A Good Week for Children and Justice

Canton Repository
July 25, 2012

http://www.cantonrep.com/opinion/editorials/x1400285006/A-good-week-for-children-and-justice

The issue: Child sexual abuse cover-ups

Our view: Sentencing of church official, sanctions on Penn State send strong message

Have Americans and some of their institutions decided once and for all that protecting sexual predators at the expense of children is intolerable? Hope that this is the case comes in two developments separated by one day and a scant 200 miles.

Tuesday in a Philadelphia courtroom, a Roman Catholic official was sentenced to three to six years in prison after being convicted of child endangerment. The case against Monsignor William J. Lynn revealed a decades-long pattern in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia of protecting predatory priests at the expense of their victims and parishioners.

"You knew full well what was right, Monsignor," the judge said while sentencing Lynn, "but you chose wrong."

Monday in State College, Pa., the NCAA sent the same message to a university.

NCAA President Mark Emmert announced stunningly harsh sanctions on Penn State in the wake of the child sexual abuse scandal involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. The penalties include a $60 million fine; stripping the football program of 111 wins dating to the year when the late head coach Joe Paterno became aware of Sandusky's crimes; a four-year ban on participation in bowl games; and the loss of about 80 scholarships.

"One of the grave dangers stemming from our love of sports is that the sports themselves can become too big to fail, indeed, too big to even challenge," Emmert told The Associated Press. "The result can be an erosion of academic values that are replaced by the value of hero worship and winning at all costs."

Judge M. Teresa Sarmina made a similar observation as she reflected on the many letters she received that defended Monsignor Lynn as a good priest: "It's not that hard to be good when you don't have to make the tough choices that challenge your values to the core."

While the judge had sentencing guidelines within which to work, the NCAA acted on the basis of a conviction that the sanctions had to contribute significantly to tearing down a corrupt culture and forcing it to rebuild. It is uncharted territory, but preliminary polling showed public opinion running strongly in support of the penalties.

No more turning a blind eye, this seems to say, and if it happens, the consequences must be deeply painful and long-lasting. If we've truly turned the corner in that direction, this is a good week for children and for justice.