Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
This has been an ugly week: first for the survivors of sex abuse; second, for Catholics across the state; third, for the wider public. For many, rage is the emotion of choice. The latest grand jury report is a bitterly painful text. But rage risks wounding the innocent along with the guilty, and it rarely accomplishes anything good.
The Stoics believed that anger is never a healthy thing: It always involves an inhuman appetite to hurt others, and it always poisons the soul. But this isn’t the Christian view. The anger Jesus showed toward the Temple moneychangers, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees was not merely acceptable but right and good. The anger Philadelphians felt toward the Archdiocese after the 2005 and 2011 grand jury reports was likewise well placed and justified.
We’ve worked hard to remember the lessons of that time. Seven years later, we are keenly aware of the evil that sexual abuse victims have suffered. We understand our obligation, and we’re sincerely committed, to help survivors heal. We’ve worked hard to ensure the safety of children and families in Church-related environments. In that task, the guidance and counsel of laypeople – including former law enforcement officials and professionals in assisting abuse survivors – have been especially valuable. We know that rebuilding the trust of our people and the morale of our good priests can only be accomplished with a record of doing the right thing over time. The roughly 100,000 laypeople and clergy we’ve trained in recent years to recognize and report the signs of sexual abuse are part of that effort.
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This week’s grand jury report on clergy sex abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses covers more than seven decades. Some people, credible people, have challenged its processes and disputed elements of its content. But the substance of the report is brutally graphic and profoundly disturbing as a chronicle of evil inflicted on hundreds of innocents. The only acceptable responses are grief and support for the victims, and comprehensive efforts to ensure that such things never recur. And anger. Anger is also a righteous and necessary response – but it needs to be an anger that bears good fruit; an anger guided by clear thinking, prudence, and a desire for real justice. That kind of anger all of us should feel this week and carry with us into the days ahead.
On August 16, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, issued a statement on the situation of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report. As a member of the USCCB executive committee, I support Cardinal DiNardo’s leadership on these difficult issues, and offer his thoughts here:
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Two weeks ago, I shared with you my sadness, anger, and shame over the recent revelations concerning Archbishop Theodore McCarrick. Those sentiments continue and are deepened in light of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report. We are faced with a spiritual crisis that requires not only spiritual conversion, but practical changes to avoid repeating the sins and failures of the past that are so evident in the recent report. Earlier this week, the USCCB Executive Committee met again and established an outline of these necessary changes.
The Executive Committee has established three goals: (1) an investigation into the questions surrounding Archbishop McCarrick; (2) an opening of new and confidential channels for reporting complaints against bishops; and (3) advocacy for more effective resolution of future complaints. These goals will be pursued according to three criteria: proper independence, sufficient authority, and substantial leadership by laity.
We have already begun to develop a concrete plan for accomplishing these goals, relying upon consultation with experts, laity, and clergy, as well as the Vatican. We will present this plan to the full body of bishops in our November meeting. In addition, I will travel to Rome to present these goals and criteria to the Holy See, and to urge further concrete steps based on them.
The overarching goal in all of this is stronger protections against predators in the Church and anyone who would conceal them, protections that will hold bishops to the highest standards of transparency and accountability.
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Allow me to briefly elaborate on the goals and criteria that we have identified.
The first goal is a full investigation of questions surrounding Archbishop McCarrick. These answers are necessary to prevent a recurrence, and so help to protect minors, seminarians, and others who are vulnerable in the future. We will therefore invite the Vatican to conduct an Apostolic Visitation to address these questions, in concert with a group of predominantly lay people identified for their expertise by members of the National Review Board and empowered to act.
The second goal is to make reporting of abuse and misconduct by bishops easier. Our 2002 “Statement of Episcopal Commitment” does not make clear what avenue victims themselves should follow in reporting abuse or other sexual misconduct by bishops. We need to update this document. We also need to develop and widely promote reliable third-party reporting mechanisms. Such tools already exist in many dioceses and in the public sector and we are already examining specific options.
The third goal is to advocate for better procedures to resolve complaints against bishops. For example, the canonical procedures that follow a complaint will be studied with an eye toward concrete proposals to make them more prompt, fair, and transparent and to specify what constraints may be imposed on bishops at each stage of that process.
We will pursue these goals according to three criteria.
The first criterion is genuine independence. Any mechanism for addressing any complaint against a bishop must be free from bias or undue influence by a bishop. Our structures must preclude bishops from deterring complaints against them, from hampering their investigation, or from skewing their resolution.
The second criterion relates to authority in the Church. Because only the Pope has authority to discipline or remove bishops, we will assure that our measures will both respect that authority and protect the vulnerable from the abuse of ecclesial power.
Our third criterion is substantial involvement of the laity. Lay people bring expertise in areas of investigation, law enforcement, psychology, and other relevant disciplines, and their presence reinforces our commitment to the first criterion of independence.
