Church scandal isn't just going to go away
Church scandal isn't just going to go away
April 15, 2006
BY SUE ONTIVEROS. Copyright by The SUN-TIMES
The last thing I want to be writing about on Easter weekend is the priest sex abuse scandal. I'd like to be coloring eggs and picking out a hat for Sunday mass just like other people.
Frankly, this weekend usually is one where I spend a lot of time in prayer and self-reflection. But because the Archdiocese of Chicago seems to want to play a numbers game, I just felt as if I had no choice.
This week, when the Catholic reform group Call to Action asked for Cardinal Francis George to step down unless he's willing to push for more monitoring of how dioceses obey church laws on sex abuse allegations, the cardinal's spokeswoman, Colleen Dolan, was quoted in the Sun-Times saying, "System for system this is only one case. We've had 14 years of no problems."
Dolan was referring to the case of the Rev. Daniel McCormack, who was arrested in January. Dolan wants to remind us it's only one case. And that is supposed to make Chicago Catholics feel all better. But it doesn't, and if the archdiocese wants to toss around numbers, I'll join them.
Yes, it is one priest. One priest who is accused of fondling three young boys numerous times. One priest who, according to the accusations, abused the children from 2001 to 2005, a four-year period. One priest who had allegations of abuse by one of those young boys brought up in August 2005, five months before he was removed from his West Side parish.
It isn't this one priest and the allegations against him that has Catholics so disturbed. It is how one archdiocese, the Archdiocese of Chicago, handled this one priest from the very beginning. Let's not forget that among the shocking revelations in the recently released independent audit were three allegations of sexual misconduct, including one incident involving a minor, when McCormack was in the seminary, and somehow that failed to set off any warning bells. That was in 1992, two years before McCormack was ordained and 14 years before his arrest in January. How about that, in those same 14 years Dolan was talking about, there are allegations of incidents involving this same priest, but that somehow never came to light. Oh, now I remember why: The paperwork was "lost."
I could go on and on with the numbers, but let me tell you the figures we all see that make so many Chicago Catholics just sick. Because what these numbers show is that the archdiocese can't or won't deal with the complex and serious issue of pedophile priests.
The handling of the McCormack case makes us all wonder about the safety of our children. One of the most important teachings I remember from my Catholic school days involved marriage and having children. We're told again and again how precious children are, and yes, I got that lesson loud and clear. That's why I cannot understand how the archdiocese could bypass the procedures that were created when it came to McCormack, which put children in jeopardy.
It makes me mad that because of the way the situation has been handled, the good priests in the archdiocese, the ones who just want to lead the faithful, find themselves being looked at with suspicion. That collar should be seen as one to respect, not one to guard the kids from, for heaven's sake.
By midweek, two conservative Catholic groups, the Ad Hoc Committee for the Prevention of Clergy Sex Abuse and the Roman Catholic Faithful, also were asking for the cardinal to resign. Can't the archdiocese see how hard it is for the Catholic faithful to be involved in such a request? Or are they just waiting for us to get back in our pews and pray, pay and obey? I'm sorry, but this scandal isn't just going to go away.
Despite what Dolan thinks, this scandal isn't about only one priest. It's about how one cardinal and his archdiocesan leadership has handled this entire situation involving innocent children, our church's future.
April 15, 2006
BY SUE ONTIVEROS. Copyright by The SUN-TIMES
The last thing I want to be writing about on Easter weekend is the priest sex abuse scandal. I'd like to be coloring eggs and picking out a hat for Sunday mass just like other people.
Frankly, this weekend usually is one where I spend a lot of time in prayer and self-reflection. But because the Archdiocese of Chicago seems to want to play a numbers game, I just felt as if I had no choice.
This week, when the Catholic reform group Call to Action asked for Cardinal Francis George to step down unless he's willing to push for more monitoring of how dioceses obey church laws on sex abuse allegations, the cardinal's spokeswoman, Colleen Dolan, was quoted in the Sun-Times saying, "System for system this is only one case. We've had 14 years of no problems."
Dolan was referring to the case of the Rev. Daniel McCormack, who was arrested in January. Dolan wants to remind us it's only one case. And that is supposed to make Chicago Catholics feel all better. But it doesn't, and if the archdiocese wants to toss around numbers, I'll join them.
Yes, it is one priest. One priest who is accused of fondling three young boys numerous times. One priest who, according to the accusations, abused the children from 2001 to 2005, a four-year period. One priest who had allegations of abuse by one of those young boys brought up in August 2005, five months before he was removed from his West Side parish.
It isn't this one priest and the allegations against him that has Catholics so disturbed. It is how one archdiocese, the Archdiocese of Chicago, handled this one priest from the very beginning. Let's not forget that among the shocking revelations in the recently released independent audit were three allegations of sexual misconduct, including one incident involving a minor, when McCormack was in the seminary, and somehow that failed to set off any warning bells. That was in 1992, two years before McCormack was ordained and 14 years before his arrest in January. How about that, in those same 14 years Dolan was talking about, there are allegations of incidents involving this same priest, but that somehow never came to light. Oh, now I remember why: The paperwork was "lost."
I could go on and on with the numbers, but let me tell you the figures we all see that make so many Chicago Catholics just sick. Because what these numbers show is that the archdiocese can't or won't deal with the complex and serious issue of pedophile priests.
The handling of the McCormack case makes us all wonder about the safety of our children. One of the most important teachings I remember from my Catholic school days involved marriage and having children. We're told again and again how precious children are, and yes, I got that lesson loud and clear. That's why I cannot understand how the archdiocese could bypass the procedures that were created when it came to McCormack, which put children in jeopardy.
It makes me mad that because of the way the situation has been handled, the good priests in the archdiocese, the ones who just want to lead the faithful, find themselves being looked at with suspicion. That collar should be seen as one to respect, not one to guard the kids from, for heaven's sake.
By midweek, two conservative Catholic groups, the Ad Hoc Committee for the Prevention of Clergy Sex Abuse and the Roman Catholic Faithful, also were asking for the cardinal to resign. Can't the archdiocese see how hard it is for the Catholic faithful to be involved in such a request? Or are they just waiting for us to get back in our pews and pray, pay and obey? I'm sorry, but this scandal isn't just going to go away.
Despite what Dolan thinks, this scandal isn't about only one priest. It's about how one cardinal and his archdiocesan leadership has handled this entire situation involving innocent children, our church's future.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 8:35 AM
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