Priest's Arrest Opens Old Wounds

By Lisa Guerriero
Wicked Local Salem
September 2, 2012

http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/blogs/shorelines/x1903460776/Priests-arrest-opens-old-wounds

It's hard to believe that it has been a decade since the clergy abuse scandal first hit Greater Boston. Yet 10 years have passed since the public became aware of the accusations made against numerous priests, forever changing a part of America that had long been a stronghold of the Catholic church.

From 2002 to 2012, the issue has devastated the north of Boston area, as allegations were made from Malden on up to Salem. While the accusations have dwindled in the past few years, they've never completely stopped. The tragedy is that new claims continue to come to light. On Thursday, Aug. 30, Ipswich police arrested a retired priest who faces charges of child rape. Rev. Richard McCormick, now 71, once ran a summer camp in Ipswich and is accused of raping a male victim during the summers of 1981 and 1982.

The allegations will, for many, reopen wounds that never had a chance to heal. Whether or not McCormick is found guilty, his arrest brings back all the cases where a priest was convicted or defrocked, not to mention the belief, held by many, that church leaders failed to protect the faithful and prevent further abuse.

The legacy of the scandal has left its mark in other ways, too. In the intervening years since the scandal first broke, countless parishes in Massachusetts closed as archdioceses struggled to pay for legal bills and settlements. In Salem, former worshippers still battle to preserve a parish that closed in the aftermath of the abuse allegations.

The Catholic church has, to its credit, made an effort to encourage victims and witnesses of sexual abuse to come forward. They even offer training on identifying signs of abuse. Yet these efforts can't undo what happened 10, 20 or 30 years ago. Every time a new abuse claim is made, Catholics and non-Catholics alike must wonder: How can people heal, when the wounds are continually reopened?