BishopAccountability.org
	Extend Offer to All Victims Editorial Denver Post May 26, 2006 http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_3865382 Denver Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput's decision to offer 30 victims molested by priests a mediated settlement is a smart business move. The archdiocese has extensive exposure should these cases go into the court system, where juries can deliver multimillion-dollar verdicts. We welcome Chaput's gesture toward settling these difficult and emotional cases. The archbishop seeks to spare his church flock and the general public a rehash of the wrenching details that could emerge at trial about priests sexually abusing children. It also protects at least one accused priest and the archbishop himself from the humiliation of a trial, and the church from allegations that it covered up the abuses by transferring priests from one parish to another. We would like to see Chaput go further, extending his offer to others who until now may have been too fearful and ashamed to come forward. According to the proposal announced Wednesday, the offer is a "goodwill effort to resolve current claims" and not open to victims who have not filed suits. So far, 30 adult men have filed lawsuits against the Catholic Church claiming that two priests sexually abused them when they were kids. One priest, the Rev. Leonard Abercrombie, has died. The other, Harold White, was defrocked in 2003. But if there are other pedophile clerics out there, Chaput should be willing to embrace the victims and let the healing begin. Chaput's offer follows an expensive lobbying campaign at the legislature in which the church helped defeat a bill that would have lengthened the statute of limitations and made it easier for victims of child sexual abuse to sue churches and other entities. While the church won a political victory, many were startled to see it mount such a self-serving effort. Some within the church worry about the annual diocesan campaign run by Chaput. While national studies have shown that Catholic participation dropped after the sexual abuse scandal erupted in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002, recent studies show that Catholics have returned to their parishes. But their contributions to the diocesan campaigns have noticeably lagged. Throughout the sex-abuse scandal, the church has failed to respond adequately to the allegations. Chaput's latest offer could clear the air, but he should be holding the door open for all victims to come forward.
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