BishopAccountability.org
	Grave Misgivings Philly Burbs March 13, 2011 http://www.phillyburbs.com/blogs/news_columnists/jd_mullane/grave-misgivings/article_01c8e6c7-76ec-52cc-8236-7d13fc15e1c4.html Cardinal Justin Rigali has dismissed 21 priests from public ministry in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The priests may have sexually abused children or otherwise acted "improperly." It's unclear. Details are scant. Rigali's move, in the wake of a damning grand jury report, may comfort Catholics who believe His Eminence is committed to purging the priestly ranks of sexual abusers. But I have grave misgivings that Cardinal Rigali is sincere, and believe that he is hostile to victims. Here's why. Rigali's sweep came Tuesday. It included seven priests who had served at parishes in Bucks and Montgomery counties. A day later, Ash Wednesday, Rigali delivered a homily addressing the scandal. While attempting to resound with pastoral magnanimity, his remarks bore the odor of lawyers in hazy phrasing and calculated wording. "Once again," Rigali homilized, "we renew our commitment to make every possible effort to prevent these evil acts and to protect children from harm." He continued: "In this spirit, as I announced yesterday, the Archdiocese is having re-examined cases of concern to the grand jury about allegations of abuse of minors or boundary issues of some priests. We are likewise re-evaluating the way we handle allegations. The protection of children is paramount." "We." "Our." "The Archdiocese." Yes - best not to give the impression that Rigali runs things at Logan Square. And what are "boundary issues?" Cardinal Rigali offered his sorrow, but did not say who is responsible or why it happened. However, the Philadelphia DA's grand jury report, released in February, resolves this. Cardinal Rigali clearly shares blame. The report details how, for decades the archdiocese engaged in a cover-up, shuffling pedophile and pederast priests from parish to parish, never informing parishioners that their children were in danger. Rigali failed to stop this. The result: the indictments of three priests, the Secretary of Clergy, and a Bucks County catholic school teacher. This, more than five years after a previous grand jury showed how 63 priests had molested hundreds of children. That report was so shocking, Rigali urged Catholics not to read it. At the time, the cardinal assured us he was committed to ridding the archdiocese of sexually disordered clergy. With flash, he hired Mary Achilles, Pennsylvania Victim Advocate, who represents the interests of crime victims in the state. Achilles had 11 recommendations for Rigali, but she could not persuade him to adopt any, including referring sexual abuse victims to independent licensed counselors. Instead, a system was installed to send victims to the archdiocese's agents, not to the police, to give statements. The archdiocese misled victims to believe that their statements, medical and military records would be kept confidential. In fact, the statements and records were turned over to archdiocese's law firm. Victims were then aggressively pursued by "victim assistance coordinators" hired by the firm. One victim, who had attempted suicide, was harassed as he lay recovering in a hospital bed. Priests accused of perpetrating the crimes were never interviewed, the grand jury found. "In contrast to this kid-glove treatment of the abuser (priests), victims are virtually hounded to give statements. Victim coordinators + make it their business to 'get details - even unimportant' ones. The only possible reason for this tactic would be to use the statements as ammunition to impeach victims, in an effort to make them appear incredible," the report states. Rigali did not explain these seamy tactics in his Ash Wednesday address. As in 2005 with the dramatic hiring of the Pennsylvania Victim Advocate, Rigali has made another flashy hire - Gina Maisto Smith, a former Philadelphia prosecutor and sex crimes specialist. While her review of the "cases of concern" resulted in idling the 21 priests, the grand jury report shows there are at least 16 more unnamed clergy the DA feels have been credibly accused, but who remain in ministry. Due to this and the hounding of victims, I do not believe Justin Rigali is sincere, or that he will be just in dealing with these sordid matters for which he bears much responsibility. Mullane's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
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