Bishop Offers 'Sorrowful Apology' for Sex Abuse by Priests

By Bruce Lambert
New York Times
June 10, 2002

Rockville Centre, NY, June 9 -- Roman Catholic worshipers burst into rare applause at St. Agnes Cathedral today as their bishop finished a sermon calling sexual abuse "a tragedy of huge proportions that has struck at the heart of the church."

The soaring Gothic sanctuary here took on the air of a confessional as the bishop, the Rev. William F. Murphy, condemned the misdeeds of "a few priests" as criminal and admitted the church mishandled some cases.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre, with 134 parishes and 1.6 million Catholics on Long Island, is under investigation by a special grand jury. The diocese is also the target of litigation from people who say they were victimized by priests and who accuse church officials of ignoring complaints and covering them up.

Offering "our sorrowful apology to all those who have been hurt," Bishop Murphy promised corrective action to prevent abuse. "I wish to proclaim: abuse of a minor by a priest, never again." Praying for forgiveness, he said, "We are here to stand before God in repentance seeking mercy."

"For more than three decades, a few priests have abused their authority and betrayed their trust by preying on the innocence of children and teenagers through acts that are criminal," Bishop Murphy said. "As a church, we have stumbled and at times fallen short in our handling of these cases. And as a church we must now face honestly our condition" and "correct what was wrong."

Among the hundreds of worshipers was Nassau County's district attorney, Denis Dillon, a parishioner. This year his office resorted to subpoenas to force the diocese to release records dating to 1975 involving 24 priests. "I think it's great," Mr. Dillon said of the sermon as he joined the line of congregants greeting the bishop outside the front door.

Although Mr. Dillon's staff recently concluded that the church records involved incidents now past the statute of limitations, the diocese remains under investigation by a grand jury convened by the district attorney of neighboring Suffolk County, Thomas J. Spota.

Bishop Murphy, who took over the diocese last September, removed several priests from their duties, based on his review of the files. He also replaced a member of an internal review panel who victims said had mishandled complaints.

But representatives of victims say the bishop resisted turning over records to prosecutors, and they criticized him for first saying there were no complaints against current priests but then removing more priests.

Bishop Murphy's homily, which he described as a Mass of "forgiveness, healing and reconciliation," blamed various factors for the scandal.

"How did we reach this state?" he said. "There are many responses but no excuses, many explanations but no justifications. This sinful condition of humanity is certainly at the base of this tragedy. More than three decades of the American sexual revolution with all its permissiveness has certainly been a factor. A false sense of freedom, an unhealthy and sinful desire for self-gratification are all part of the problem.

"But none of these and other so-called reasons justify or excuse the exploitation of innocence, the abuse of power, the betrayal of trust, the crime against minors."

Of abusive priests, the bishop said that "some of them are in fact sick, some confused," and that they all failed "their promised fidelity to God." He added, "A few of us apparently thought that doing the work of a priest did not include living the life of a priest."

As for church leaders, the bishop said: "We are here to ask God's forgiveness for our own sins of omission and commission in safeguarding minors, in our care for victims and in shepherding the Church of Jesus Christ."

After the Mass, worshipers praised his remarks. "We support the bishop 100 percent," said Adrienne Werring. "Priests are human beings, and those who made mistakes have to be punished." Paul Gartlan said, "It was something that was necessary to say, and he said it very nicely."