By Dinah Wisenberg Brin and Peter Loftus
Wall Street Journal
March 12, 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703597804576194771561578028.html
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| Protesters outside the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia demonstrated this week against what they called church officials' attempts to hide sex-abuse charges. |
The news this week that the Philadelphia Catholic Archdiocese placed on leave 21 priests accused of sexual abuse of minors was a reminder that the U.S. church abuse scandal is far from resolved nearly a decade after it came to light.
The leaves followed a grand jury report last month that lambasted the archdiocese for allowing 37 priests to remain around children despite "substantial evidence of abuse." That report and the investigation that led to it were made possible because the diocese had supplied prosecutors with information following an earlier grand jury report in 2005.
The earlier report concluded that dozens of priests had sexually abused children dating back at least a half-century. But prosecutors were powerless to bring criminal charges because statutes of limitations had expired.
While prosecutors can't bring charges against the 37 priests due to statutes of limitation, prosecutors say the cases "show a pattern of the church looking the other way when it came to investigating these charges," said Tasha Jamerson, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.
In addition to the 21 priests placed on leave, three others were placed on leave after the grand jury report and three others were on leave or no longer in active ministry. Two others no longer serve in the Philadelphia archdiocese, and the bishops where they reside have been notified. Eight of the priests weren't placed on leave because the diocese concluded no further investigations were warranted.
In the wake of the scandal, the diocese referred to prosecutors reports of abuse that allegedly took place at a Philadelphia parish in the 1990s, sparking an investigation that led to last month's grand jury report and charges against five men.
Authorities charged three priests and a teacher with rape, indecent assault and related charges. Prosecutors levied child-endangerment charges against a former diocesan official accused of covering up abuse for years and transfering priests to unsuspecting parishes. That official, Msg. William Lynn, had been a top aide to former Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, the previous Philadelphia archbishop. Msg. Lynn's lawyer Jeff Lindy, said his client is innocent of the charges. All five men are due in state court Monday in Philadelphia for a procedural hearing.
Cardinal Justin Rigali this week said the diocese "has worked very hard" since 2005, "and we believed we were on the right path, making significant progress in the protection of children and in the investigation and handling of abuse allegations." While the recent investigation stemmed from reports the archdiocese made to the district attorney's office, he said, the newer report "presented us with serious concerns that demand a decisive response."
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams called Cardinal Rigali's removal of the 21 priests commendable and unprecedented, and said that "they reflect his concern for the physical and spiritual well-being of those in his care."
A day after the diocese placed the priests on leave, Cardinal Justin Rigali, in an Ash Wednesday homily, offered "prayers of reparation" and a "commitment to make every possible effort to prevent these evil acts and to protect children from harm."
Critics, however, said church leadership continued to show a lack of understanding about child sexual abuse in the way it handled the suspensions. The archdiocese drew condemnation for, among other moves, declining to release a list of the priests, choosing instead to inform each parish. Local news outlets gathered and published the names this week.
The grand jury found that an archdiocesan board that reviewed allegations often judged as "incredible" or "unsubstantiated" allegations against priests who had been independently accused or flunked a lie detector test.
"These are simply not the actions of an institution that is serious about ending the sexual abuse of its children. There is no other conclusion," the report said. That the church provided the district attorney's office with information "is some sign of progress," although "much has not changed," the grand jury said.
"It's not unlike a chemical company that has toxic spills in 21 places around Philadelphia," and it won't say where they are, said Barbara Blaine, president of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. "The priests only get removed when there's public pressure or publicity to make that happen, and we see that across the U.S. as well," she said.
A representative of the archdiocese didn't return calls for comment.
The district attorney's office wants people with allegations of sexual abuse to come directly to prosecutors. The office has set up a website and telephone hotline, which received several calls and emails daily, on average, since it was announced in February.
Mr Williams has said he expects to continue to aggressively investigate allegations.
That aggressiveness has forced the diocese to release more information than it would have, according to Marci Hamilton, a professor at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Ms. Hamilton represents two plaintiffs in cases against the Philadelphia archdiocese, Cardinal Rigali, Cardinal Bevilacqua and Msg. Lynn.
"You have a dogged district attorney's office that has treated this issue as one involving crime, and therefore has been ... aggressive in trying to unearth the scope of the orchestration of the crime," Ms. Hamilton said. "That is different from any other city. No other city has had law enforcement this dedicated to the issue."
New victims are identifying themselves and disclosing new names of perpetrators, according to Hamilton, who said, "We are at the beginning of what I believe will truly be a flood of allegations."
Write to Dinah Wisenberg Brin at dinah.brin@dowjones.com
and Peter Loftus at peter.loftus@dowjones.com
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