The festival of Easter-a season of purity, light and joy. But this year, purity is being challenged, darkness is overshadowing light, and gloom is replacing jubilation.
The sexual abuse scandal surrounding the Roman Catholic Church is spreading across the nation. Many dioceses are turning over their records to prosecutors and more people are stepping forward with accusations of sexual abuse.
So far, it has brought down a bishop, removed dozens of priests and marked the nation’s top prelate, Cardinal Bernard F. Law of Boston. Since January, at least 55 priests in 17 dioceses have been removed, suspended, put on administrative leave or forced to resign or retire. Every day, the media seems to report a new horror story.
“The media hasn’t been helpful in aiding understanding,” said Paul E. Carrier, S.J., director of campus ministry. “The headlines say catholic priests are pedophiles. They use that word and blanket any sexual misconduct under it. Not that any of those actions are right, but that’s not accurate.”
“The Catholic Church gets a bad rap because of these stories. Scandals happen in all religions, in all professions. I think the press is making too big a deal out of it,” said Anthony Catino, ’04.
In addition to financial implications of paying off multimillion- dollar settlements to the victims, the most serious danger facing the church is the disaffection among believers. Although many Catholics say they could never abandon their faith, distrust of the church hierarchy could drive some to abandon the church.
“Although it does make me question the validity of the church hierarchs, it doesn’t affect the way I believe or worship,” said Bridget Smith, ’04.
The scandal may even further dissuade men from joining the priesthood creating an even bigger problem with the shortage of clergymen.
The issue first surfaced in 1985, when The Times of Acadiana, a weekly newspaper, reported the case of a Louisiana priest, Gilbert Gauthe, who confessed to molesting dozens of children and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
More cases surfaced in Dallas; Santa Fe, N.M.; Fall River, Mass.; and Santa Rosa, Calif. The issue dropped out of the spotlight, but victims were quietly coming forward.
In silence church lawyers settled as many as 1,000 lawsuits, paying victims anywhere from a few thousand dollars to millions each. In what many bishops have now acknowledged was a grave mistake, the church quietly reassigned many of the priests to new parishes.
“The church has thought the priests could be cured and reassigned to another parish and the scandal could be covered up. Obviously there was a problem with that strategy. But, as I understand it, there is still a small minority, only 5 percent, involved,” Ronald Davidson, Ph.D., chair of the Religious Studies department.
“I look my priestly colleges with sadness at this added grievance they have to bear. I hope the perpetrators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent and the Catholic Church comes out with a renewed healing and devotion,” he said.
In January, The Boston Globe revealed that Cardinal Law, who was aware of what was going on, had shifted the Rev. John J. Geoghan Jr., accused of molesting children more than 130 children over 30 years, from parish to parish.
Pope John Paul has strongly condemned clergymen who prey on children, but the Vatican has not led efforts to stop the abuse. Although the pope did issue rules in January requiring local bishops to report sex abuse accusations directly to Rome, they were buried in a voluminous report, published in Latin, about a bishops’ conference.
“I think it’s a shame that the Pope, who many consider a moral leader, is taking such a passive role,” said Nicole Pendolphi, ’04.
Locally, Bridgeport Bishop William E. Lori is being applauded for invoking a zero-tolerance policy on clergy sexual misconduct in the Diocese of Bridgeport.
The bishop said last week that he is personally examining the records of the 285 priests and 86 deacons currently serving in the diocese to assure there is nothing in the files that “would show they pose a threat to young people.”
“Bishop Lori is handling the situation open and honest and with compassion. He is being very sensitive to the victims and all those involved,” said Father Carrier.
But before Lori’s tenure began, the Diocese of Bridgeport, agreed to pay $15 million to 26 people who claimed to have been sexually abused by six priests in the diocese in the 1970s and early 1980s. Five of those priests no longer serve in the diocese.
Four priests named in the settlement — Raymond Pcolka, Martin Federici, Charles T. Carr and W. Phillip Coleman — are under suspension. A fifth priest, Joseph Gorecki, is dead, and claims against the sixth, Joseph J. Malloy, have been found not to be credible.
“At this point, I can say that, to the best of my knowledge, there are no priests or deacons of the Diocese of Bridgeport in active ministry who pose any threat of committing sexual misconduct with a minor,” said Lori.
“I, like my brother priests and deacons, remain deeply troubled by the specter of the sexual abuse of minors — a tragic problem confronting our society and indeed the Catholic Church.” he added.
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