The Post-Standard
April 8, 2011
http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2011/04/sins_of_the_fathers_pennsylvan.html
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| MONSIGNOR William Lynn leaves the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia March 14. Lynn, of the Phila?delphia Archdiocese, is charged with conspiracy in connection with a clergy sex abuse case. He is the first high-ranking U.S. diocesan official indicted on crimi?nal charges related to the sexual abuse scandal |
When leaders of the U.S. Roman Catholic Church in 2002 adopted rules designed to stem the spiraling clergy sexual abuse crisis, critics and victims’ advocates were skeptical the church could police itself. Recent revelations in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia vindicate those concerns and raise questions about the effectiveness of the church’s policies.
After intense public outrage rocked the church in the wake of Boston’s clergy sex abuse scandal, U.S. bishops in June 2002 approved the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” The policy says that priests who have committed sexual abuse will be removed permanently from ministry, and all allegations will be reported to legal authorities. The charter also created a National Review Board and a national Office of Child and Youth Protection.
At least one diocese apparently has not followed the policies agreed to by the bishops. A Philadelphia grand jury in February reported that the Philadelphia Archdiocese had allowed 37 accused priests to remain in ministry. That news came about the same time an annual audit by an outside agency found the archdiocese in compliance with the bishops’ policies on abuse.
The grand jury report contains disturbing and graphic descriptions of instances of rape and sexual abuse by priests. “What we found were not acts of God, but of men who acted in His name and defiled it,” said the 400-plus page report. “The abuser priests, by choosing children as targets and trafficking on their trust, were able to prevent or delay reports of their sexual assaults, to the point where applicable statutes of limitations expired.”
Since then, Cardinal Justin Rigali has placed 25 priests named in the report on administrative leave, forbidding them to minister in public.
How could such widespread sexual abuse emerge nine years after scandal created a public relations disaster and broad crisis of faith?
Some in the church hierarchy remain tone-deaf to the damage sexual abuse causes its victims, focusing instead on protecting the rights of priests and the reputation of the church. Too many clergy continue to view sexual abuse as a sin, rather than a crime. It’s clear that the church cannot police itself.
The Philadelphia report — with its lurid details and names of accused priests — is highly unusual and is forcing the diocese to act on cases they willfully ignored or covered up for years. Another development sets an important precedent.
Monsignor William J. Lynn, who served as former Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua’s secretary, recently was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child by mishandling allegations of abuse. He is accused of conspiring with three priests who allegedly raped or sodomized two altar boys in the mid-1990s. Lynn is the first high-ranking U.S. diocesan official indicted on criminal charges related to the sexual abuse scandal.
No one — including church leaders — is above the law.
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