UNITED STATES
Hamilton and Griffin on Rights
“Openness and transparency.” Apparently, the public relations professionals who advise Catholic officials have insisted that this is the winning phrase, the mantra that if repeated relentlessly, will restore the laity’s trust in the church hierarchy, the trust that’s been violated time and time again by the church’s on-going clergy child sex abuse and cover up crisis.
For decades now, when clergy sex crimes and cover ups are uncovered, bishops and others in the church hierarchy respond by pledging to turn over a new leaf and to start dealing with such reports with “openness and transparency.”
The phrase is found often in official written church abuse policies. And it’s used by church officials in interview after interview after interview. (Sometimes, members of the Catholic hierarchy go so far as to claim they’re now the ‘best’ institution when dealing with abuse cases.)
This promise, however, seem mostly to be honored in the breach. Consider these recent cases:
–For a full year, Mobile Alabama Archbishop Thomas Rodi hid allegations that Fr. Johnny S. Savoie was accused of molesting a youngster. The allegations only surfaced because of separate civil lawsuits charging parochial school staff with tolerating bullying.
Now, Rodi is going even farther and using parishioner donations to pay lawyers to try to keep a continued lid on the child sex allegations.
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