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Archbishop Dolan on Penn State: 'We Know What You're Going Through'
Religion News Service
November 16, 2011
www.religionnews.com/index.php?/gibson/comments/archbishop_dolan_on_penn_state_we_know_what_youre_going_through/
At the midday briefing Monday, the first day of the fall meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the USCCB, was asked his reaction to the Penn State child sex abuse scandal that has drawn many parallels to the Catholic crisis.
Dolan was hesitant to say too much, it seemed, but he wound up discoursing for several minutes, with one of the most interesting moments being his proposal -- so far with no details, he noted -- that religious communities like the Catholic Church join with educational institutions to start a campaign against child sexual abuse.
That's likely to generate criticism as well as compliments. But would Penn State or other schools really want to be paired with the Catholic Church on this? Whose image would benefit most?
Connecticut Bishop William Lori, who was also one of the press briefers, weighed in briefly as well.
Here is an edited transcript of the remarks:
"Something told me that might come up," Dolan began in response.
"Look whenever this painful issue comes into the public view again as it has sadly recently with Penn State, it reopens the wound in the church as well. Because there is nobody who has suffered more from this than the Catholic community in the United States."
"So every time that once again takes over the headlines, as it is now, we once again have to bow our heads in shame as we recall with immense contrition that we have been suffering from this over, really, the last 12 years."
"That also makes us a little bit timid about wanting to give advice. Because people in glass houses, you know how that works. So what we say is, look we have hardly been a radiant example, so we have always been a little reluctant to offer wisdom."
"That having been said, with current crisis at Penn State, a couple things do come to mind."
"First of all, this shows us that the scourge of sexual abuse is not limited to any one faith, it's certainly not limited to priests, and it is certainy not limited to religions, to clergy. It is widespread, it's everywhere..."
"...It's in organizations, it's in universities, it's all over the place, it's in families. Yes, it's in clergy. Terrible."
"One of the things we've learned the hard way - and Lord knows we've earned a PhD in the School of [Hard] Knocks on this one - one thing we've learned is that education in this area is phenomenally efficacious..."
"...One of the good things that God might bring out of this evil and this tragedy would be now some type of alliance between religions and the educational establishment in a major national campaign to see that this is faced head on. That would be a partnership that the Catholic Church in the United States would be eager to be invested in generously. We might be able come with a little wisdom, earned the hard way, to that table when we have that discussion."
"Other than that I'm reluctant to say anything else except that our love and prayers go out to the victims the families and to the whole Penn State community...I know it's a cliché, but we know what you're going through. And you can count on our prayers as you do your best to get to some type of healing."
Bishop Lori:
"I would certainly welcome our joining forces in society to deal with this problem. It is something that affects every sector and ultimately if we place our focus where it needs to be, which is on young people and on children and on protecting them and on creating a safe environment for them, then the common good really demands that churches, educational insitutions and all other kinds of program that serve children come together and adopt good standards and assume the same level of responsibility, again, for the good of the kids."
Archbishop Dolan:
"I'd like to see it. I'd exuberantly welcome that..."
"Believe me we're not claiming to be experts. We've still got a whale of a lot to learn. But we have been through the mill. And I wouldn't mind seeing this [alliance]."
"We bishops in our own response to this, have said, in a way, with deep regret, we have not been a good example of how to deal with this in the past - in the past. We'd like to become a good example of how to do it now..."
"If there's a national conversation on this tragedy, we would be grateful, and honored, to have a part of it."
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