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	His Silence Still Echoes By Eileen McNamara Boston Globe March 22, 2006 http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/ 2006/03/22/his_silence_still_echoes/ News that the Vatican has defrocked seven alleged child molesters who once worked as priests in the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston came on the heels of a hearing last week about legislation that could cost such sexual predators their freedom, as well as their clerical collars. Curiously, Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley was not on Beacon Hill to support the bills that would eliminate the statute of limitations on sexual crimes against children, bills drafted in response to the sexual abuse scandal in the very institution he heads. It could not have been an aversion to politics that kept the archbishop away. O'Malley has had a busy political time of it lately. One week he is defending an exemption from state financial disclosure laws that apply to other charities because opening his books would be an assault on religious independence. Another week he is seeking an exemption from state antidiscrimination laws because acknowledging the civil rights of same-sex parents would be an affront to Catholic religious teachings. No time in the schedule, though, to stand up for the proposition that those who rape children should be held accountable no matter when their victims come forward. O'Malley's silence echoes through the encomiums heard as he headed to Rome for his elevation to cardinal. Scandal fatigue has overtaken Boston, emboldening the archdiocese recently to settle the claims of 88 sexual abuse survivors for half the average amount paid to other victims in 2003 and to walk away from legislative efforts to ensure that future child molestation victims have their day in court. Monsignor Frederick J. Ryan, once one of the most powerful men in the Chancery, was among the seven priests dismissed from ministry by the Vatican. He lost his pension, but he will never have to answer to a judge and jury for the sexual abuse that two Catholic Memorial High School students allege he perpetrated on them. They remembered too late the crimes they said were done to them. Under current state law, the prosecution of sexual crimes against children must occur within five to 15 years, depending on the crime. For some, the statute of limitations is 15 years after the victim's 16th birthday. The miscarriage of justice occurs when, as in so many cases of child sexual abuse, the realization of what was done to them does not register until much later in victims' lives. Having the courthouse door closed to them is the final indignity. The sexual abuse of children is not a problem exclusive to the Catholic Church by any means. In fact, what that wrenching scandal should have taught us is how prevalent the crime is. On a website recently established by men, young and old, who say they were molested by their teacher in Maynard, it is clear that the recent allegation of one young man against Joseph Mango has unleashed a flood of painful memories for many men now in middle age. As the law is written, they have no recourse in the criminal justice system. The defense bar argues that the elimination of the statute of limitations will produce prosecutions based on scant evidence and unreliable memories. But prosecutors are not in the habit of mounting cases they do not think they can win. Weak cases should fail, but no traumatized victims should be ignored simply because they realized too late what happened to them. If only O'Malley had come to Beacon Hill last week and delivered that message. How powerful it would have been from the humble man who replaced Cardinal Bernard F. Law, whose complicity in the calculated transfer of predatory priests from parish to parish for years served to compound their crimes. Maybe O'Malley is being rewarded with a cardinal's skullcap for his willingness to confront the difficult challenges facing an archdiocese in disarray. What he is not being rewarded for is his commitment to justice for childhood victims of sexual abuse. Eileen McNamara is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at mcnamara@globe.com.
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