Finally, I apologize and humbly ask your forgiveness for what my brother bishops and I have done and failed to do. Whatever the details may turn out to be regarding Archbishop McCarrick or the many abuses in Pennsylvania (or anywhere else), we already know that one root cause is the failure of episcopal leadership. The result was that scores of beloved children of God were abandoned to face an abuse of power alone. This is a moral catastrophe. It is also part of this catastrophe that so many faithful priests who are pursuing holiness and serving with integrity are tainted by this failure.
We firmly resolve, with the help of God’s grace, never to repeat it. I have no illusions about the degree to which trust in the bishops has been damaged by these past sins and failures. It will take work to rebuild that trust. What I have outlined here is only the beginning; other steps will follow. I will keep you informed of our progress toward these goals.
Let me ask you to hold us to all of these resolutions. Let me also ask you to pray for us, that we will take this time to reflect, repent, and recommit ourselves to holiness of life and to conform our lives even more to Christ, the Good Shepherd.”
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Editor’s Note: You are also strongly encouraged to visit www.AOPPledgetoProtect.com and share it broadly with others. It tells the story of where we have been, where we are, and where we are headed in our work to create safe environments and support survivors.
This appears to be a sincere, determined effort by his Excellency to address the problem with strength and wisdom. I pray for it’s adoption and success.
I understand that under Church Law only a Pope can deal with a Bishop. But Church Law is one thing. Anger from any human being, whether Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jew or atheist, is another. These are very serious charges. Anyone can “take arms” against such behavior because it is deeply personal. These priests who commit these sins/crimes are also answerable to the civil courts. The secrecy of the confessional is one thing, but such intimate issues go beyond the confessional into the social realm. Church legality stands on one level, but this crime moves the sin into the social arena. Power corrupts: absolute power corrupts absolutely. Priest who participate in such crimes should be liable under the civil law, especially since this has nothing to do with Holy Orders.
This has been an absolutely miserable week. Raising 8 children – biological and adopted – was my husband ‘s and my privilege. Due to my own experience, we did not send them to parochial school but alternated between private Catholic schools and public schools as we were able to afford expenses. The goal was to raise them to know, love, and serve God and neighbor and also practice the Catholic faith. We attended Mass every Sunday as a family. My hope was to spare them the experience of clergy abuse. Yet, despite all of our efforts, they still claim they were victims. Some of them damn us for exposing them to this risk considering my own knowledge of abuse.
Yet, no word at church this Sunday from our leaders. Our suffering priests were left to do damage control. As the reading today stated, theses are evil times. May God grant you the wisdom and grace to publicly lead us in a way that will enable all to follow Christ in a church that has the guts to publicly condemn the evil – not just platitudes- and effectively explain how it will lead in the future. The current situation is unbearable – other than by steadfast prayer.
Dear Archbishop Charles Chaput, we want you to know that we love you and are holding you in our prayers each and every day. May you find strength to face this crisis and challenges in God. God bless you
Enough is enough. There should be NO self-governing or self-investigation by the USCCB when they are the problem. I will continue to support my parish, but it ends there. No money to any bishops appeal. It is time for the laity to step up to the plate and stop the abuse, since the bishops won’t. Our devout , loyal , young orthodox priests need our support and help; they should not take the blame for the homosexual predator infiltration of the church which occurred in the 60’s.
I volunteer to assist the Bishops in this work. How do I go about getting in touch with the right people
Bishop Morlino of Madison offers a focused response to the root cause of most abuse:
http://www.madisoncatholicherald.org/bishopsletters/7730-letter-scandal.html
Sorry Archbishop but this is too little too late. Since 2002 we have heard about the church’s resolve to stop abuse, we heard apologies and lamentation from all our bishops, yet the silence and secrecy continue. You often claim abuses happened years ago as if it isn’t happening yet today. News Flash, it continues. True accountability and reform will only come with consequences. The very element the bishops ensured would not apply to them when drafting the Dallas Charter. Enough already, our bishops have squandered any moral authority you may have once had. It will be up to the CHURCH, and by that I mean the people in the pews…not our clergy but the mass of faithful to demand better from our church. Society knows our bishops cannot be trusted, so we now must depend on our law makers to put in place the laws that will ensure accountability and consequences for the decisions, intelligent, well educated men, choose to make when returning predators to ministry and putting children in harms way. Our law makers must act to ensure offenders and the institutions which “looked the other way” when confronted with the knowledge of those who would harm our children, are held accountable. Only then will we see true reform, it’s now up to our law makers to protect our children from those individuals and institutions which have done such harm.
No one is above the law. Sexual abuse is a crime . Police arrest people who have been charged with abuse. They are not above the law. I went through 12 years of catholic school and it sickens me to think any of my classmates may have gone through this.My brother was an altar boy who is now deceased. I always wonder if he had been a victim of this abuse. i will never know.
