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For Catholics especially, Holy Week is a time of repentance and reconciliation, ending the season of Lent and leading us to the joys of redemption found in the resurrection.
Most in need of repentance this season are the bishops who've led the American Catholic Church to ignore the victims of sexual exploitation, protect serial pedophiles, and then cover up their dirty deeds.
Those bishops, and there are many, failed to take seriously the words of Christ that it is better for him who attacks the innocence of children if a millstone is tied around his neck and he is cast into the depths of the sea.
This is a week for all Catholics to ponder the terrible crimes, sins and scandals, and the unimaginable failure of church leaders to recognize their first obligation. That is, to do what is right for the people of God, who are the church, instead of protecting their own positions and privileges.
The Pope, the Bishop of Rome, Cardinal Edward Egan, Archbishop of New York, and Bishop Henry Mansell of Buffalo all issued carefully worded statements that miss or ignore the fundamental problem.
The crimes of priests who sexually abuse children are an abomination, but what is worse are the acts of those who enable and protect them -- that is, the bishops. And it's happened time and time again.
What's missing in all these belated condemnations is bishops condemning bishops. They are the problem. They mishandled the scourge of pedophile priests, which created the crisis that has shaken the church.
The problem is systemic. Following the direction of their own arrogance and isolation, the bishops responsible have done egregious harm to the church.
The only good thing coming out of this terrible experience is that the people of the church are finally waking up to the fact that we, not the hierarchy, are the church, and something will be done to get rid of bishops who live by the myth that they are answerable to no laws but their own.
What is happening in the church in Boston is a sickening display of the abuse of power, and the shepherd of the church of Boston shouldn't be trusted to handle a two-car funeral.
Cardinal Bernard Law has lost all moral authority, has no credibility on the issue, and if he had any sense of decency or concern for the church, he would have resigned long ago.
Law knew back in 1984 that Father John Geoghan was a pedophile, but kept reassigning him to parish after parish where the sexual predator abused more children.
In January 2002, Law made a dramatic about-face. He said of his handling of the Geoghan case that he was "profoundly sorry," that his decisions were "tragically incorrect" and that there will be a "zero tolerance" policy in dealing with child-molesting priests.
Why this sudden conversion? Faster than the light that knocked St. Paul off his high horse on the road to Damascus and set him on the path of righteousness, Law has this great revelation: The Archdiocese of Boston's cold-shouldering of young victims or paying them hush money, and reassigning of priest pedophiles, which enabled them to commit more crimes and destroy lives, was wrong.
Hallelujah! The cardinal has a conscience and he's filled with contrition. You might think that at first glance. But sorry, folks, that's not what happened. The truth is, the most eternal inspiration for confession gripped the cardinal -- he got caught red-handed in his red robes.
Law despises the media. There are a lot of good reasons for that, but exposing the cover-ups of priests molesting children is not among them.
Ten years ago, the Boston Globe exposed one of Law's priests, Father James Porter, as a serial rapist. Porter's now in prison, but the experience and exposure incensed Law. He was once so enraged, he asked for heavenly help to get his enemies. "By all means, we call down God's power upon the media, particularity the Globe," Law ranted. But the Globe had the last wrath.
Years later, the paper went to court and got a judge to unseal 10,000 pages of documents that detail the sordid behavior of Law and his lawyers' handling of the civil cases against Geoghan and other Boston area priests.
The pattern was repulsively the same. Deny, deceive, cover up, and blame the victims for the abuse they suffered.
Jesuit Father Raymond Schroth, who reviewed the documents, lamented, "We can't help wondering if the atmosphere would be different if the church reacted as a shepherd to the victims as well as to its priests."
Only when backed into an ecclesiastical corner, Law made his belated confession, but also stated his stubborn determination to stay on as archbishop, in spite of the fact that he is clearly the substance and symbol of festering scandal.
Speaking at his cathedral, Law said, "Where there are problems in the family, you don't walk away. You work them out together, with God's help."
That was too much even for conservative pundit and Catholic William F. Buckley Jr. He wrote,
"The cardinal doesn't understand that one of the problems in the family is the derelict father of the family ... The critical concern should have been to get children out of harm's way. He didn't do that."
So how do bright, experienced bishops like Law do such terrible, dumb things? A big part of the reason is the men, and I underline men, they hang out with.
The Catholic Church still treats women as second-, no, third-class members. This doesn't just apply to the ban on ordaining women. There are all kinds of important leadership positions in the church women could fill, but they don't because the Boys Club doesn't permit it.
Law and nearly all bishops surround themselves with basically two classes of men:
From these manly contacts, bishops get a distorted view of the real world and church, and end up with a from-the-bunker mentality in dealing with any kind of criticism.
Secrecy is a sacrament and candor is nowhere in their creed. Women are usually far removed from the decision-making when the bishops' boys get together.
The women of the Catholic Church had nothing to do in creating the hemorrhaging scandal, but they would be invaluable in helping heal the wounds the bishops created. That is, of course, if the bishops would let them.
Women would first look at the problem from the perspective of the victims, and treat them with great empathy. I could personally nominate several religious women who would do a marvelous job of cleaning the cockroaches out of the chancelleries, along with their buddy lawyers.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Buffalo says at this time there are no cases or accusations of sexual abuse against any priests. Mansell's refusal to name area priests who have been involved in abuse protects them, but still leaves serious questions for Catholics in Western New York.
In a Palm Sunday sermon at St. Joseph's Cathedral, Mansell called the scandal of priest pedophiles "a nauseating and infuriating experience." He said, "We need to do everything we can to protect children," and he called for a time of purification for the "church of saints and sinners."
But hope is not lost.
Remember, Christ first revealed the miracle of his resurrection to his dear friend, Mary Magdalene, one of the people of the infant church. The overjoyed Mary ran from the tomb to tell the boys the good news. The apostles had been terrified and in hiding since the crucifixion. When Mary told them what she had seen, they were disbelieving and scoffed at her.
Let's pray this Easter the boys will listen to the people.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | March 26 2002 |