By Rick Holland
Daily News Transcript
June 1, 2006
http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=75675
BELLINGHAM -- As he closes in on the completion of a nine-day pilgrimage to parishes particularly affected by clergy sexual abuse, Cardinal Sean O'Malley's visit to St. Blaise Church tomorrow night is being seen as a chance for healing.
"I think these (victims') lives and their families have been changed forever," said Cheryl Langevin, children's program coordinator at St. Blaise. "That's not to say they can't have some healing, and I hope people who are hurting come and know that people here are supporting them. The cardinal's visit is about healing first, nothing else."
But others believe O'Malley and the Archdiocese of Boston have a long way to go to correct a culture in which priests and others of influence in the church are still coddled, rather than held accountable.
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Cardinal Sean O'Malley visits St. Julia Church in Weston yesterday. Photo by Milton Amador |
O'Malley was in the headlines last week, criticized for his handling of a case involving Dr. Robert Haddad, president and CEO of the Caritas Christi Health Care System, which is overseen by the archdiocese.
Haddad resigned his post one week ago, but not until public outcry and allegations from at least a dozen female Caritas employees surfaced over the CEO's practice of hugging and kissing staff members.
"We saw it as an other example of 'rhp' -- rank has its privilege," said John Moynihan, a spokesman for the grassroots organization Voice of the Faithful. "Whether it's a priest or the head of an organization with privilege over women in an organization, it's still wrong...(and) it's kind of a question of does (the archdiocese) get it?"
Billed as a journey to parishes "that have experienced an especially painful history of sexual abuse of children by priests," O'Malley's outreach effort to St. Blaise and eight other churches nevertheless is an effort Moynihan supports.
"Recently, (O'Malley's) been doing lots of good things that make me hopeful; this (series of parish visits) is better than (nothing)," said Moynihan.
But for veteran parishioners such as Daniel Ranieri, who belonged to Assumption parish in South Bellingham where three priests were involved in the sexual abuse scandal, O'Malley's mission is a difficult one, an effort to repair ruptured trust.
"The church is going to have to come back, like it or not, and earn this trust again," said Ranieri. "Cardinal O'Malley certainly gets an 'A' for effort in these visits, but ultimately it'll be determined in the years ahead how effectively trust was rebuilt."
Langevin agreed, and said restoring confidence is harder than getting it in the first place. "I think parents tell children, 'You have my trust,'" said Langevin. "But we all learn once you lose that trust, it takes a lot longer to regain it, than it did to earn it."
Whether it's business, government or religious organizations, Ranieri said all are led by human beings, "each with frailties and human strengths and weaknesses...that's a reality I've always accepted in terms of my own Catholic faith," he said.
"Look at the history of the church, it's not always been a nice neat package. It's been human beings, some holy men, some worse than dictators of countries," Ranieri said. "And for most part it's been a very important, positive part of life for human beings across the world."
Rick Holland can be reached at rholland@cnc.com or 508-634-7505.
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