CLEVELAND (OH)
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com [Cleveland OH]
November 26, 2024
By Michael Tierney
Recently, I saw the movie, “Small Things Like These,” about Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries. There is a pivotal scene when the mother superior stuffs a Christmas card with cash and gives it to the protagonist for his wife. The unsubtle message conveyed is that it’s recompense for his silence about an abuse event he had just witnessed.
That scene came to mind when I read the diocesan response to questions raised recently by News 5 Cleveland WEWS-TV regarding Cleveland Bishop Edward Malesic’s handling of specific abuse-related cases, including in Cleveland. In my view, there is an unsettling defensive tone in the response.
Reform advocates estimate that U.S. Catholic dioceses have paid $5 billion in settlements, including a recent Los Angeles diocesan agreement to pay out $880 million. Many of the settlements are confidential, so the laity are completely in the dark, although they are footing the bill. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to surmise that confidentiality can be a barrier to accountability.
I believe bishops and dioceses have an obligation to be more transparent, demonstrating humility, contrition, and forbearance in addressing these matters. Regrettably, it often seems that vestiges of the Magdalene Laundries’ surreptitious mentality still linger.
Michael Tierney,
Olmsted Falls