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“The Catholic Church was forced to follow the Gospel by the courts”, says Voice of the Faithful
July 16, 2007- Today the culture of secrecy in the Roman Catholic Church has cracked a little. If the reports are true and 75% of the parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles were served by at least one of the abusers the fact that the Archdiocese could keep these secrets for more than 20 years is astounding and should alert us all to the terrible consequences of allowing this culture of secrecy to continue. It is a tragedy that this could only happen as a result of the hardship of hundreds of victims of clergy sex abuse working for years through the California Civil Courts. Some of these cases should have come to light years ago as they were happening and the abusers should have been sent to jail, because according to the depositions in the case the abuse was suspected or known by fellow priests, pastors and bishops but nothing was done about it.
It would be most helpful and honest if the Cardinal and his fellow bishops would acknowledge that they have been knowing participants in what Cardinal Mahoney himself yesterday called a “terrible sin and crime.” This same pattern of cover up was routinely practiced by the Catholic hierarchy all over the world. We must hold them accountable for their actions.
Based on the agreement the courts have demanded that the records be made public. We must all ensure that this does happen. We must all know who knew what and when and they must be held accountable. Five hundred victims came forward and are part of this settlement and we know this does not account for all of the abused. As abusers names are made known more victims will realize they were not alone.
“If bishops had exercised leadership and oversight this would not have happened”, said Mary Pat Fox, President of Voice of the Faithful. “If bishops had not placed institutional reputation above the harm to children, we would not have had to seek help from the courts. It is a sad day because the Catholic Church was forced to follow the Gospel by the courts”.
“How can we follow leaders who do nothing to correct obvious grave wrongs until forced to do so by a court of law?”, said Fox. “Unfortunate as the events that brought about this situation have been, it will be a great day for the Church—laity, clergy and hierarchy—if this inspires lay people throughout the country to finally take up their share of responsibility for the conduct of affairs in our Church. Catholics who think the clergy sexual abuse scandal is history unfortunately are wrong. The crisis is not over and the healing will not begin in earnest until those who covered this up are held accountable.”
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Press contact
John Moynihan (617) 558-5252
About Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) VOTF is a worldwide movement of concerned mainstream Catholics formed in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The group’s mission is to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the Faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church. Its goals are to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity, and shape structural change within the Catholic Church in full accordance and harmony with Church teaching.
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