By Warren Mason
Religious News Online
March 11, 2004

http://www.sweenytod.com/rno/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=779

It is a time of cautious optimism as Catholics welcome Bishop Timothy McDonnell to the Springfield, Massachusetts’s Diocese.

It would be naive and indeed dangerous for the heretofore all to complacent Catholic laity to assume that the appointment of Bishop McDonnell automatically brings fresh thought or real change.

While we may hope for both, there is no real certainty that we’ll get either.

The problems that plague the Catholic Church were not caused by one man and won't be resolved by his replacement alone.

It needs to be remembered that this bishop is in many ways cut from the same cloth as his predecessor, beholden to no one but the Pope, who has little or nothing to do with the day-to-day functions of each diocese.

As well meaning as Bishop McDonnell may be, like his predecessor, he is in practice accountable to no one.

In fact there are no structures in place to make him accountable to the laity he serves; no system of checks and balances to prevent bishops from exercising their power recklessly and callously with concern for no one but there fraternal brethren.

While most in the Catholic hierarchy have lost the moral bearing and credibility to get this church righted, it is imperative that the Catholic laity steps out of their pews and takes action to exercise the powers they were called to by the teachings of Vatican II.

The all to common missive "pay, pray and obey", will in one form or another lead to a revisiting of the scandals that have occurred while the laity blindly ceded control of their souls and their money.

I ask Bishop McDonnell to blaze no new paths, but rather to merely follow the lead of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey in doing the following:

1) Appoint a layperson with a strong legal background and no ties to the diocese as General Secretary of the diocese.

2) Form a new Review Board, who's members have no ties to the diocese and which includes at least two victims of clerical abuse, and professional's versed in the nature of sexual abuse. Follow the recommendations of the review board without exception.

3) Invite law enforcement to go through all personnel documents and files in Diocesan control. Work with law enforcement to create a program to educate all diocesan employees and all children in diocesan educational programs to the dangers of abuse and the proper reporting procedures.

Ask law enforcement to help investigate instances of abuse, even if they fall outside the statute of limitations, as that will lead to a more thorough and fair canonical process for both the victim and the accused.

4) Hire a full-time investigator with a strong criminal justice background and no previous ties to the diocese, who will work hand in hand with law enforcement.

5) Require any allegation of abuse, whether deemed credible or not, be automatically, and immediately reported to civil authorities.

6) Seek laicization of any priest or cleric convicted of abuse, who has admitted to abuse, has been judged to have abused or is found guilty of other unacceptable offenses by an impartial review board.

Stop all payments to said clerics upon their laicization, and do not pay them any retirement benefits. Completely cut ties with said abusers.

Immediately stop any payments to convicted pedophile Richard Lavigne.

Immediately reveal the names of all clerics, former clerics or diocesan employees who fall into any of these categories.

7) Immediately eliminate the aptly named "Felons Fund", by returning all funds to these misguided donors, or start a Danny Croteau Clerical Abuse Fund for the victims and seed it with the money already donated for the Felons Fund.

8) Immediately settle all credible claims brought by alleged victims, regardless of whether they fall within the statutes of limitation.

9) Hire a new law firm to represent the diocese, one that is more sensitive to victims, the laity and less centered on self-preservation and power.

10) Add an annual second collection to each parish in the diocese with all money going to fund SNAP in this diocese, no strings attached.

While this is only a beginning, it is a step toward the building of a strong foundation of trust and compassion, while recognizing the need for a far more inclusive process.

A process to heal and strengthen a people adrift and a hierarchy steeped in denial.