Ecclesial Deceit and the De-Railing of the New Evangelization

By Robert Fontana
Catholic Life Ministries
April 22, 2013

http://www.catholiclifeministries.org/2013/04/19/



Popes John Paul II and Benedict VXI have been calling Catholic Christians to what they describe as a “New Evangelization:” the proclaiming of the Gospel to those people and nations who have a long history of Christianity, but have now rejected its doctrinal tenets and moral demands.  The popes have in mind the people and nations of the so-called West—Europe, The United States, Canada, and Australia.  They know the stories of the two Testaments, they know the outline of Christian doctrine, but for a variety of reasons, they simply no longer have faith in God.

I think the call for a New Evangelization is spot-on!  It’s what I have been doing my entire adult life as a minister in the church, and it is the fundamental goal of Catholic Life Ministries: to awaken faith among men and women who have been raised within the church but live lives of practical agnosticism.  Practical agnostics are people who might say they believe in God but do not participate in a faith community, do not pray, and are not guided by a desire to do God’s will.  They have not entrusted their lives to the care and providence of a loving God, and for all practical purposes, they are agnostic. These are the people that the New Evangelization is meant to transform.

However, the New Evangelization is being de-railed, knocked off track, by what I call “Ecclesial Deceit.”  These are the lies that the institutional church tells, and the people believe, in order to protect the status quo—and they totally contradict the integrity of the Catholic Christian witness.  Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles is guilty of “Ecclesial Deceit” on such a grand scale that his successor has suspended him from active ministry.  Mahoney ought to be in jail and kicked out of the priesthood, but instead his lies are being perpetuated by the Vatican, where at the recent conclave he was a potential, however unlikely, candidate for the papacy.

How can anyone take seriously the Church’s proclamation that the Kingdom of God and of Christ is breaking into human history through the life and ministry of the Church when not one bishop who has protected pedophiles and sexual predators has been disciplined?  I could get excommunicated for advocating the ordination of women to the priesthood, but if I am a Cardinal, and I protect sexual predators who have traumatized hundreds of minors and vulnerable adults and cost the church literally billions in legal fees and payouts, I get to be a candidate for the papacy, keep my pension, and participate in the Sacraments.

Ecclesial Deceit does not happen only on the grand scale of the Vatican and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, but also in small rural dioceses like Yakima and at local parishes like Holy Family.  I often used to worship at Holy Family Church in the Diocese of Yakima, but I have decided that to continue to do so is to participate in Ecclesial Deceit.  In the hallway leading from the sanctuary to the parish hall hang photos of all the pastors that have served at Holy Family.  The implication is that these men have served the parish with honor and integrity, but in truth two of these pastors betrayed their trust.  The local bishop knows this; the current pastor of the parish knows this; many parish leaders know this; but all are continuing the lie that Frs. John Tholen and Darell Mitchell were noble, self-giving pastors of the Church, deserving nothing but honor and gratitude for their service.

In 1997, the bishop of Yakima at the time, Carlos Sevilla, removed Fr. John Tholen as pastor of Holy Redeemer Church in Yakima, Washington after learning that Tholen had molested two brothers, Tom and Chris Refield (names used with permission).  Both served as altar boys.  Both, at different times, were befriended by Tholen, given wine to drink and cigarettes to smoke, and eventually taken to a beach house where Tholen fondled them.  To their credit, each boy fled before worse abuse could happen, but not before being traumatized by this man whom they had trusted as their special friend.

Sevilla removed Tholen, but did not investigate to determine if he had molested other children.  Sevilla also did not trust the people of the diocese with the truth about Tholen.  We were told that he was taking an early retirement due to health-related issues.  When the boys’ parents tried to tell the truth to friends they were scolded and shunned.  No one would believe them; instead they rallied around Tholen.  He freely walked around the community in his retirement, supported by the diocese and honored by parishioners, who thought of him as their devoted priest until his death in 2011.

Fr. Darell Mitchell was the pastor at Holy Family in 2003, until he was removed for down-loading photos of naked boys on his personal computer.  A later investigation by the Diocesan Lay Advisory Board concluded that in addition to accessing photos of naked boys, Mitchell had broken a series of diocesan rules that prohibited certain behaviors between priests and youth.  Mitchell was having overnight stays with adolescent males, especially one young man to whom he had given gifts and alcohol, and whom he had taken on unchaperoned trips, including one to Europe where the two had shared a room.  On three occasions two female staffers and one pastor cautioned Mitchell about his behavior, but he never stopped.  The investigation did not learn of any inappropriate physical contact between Mitchell and teenage boys, only that he had a pattern of behavior that consistently broke the well-publicized diocesan policies governing behavior by clergy and diocesan personnel.

An ugly addition to the Mitchell case is that Frank Murray, the layman who had discovered the photos of naked boys while repairing Mitchell’s personal computer and turned them over to diocesan leaders, was accused of planting the pictures as a vendetta against Mitchell.  Friends of Mitchell and loyal parishioners harassed and threatened Murray, who worked for the parish.  I personally asked Bishop Sevilla to defend Murray, saying that he was the only person who had unequivocal proof that Mitchell had downloaded the pictures, but Bishop Sevilla refused.

Frank Murray was never defended by the diocese against the charges that he had planted pictures of naked boys on Mitchell’s computer.  He was never thanked by the parish or the diocese for doing exactly what diocesan policy demanded of employees who discover sexual abuse and misconduct.  Within the year the parish re-organized, and Murray lost his job.  Mitchell, however, has been quietly restored to ministry. He is teaching at the Cathedral parish and con-celebrating Mass.  He is also the director of the Catholic cemetery.

Ecclecisal Deceit and Pope Francis.  We now have a new pope, Francis I of Buenos Aires.  He has inherited both the mission for a New Evangelization and the ecclesial deceit that is undermining that mission.

Can he break the stranglehold that deception and cover-up of sex abuse has on the integrity of the Church by removing the “Cardinal Mahoneys” from church leadership?

 Can he restore the good name of the hundreds of “Frank Murrays” around the world who courageously demanded that children be protected and offending clerics be removed? Will he public thank them for doing their duty?

 Can he reach out to the survivors of sex abuse, and work with those organizations who represent the victims, like the Survivors Network of People Abused by Priest, to learn from them how the Church needs to change in order to make children safe?

Can he inspire rank and file Catholics to do the same?

If Pope Francis can do all this, he will go a long way to restoring trust and credibility to the Church and, in doing so, lay the essential foundation that the New Evangelization will need merely to have a chance of succeeding.