BishopAccountability.org
	Tom Shea: Prolific " Letter to the Editor" Writer Sheila Rooney Zagula Targets Catholic Church Abuse Crisis By Tom Shea The Republican April 17, 2011 http://www.masslive.com/tomshea/index.ssf/2011/04/tom_shea_prolific_letter_to_the.html In her 35 letters she's written to the editor of The Republican over seven years regarding the epidemic of sexual abuse by Catholic priests, Sheila Rooney Zagula has chided a monsignor, scolded the attorney for Springfield's runaway former bishop indicted for child molestation, campaigned for passage of amendments that would add years to statute-of-limitation laws, asked why legal action must be taken to ensure the Catholic church does the right thing and spoken out over and over again about the importance, responsibility and power of those who sit in the pews and who have taken religious vows. She also posed questions: "Why have so many of us remained silent? "What could we have done differently to show our support to the victims of these crimes? "Most importantly, what can we do now?" Sheila first asked herself versions of those questions in the winter of 2004 after the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Thomas Dupre, resigned and fled the area when confronted with questions about two sexual abuse accusations made against him by former altar boys. Seven months later he would become the first Roman Catholic bishop to be indicted for rape, two counts. He wasn't prosecuted. The statute of limitations had run out. "I had never written a letter to the editor before," Sheila says. "At the time it was what I could do. I didn't want to be silent any more. I was timid writing at first. But, I guess I overcame that. I didn't want abuse victims to think they were forgotten. Silence and inaction by those in charge was wrong for too long. It is wrong for us to follow the same course. So many people are anxious to 'move on' and begin the 'healing' process. But I think as a diocesan community we have to fully open our hearts to acknowledge what those who have been abused and have been experiencing this many years." Sheila is soft spoken and, if first impressions count, seems a reservoir of patience. She is 5 feet tall, wears wireless glasses, a jacket of many vibrant colors and tan slacks. We talk at her sister Maryellen Rooney Moreau's innovative educational company, Mind Wing Concepts, in Springfield Technical Community College's Technology Park. Sheila, 58, tells me she is a "Rooney from Ludlow" who now lives in the Indian Orchard neighborhood of Springfield. Her deeper roots are in Northern Ireland. Her early ancestors to American cut stone for St. Michael's Cemetery in Springfield. The 1970 Ludlow High graduate met her husband, Mike, a Class of 1970 graduate of Springfield's Cathedral High School, where he was a star hockey goalie, on St. Patrick's Day 1979 at the John Boyle O'Reilly Club. They are the parents of Michael, an apprentice plumber, and Mary, a student at Westfield State University. Both of Sheila's degrees are from Westfield State. She has spent much of her adult working life teaching grade school children to read and write. She is now a reading specialist at Highland Elementary School in Westfield. Her own reading habits are the works of Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson. Sheila is also a fan of Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun and author. She calls Chittister's "The Rule of Benedict," a "big influence on my thinking." Sheila says she never lost her faith that her mother instilled in her. She recently joined St. Michael's Church in East Longmeadow, whose pastor, the Rev. James Scahill, and Sisters Mary McGeer and Betty Broughan have been among the rare Catholic religious to offer solidarity to the victims of clerical abuse. In the news on the day we speak is Cardinal Justin Rigali, of Philadelphia, who one month earlier had refuted a grand jury finding that his archdiocese allowed 37 priests accused of abuse or inappropriate behavior to remain in ministry, but then changed his mind. Rigali, the only American cardinal to concelebrate Pope John Paul II's 2005 funeral, suspended three priests, then 21 more. October will mark the 20th anniversary of the arrest of Rev. Richard Lavigne for the molestation of two brothers. Hours after the arrest, Chicopee police sources revealed that Lavigne, the pastor of St. Joseph's in Shelburne Falls, was also a suspect in the 1972 murder of Springfield altar boy, Danny Croteau, who was found bludgeoned that April 15 on the banks of the Chicopee River. In 1992, the priest accepted a plea deal with no prison time and was sentenced to serve 10 years of probation on the molestation charges. He was never charged in the murder. He was defrocked by the Vatican almost 12 years later. According to BishopAccountability.org, a website that documents the abuse crisis, in the past 20 years, 55 priests who served in the Springfield diocese have been credibly accused of sexual molestation. Sheila slides a book across the table: "The Bully, The Bullied and the Bystander." It is written for parents and teachers, but Sheila believes it also could help church leaders and those in the pews. "The role of the bystander is often overlooked," she notes. "And, too often excused. Who were you the last 20 years?" An interesting question to ask at the start Holy Week. Or any week.
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