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Text
of a Letter by As
you read this column, the Cardinals of the United States will have
just completed their meeting with His Holiness, Pope John Paul II.
As I write this column, I am not sure what recommendations, suggestions
or directives will come from this meeting. But, like so many Catholics who throughout their entire lives have benefited from the dedicated service of so many good priests and religious, and as a priest who has dedicated his life to service in this Church, and one called to be a leader in the faith for others, I know what I hope to hear. The Church must recognize and learn from her mistakes and failures with specific priests, and help to heal the pain of those who have suffered through sin and misjudgment. We must commit ourselves to the highest standards of conduct and work with the appropriate civil authorities to ensure that necessary justice is served. And we must forgive. We must all hold ourselves to the highest standards of morality and integrity and this certainly applies to the clergy. Public
opinion has made this a difficult, but not an impossible, task. I
pray in a special way that the Holy Spirit will guide those charged
with the task of ensuring concrete ways to heal the rifts and assure
that the Church does indeed protect children entrusted to its care. One thing I do know: the meeting of the Cardinals will not only move the debate about what we as a Church can and must do, but it will accelerate the timetable as well. We face two problems. We must recover from the devastating onslaught of information provided over a few short weeks about events that occurred over decades – some of them particularly devastating – of abuse of authority and trust by a few priests. We must also establish clear, consistent and what some may call a “seamless” approach across our land to deal with future instances of people within the Church who abuse children – a crime we categorically condemn. This past week, I accepted an invitation to serve on the Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, which will allow me to have some small part in this process. In assuming these additional duties on behalf of the Catholic Church in America, I feel that it is important for me to let each of you know about the state of sexual abuse policies and procedures here in our Archdiocese, a subject I have addressed several times in local and national media. The Archdiocese of Newark has maintained a well-defined policy since 1985 concerning child abuse of any kind by anyone affiliated with the Archdiocese. That policy calls on anyone with knowledge of abuse of a minor to report incidents immediately to the NJ State Division of Youth and Family Services. This policy, which follows existing NJ State law, is similar to the policies of the other Catholic dioceses in New Jersey and has been updated as the law itself has been updated over the years. The Archdiocese has encouraged anyone who has brought information forward to cooperate with civil authorities as Archdiocesan representatives do as well. The policy also provides that a priest accused of misconduct not be engaged in ministry until the case is thoroughly reviewed by our officials and, when they wish it, by civil authorities as well. In addition, the Archdiocese created in 1993 an independent panel called the Archdiocesan Response Team that investigates allegations of sexual misconduct by those representing the Archdiocese. The Team consists mostly of laypeople who bring very specific experience – legal, investigative, law enforcement, medical, clinical, psychological and social service – which can be useful when determining the credibility of an allegation. In close to ten years of service, the Response Team has performed a truly important and critical assignment, and I commend them and thank them for their efforts. We
take seriously all allegations brought to our attention. The Team
reports its findings directly to me, and the members’ insights
are particularly helpful in determining appropriate action within
and outside the Church. It is painful that someone may come to the
Archdiocese with an accusation of abuse. It is frustrating, disheartening
and painful when an initial examination of an accusation leads to
the temporary loss of a priest from ministry because of the policy.
It is also painful when the examination yields information or a conclusion
that prompts legal action against that priest. Though rare in this
Archdiocese, that has sometimes been the case. But justice must be
served and young people protected. Based on the findings, some priests
cannot be returned to ministry. Most painful, however, are those instances when an individual makes an accusation that ultimately proves false, or that is anonymous, or that offers statements which cannot be examined or verified. In those instances, the accused priest and his accuser both suffer, and the people of the Archdiocese suffer as well. In such confusing situations all of us suffer, including priests who have given their lives to serve the people of the Church. For
this reason, the work of the Archdiocesan Response Team remains largely
private and confidential, in order to give all parties in the review
– the Team, the accuser and the accused – the time and space
to do their task well. The Response Team also serves a valuable purpose in recommending counseling or other services for individuals who think they have been harmed by persons representing the Church. This is appropriate. The Archdiocese readily accepts it as part of the healing process for victims and accusers. One very clear reason for the need for discretion and sensitivity during an investigation is the right of privacy for all individuals connected with an accusation. And while the Archdiocese strives to assure everyone of their privacy during this time, there have been a few recent instances where privacy has been lost. I realize that these few instances were unintended and stemmed from information provided to parishioners or members of the clergy themselves, to explain the reasons for a priest’s absence from ministry or to quiet a growing rumor. The local media has sometimes obtained the information through non-Church sources and asked us to confirm facts. We were compelled to do so. We are sorry for those times when this happened. At the beginning of Holy Week, some local media had also reported that we had begun reviewing our previous files to assure ourselves that we had taken appropriate steps over the years when we received allegations against clergy. Additional allegations have surfaced as well. Archdiocesan representatives and our legal counsel have met with the prosecutors of each of the four counties within the Archdiocese. Both groups sought this meeting, and we have established a constructive and ongoing dialogue to ensure the protection of victims, and a timely, fair and thorough investigation of all allegations raised against anyone in the Archdiocese. We will be providing civil officials with information as they judge it necessary. One very important aspect of this meeting was the agreement that all parties will refrain from discussing allegations, speculation or hypothetical situations. Everyone based this decision on the need for confidentiality and privacy for all parties involved in an accusation. I hope you will understand then, that the Archdiocese will avoid comment on individual clergy transfers, reassignments or leaves of absence. I ask that you not prejudge any reassignment or departure at any time. We have also taken several additional steps to assure the priests of this Archdiocese that their welfare is important to us. In the coming weeks, the Deans of the Archdiocese will meet with priests in their deaneries for prayer and fraternity as an opportunity to support one another and to seek strength and consolation from the Lord. I know that all of our fine priests are suffering greatly because of the barrage of press and media coverage. Once again I want to thank them for all the work they do for this Archdiocese. Catholic Community Services will seek to provide support services to priests who, because of allegation, must leave ministry temporarily. This, too, is proper and a necessary part of the healing process within our Church. The chairman emeritus of the Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse recently said, “Some wonder when this difficult chapter in the Church’s life will be closed. In one sense it never will be, because we have experienced a sinful and predatory aspect of human nature against which we have to be permanently on guard. However, in the sense that the Church is fully alert to the problem and committed to preventing, as far as humanly possible, the future admission to her ministry of potential abusers, a page has been turned and a new chapter begun.” We will all do well to place this ongoing experience in a spiritual context. Almost a decade ago I became something of a “spiritual guide” for a loosely affiliated group of women – now including men – who commit themselves to pray daily and offer their own suffering and difficulties with Jesus in reparation for their own sins and for the sins of bishops and priests. Many of them have heavy burdens. We can join them. But we must place first in our care and our prayers those who have been victims and their families and loved ones. Please God, His Grace will encompass, strengthen and heal all of us.
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