O'Malley: " We Will Never Forget the Shame That Was Committed"

Vatican Insider
January 6, 2012

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Sean Patrick O'Malley

The Cardinal Archbishop of Boston, in a letter to the diocese, does not hide discomfort and disgust at events tied to pedophilia in the Church, and delineates a commitment for the future

The Church - including the one in Boston - "will never be able to forget the crisis" provoked by sexual abuse committed by clergy. But it has "dealt honestly with the issue" and has "put the necessary changes into place." Resolve and "transparency" were important weapons in this reconstruction. And today, Cardinal Seán O'Malley points out, "with the very clear policies put in place, if a bishop is reckless in neglecting [the protection of children], I think that's something that demands attention on the part of the Holy See. If you can't do difficult things, you shouldn't be a bishop. There are always very hard choices."

Archbishop of Boston O'Malley said these things yesterday in a letter to the diocese - and in an interview with the National Catholic Register - on the occasion of 10 years having passed since the discovery of these crimes. The priest sexual abuse scandal emerged, with a very broad reach, in the diocese of Boston - which was headed at the time by Cardinal Bernard Law - and led to Law's resignation.

O'Malley's letter was accompanied by a document containing an analysis and evaluation. A summary of the letter and document by the current Archbishop of Boston was published today by L'Osservatore Romano, while the interview with the National Catholic Register is available on the site of the Italian diocese of Porto-San Rufina, which also contains information on the abuses.

More than 150,000 catechists and volunteers, said the cardinal, have taken formation courses to avoid the repeat of abuses. Furthermore, meetings have been organized - through the archdiocese's Office of Pastoral Support and Outreach - with more than one thousand abuse victims and their families. Finally, more than $7 million has been spent on support services.

"I was eager," O'Malley confided in the interview, explaining his actions against abuse and in defense of the victims, "for people to understand what had happened, the policies we were putting into place, and how we would be faithful to carrying out those policies to ensure that our parishes and schools were as safe as possible for youngsters."

According to the cardinal, "transparency has been an important part of that [reconstruction]." "We published everything about our finances," he emphasized. "We published more than any other diocese in the world. We wanted to do that because money being used for sex abuse cases was a very hot topic. I wanted to demonstrate that we were not using parish funds, parishes were not being closed to pay for the sex abuse crisis. Instead, that money came from the sale of the bishop's residence."

With regard to the confirmation of facts, the cardinal emphasized that the victims can contribute greatly to help others to talk about the abuse they suffered. "I have the resource of the review board," he explained," which I have always used in every diocese where I have been." "I have tried to have victims and victims' families on the review board," he concluded, "as well as judges, priests, and others. That allows an independent reading. It's also a big help when an allegation is unsubstantiated."

As a Church - reads the letter to the diocese - "we can never and will never forget the trauma and sense of repulsion upon learning that for decades children had been subject to sexual abuses that devastated their lives and their families. We must continue to express our profound sadness and contrition for failing those who were entrusted to our care."