dec. 15.

"We love this school," Myers said. "That's why everyone is so fired up. I'm very proud of all of those parents stepping up — especially the parents of victims."

The priest, the Rev. Joseph Waters, said he will never talk outside the confessional about what occurs during this Catholic sacrament because to do so is prohibited by church law.

But in letters to parents, Waters insists he did nothing inappropriate and urged them to trust him.

In one letter, Waters questions why a priest in the course of his duties cannot mention "those sins that are talked about freely all the time among the children."

He also wrote that the student confessions were among more than 50 he conducted within an hour and a half.

In an interview with News Channel 8 on Thursday, Waters said, "I have no regrets at all. I answered my call to be a good confessor in every way I should have."

About 50 parents gathered in a meeting room at the Seminole Lanes bowling alley Wednesday evening to air their concerns and decide on a course of action.

In a statement released after the meeting, St. Jude parent Olimpia Calandra said "we came together tonight to gather information and to discuss incidents that we feel compromised the safety of our children participating in the Sacrament of Penance."

Waters serves as rector at the Cathedral of St. Jude, the head priest at the church that is the religious center of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

Even if Waters did quiz children about masturbation, it would not be inappropriate under church law, said Frank Murphy, spokesman for the diocese.

In a letter to parents, from the Rev. Robert Morris, vicar general, the diocese said Waters "is a respected and dedicated priest of the Diocese of St. Petersburg with whom we have the utmost confidence."

But Martha Jean Lorenzo, who has worked on behalf of victims of priest abuse, questioned whether priests should be probing for sins when they hear confessions.

"I don't ever remember going to a confession and ever having father ask me what kind of sins did I commit, and certainly never of a sexual nature," said Lorenzo, who is with SNAP — Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests.

Waters had a run-in before with fellow Catholics.

In 1998, a student at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami accused Waters of shaking him with such force the student "wet himself."

Waters told News Channel 8 he was exonerated in a lie-detector test and the student withdrew his claim.

"I simply told him he shouldn't be in the seminary, which is something he didn't like," Waters said. "I did my job."

He also has run afoul of civil authorities.

In January 2009, he was arrested for driving under the influence while returning home from a social engagement.

"I made a mistake and I'm sorry," he said.

The charge was reduced and judgment was withheld so no criminal record remains.

In March, the IRS filed liens totaling $18,062 against Waters for unpaid taxes from 2004 and 2006.

Waters said he is working on a payment plan with the IRS.

Meanwhile, Waters suggested the controversy over student confessions is fueled by parents who don't want his leadership.

"I am praying to persevere in the truth, to forgive and bless those who are treating me as the enemy," he said in one of his letters.

"I think I've done everything I can reasonably do to assure them," Waters said. "I don't know what else I can do other than leave the cathedral which I'm not interested in."