THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 40, NO. 5 | AUGUST 31, 2018
CNS PHOTO/IVAN ALVARADO, REUTERS
People light candles during an Aug. 20 vigil to protest sexual abuse in the Chilean Catholic Church outside the Santiago cathedral.
ABUSE CLAIMS ROCK THE CHURCH
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Archbishop responds to the latest clergy sex abuse crisis
ecent weeks have been painful for all who love the church and our Catholic faith. Catholics in the United States were rocked by the Aug. 14 Pennsylvania grand jury report revealing over a 70-year period that 300 priests in six Pennsylvania dioceses had been accused of sexual abuse of more than a thousand children or adolescents. The accounts of what the victims endured are gut-wrenching and, frankly, depict despicable crimes perpetrated by those who were called to be protectors of God’s people. While these were not new incidents that had only been recently discovered, the impetus of the grand jury report was to investigate how church authorities (bishops) had responded to victims,
LIFE WILL BE VICTORIOUS ARCHBISHOP JOSEPH F. NAUMANN what consequences were imposed on perpetrators, and the actions taken to protect people from future harm. Sadly, the report showed many bishops were woefully
negligent in their responsibilities. The grand jury report came just a few weeks after the announcement that the Archdiocese of New York judged credible and substantiated a recent allegation regarding the abuse of minors occurring many years prior by then-Father Theodore
McCarrick, who became the cardinal archbishop of Washington. Even more troubling were the simultaneous revelations that settlements had been made with adult victims of McCarrick by the Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark where he had served previously as the diocesan bishop. Most of the adult victims were seminarians and priests. This rightly shocked and angered Catholics of the United States. Understandably, it shook their confidence in their bishops. It has prompted many questions and concerns. How was it possible for McCarrick to advance in the leadership ranks of the church? Who knew what and when? Understandably, many Catholics are angry, confused and saddened by this. Many are asking questions: Did we not go through all of this
15 years ago? Has nothing been done? Don’t the bishops get it? Many are tired and ashamed of hearing bad news about the church they love. For others, this is all new. In 2002, they were too young or not paying attention to these issues within the church. Confronted with these questions and concerns, what are we to do?
Prayer Our first response to any personal, familial or — in this case — church crisis should be to pray. Be assured that I am not suggesting that is the only thing we need or can do, but I believe it must be our first response. First and foremost, we must pray for healing and comfort for victims. Secondly, this is a
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