A question of trust CHURCH SCANDAL trom page 1

The church at the beginning of this wave of abuse charges tried once again to squander the problem. The names were not released, and people continued to go to the parish with complaints. Priests finally told the congregations to go to the police with the complaints.

Mary Laver, coordinator of community outreach, is concerned and upset at the harm done to children who are now adults. "It is a destruction of trust between the congregation and the leaders of the church," Lacer said.

Until recently names were not given to the police by the church. Many of the names were sent to the Vatican where they were kept safe and away from the public's eyes.

Tuesday April 9, 2002, nine priests were suspended in Cleveland because of sexual abuse, 12 others were named and had been previously removed for the same charges. Monday April 8, the New York diocese named celibacy an option among the priests. The church should make a decision on who can perform priestly functions, and women should be allowed to be a bigger part of mass."

The pope was quoted in the New York Times, calling it the worst form of evil. It is also being said by the Catholic Church that it is beginning to think about ending celibacy.

The Catholic religion is the only religion that does not allow their leaders to marry, and remain celibate. To date is also the only religion to deal with so many sexual abuse charges.

In September 2002 Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua has called a synod to discuss the state of the church. He had made plans for this synod last summer this time inviting all lay people to join in the discussion. This is a good opportunity for all Catholics who either doubt their faith or who want to ask questions to get them answered.

The structure of the church has been damaged by allegations of pedophilia among priests. Also, the cover up of the incidences has injured the chruch's reputation. / six priests and removed them from the church.

The problem with many of these cases is that they happened more then -20 years ago. In accordance of with law, after seven years it cannot be brought to court. Now mass numbers of people are coming forward.

Laver feels there are many steps the church could take to rectify the situation. She says, "Discussions on a serious level should take place making the mandatory

Priests were not always celibate in the Catholic Church. It was not until the renaissance era that this had changed. Priests since the beginning of time had lived and raised their families on church property. As families grew and the priests died the children were to inherit the land, and many of them did not become priests. The church was losing so much land that, in order to stop this, it was decided that priests should be celibate. Those who had families were to send their wives and children to the Vatican where they became slaves.

Laver said, "We should deeply pray for the victims, but this is not the only thing we should do. It is time for the secrecy to stop. Honesty is the answer and it should be dealt in an open manner."

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