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Diocese’s healing services reflect a slipshod bishop
Gallup Independent
April 20, 2018
The Diocese of Gallup’s series of healing services for survivors of clergy sex abuse is coming to an end this month. The series, which began 18 months ago, has been held at nearly 40 Catholic parishes across the diocese in Arizona and New Mexico – wherever a church sex abuser molested an innocent child or wherever he had a “ministry” assignment.
This month also marks the 9th anniversary of Bishop James S. Wall’s tenure in the Gallup Diocese. In many ways, the healing services are a reflection of ongoing problems created by Bishop Wall’s slipshod leadership skills and lack of transparency and accountability.
The healing services were a result of the Diocese of Gallup filing for bankruptcy protection. As part of the Chapter 11 reorganization, the diocese had to agree to 17 non-monetary provisions in an effort to make amends to the untold numbers of victims of clergy sexual abuse. Provision No. 8 required Bishop Wall to visit each operating Catholic parish or school and “provide a forum/discussion during his visit to address questions and comments.” That did not happen. Instead, the bishop offered religious services, followed by private meetings with interested abuse survivors.
Before we offer further criticism, let us be clear: The healing services were helpful for some survivors of clergy sex abuse. Those individuals have said they found the scriptural readings and the bishop’s words to be healing. They have appreciated speaking with the bishop after the service, and they found him to act responsive and caring.
However, the services have only provided healing for a small number of abuse survivors. The bishop and his staff have failed many other abuse survivors, the Catholic laity and the general public through their lack of courage, shortage of empathy and pervasive incompetence. Many abuse survivors never attended a healing service because they can’t emotionally bring themselves to step through the doors of a Catholic Church. Others refused to attend because they are still angry over the many years the diocese fought abuse survivors with hardball legal tactics. Most of the Catholic laity and the general public never attended because they realized no real answers about clergy sex abuse would be forthcoming.
First, it is a sad state of affairs when a U.S. bankruptcy court has to order a Catholic bishop to visit his own parishes and offer an apology for the sexual abuse of children.
Secondly, Bishop Wall should have had the moral courage to offer a “forum/discussion” at each parish and school as described in the non-monetary provisions. Would church members and the general public ask difficult questions? Yes, of course. Would there have been anger, tears and emotional outbursts from abuse survivors and their families? Yes, but that is a necessary step to healing trauma. Santa Fe Archbishop John C. Wester had the courage to offer five such public panel discussions and they did include difficult questions, anger, tears and emotional outbursts. Unfortunately, Bishop Wall doesn’t have that kind of moral courage.
Thirdly, the manner in which many of the healing services were postponed – some of them were postponed twice – is an example of the lack of competence and empathy of the bishop and his staff. They postponed one service because they had scheduled it the same day as the bishop’s all important Mardi Gras fundraiser celebration. Doesn’t the chancery keep a calendar of the bishop’s schedule? And what should be more important to a supposed representative of Jesus Christ – ministering to abuse survivors or raising money for church coffers? Bishop Wall gave us his predictable answer: Money.
Other healing services were postponed so the bishop could travel. Still, others were postponed on such short notice that abuse survivors were left uninformed. One survivor drove to the isolated church in Lumberton, New Mexico, only to learn the diocese had postponed the service without adequate public notice. Abuse survivors and their family members deserve better treatment.
And what about truthful information and honest answers? That has been in short supply since Wall became bishop. For example, in 2009, the Gallup Independent reported the Rev. Diego Mazon, O.F.M. had been removed from ministry because of a clergy sex abuse lawsuit and a credible allegation of abuse. Yet, it took the Diocese of Gallup eight more years of foot dragging to admit to this fact. Through the years, the Independent has reported on other accused Gallup clergy, yet the Gallup Diocese continues to drag its feet and fail to provide answers.
The Catholic laity and the general public also deserve better than this. Unfortunately, with Bishop Wall at the helm, foot dragging and stonewalling of information and answers is all we’ll probably get.
In this space only does the opinion of the Gallup Independent Editorial Board appear.
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