Too little, too late.
There is another kind of sexual abuse within our seminaries and priests. My friend’s son had to “bulk up” to fight off the priests and seminarians who wanted to engage in sexual activities with him. I know many seminarians and priests have left the Church to be free of the sexual advances made toward them! Seminarians and priests engaging in adult age sexual acts is an OFFENSE against God and His Church. Priests were chosen to also remain celibate. There are MANY sexual parties that priests and seminarians engage in for their entertainment! PLEASE CLEAN THEM OUT OF OUR CHURCH!
My friend’s brother attended a Pittsburgh seminary during Cdl Wuerl’s tenure. He was there when Bishop Wuerl visited the seminary and showered the prettiest, most attractive seminarians with tickets to sporting events, including Penguin games. He was shocked at activities, like group nude swimming by seminarians and the (homosexual?) facility. As a straight man, he felt like an outsider and left the seminary in disgust. Estimates of homosexuality with the clergy range from 35 to 60%. Fix that problem, and we fix many of the ills that grip our Church.
Your Excellency ,
Thank you so much for your article.
However, I respectfully ask that you and all the bishops of the USA speak openly declaring the nature of the problem of this crisis in the Church. The problem is homosexuals amongs the ranks of the clergy.
Pax te cum
I appreciate the difficult situation you’ve been placed in, having to respond to other people’s evil deeds. It must be hard. Hard not to walk away from a pillar of western society that has failed at a fundamental moral level due to historic secrecy, lack of transparency, and insular lives of those who lead the R.C. Church. I can not help but feel that there needs to be some more fundamental changes made to the way the Church operates and speaks (to Church members and to society) in a modern, better educated and more independent thinking society. I hope you and other Church leaders find the path back to the much needed moral strength that the Church can bring to the world, it surely needs it. But in an organisation that prides itself on slow change that often takes generations to happen if at all, how will it survive in an era that demands swift, transparent and effective change? There is a culture problem within the Catholic priesthood and it begins at the top. I suggest dropping discussion on all other moral teachings and focus on cleaning your own house. Cleaning house is probably not strong and meaningful enough….start the demolition and rebuilding of the Church. Take a lesson from the business and government sectors, the people who got you into the mess are probably not the ones who should get you out of the mess.
I live in Wyoming, I was brought up in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Some of those named on the list were at my parish of St James in Sewickley when my family sat in the pew. What a week it has been. I’m called to take a higher road, I pray for you, met you in Denver many years ago, please pray for us. I respect you and your office. Some of my family was damaged by this crisis. I plead the Mercy of God over Pennsylvania and its dioceses.
I feel That any priest found Guilty by Church or legal authorities in committing an act of Homosexuality be excommunicated This is a remedy to remediate the church from the extreme evil that was warned by Paul VI. These spiritually gifted men need to be reminded who their true Boss is…Forensic Panels with laity involved isn’t going to eradicate the evil men acting as Gatekeepers. A spiritual surgeon is needed. Give every priest the opportunity to resign if they are homosexual and have had affairs.Give them a chance to exit with Dignity but the Priesthood.
To Help the lay person heal I would Try to Go 100% 24/7 Adoration in each parish cluster in the Archdiocese. I would get the Grade schools 5-6-7-8 graders rotate to rotate in 20 minute segments from 8am to 2pm daily each student will witness Eucharist at least once monthly. I would implement same in High Schools Parochial and Private. I have thought about this for 15 yrs with more details.
We pray for YOU and the Church.
Your Excellency:
Thank you for your clear voice in this time of crisis in our church. I am so glad you addressed this. All of us (both clergy and lay) are stung and hurt. I for one will try to reign in my anger and pray. For you, your brother bishops and healing for all of us.
God bless you!
enough talk . action is needed now. bring cases to trail.these pepifile priests are killing the catholic churchmaybe jesus meant the inside of his church to be aware of those who scandalize the little ones. no better place to be for a pepifile. let them have their day in court and lets see what happens.forget about sorrow for pain….it is anger for pain. let the courts do their job.
I am praying that the underlying issue that those in the Church seem to be avoiding is the number of homosexuals that are members of the clergy, who are not celibate, and who have shown to be 82% of the abusers in the past. The Church needs to remove acknowledge this and then act on it. The cover up is still going on as long as this is never mentioned. The laity are not blind. We are angry and the refusal to address this issue is going to continue to fuel that anger. It is time the Church is very clear on the sin of homosexual acts and to make it known that those who are involved in them, in the clergy, will be removed.
Will there be a response about the claim against St. Charles Seminary?
I will pray for you Archbishop and for Cardinal DiNardo. You have a tough job in restoring our trust in the hierarchy. I lost much trust while on the board of The Papal Foundation.
You have an uphill battle.