August 19, 2018 // 1950 - 2018
Some stories are worth the outrage.
This is one of them.
*** This is painful but cathartic. We hope you’ll indulge TWAN as we share a personal and agonizing response to the outrage of the day. ***
Today we offer a departure from Two Weeks Ago News, to visit Decades and Decades Ago News; news that has reappeared of late, and continues to evoke rightful and desperate outrage from millions. The latest report from a Grand Jury in Pennsylvania continues to document the sordid and evil activity of Catholic priests located around the Commonwealth with stories of sexual abuse and other predatory activity toward children and adolescents that literally go back decades.
Not all of these reports brought new stories to light. Some of them were revealed previously, by victims who came forward with names, dates and details about the abuse they suffered as children or adolescents. The priests were named; the abuses documented. New or old, every one of these stories is a nightmare come true: A child or young person targeted by a man who preferred to look for prey rather than pray.
The lack of a unified, decisive and satisfactory response by the Church’s leadership to these criminals and their degenerate behavior is for many even more outrageous than the acts of the men themselves. The “bad apples” who turned out to be criminals wearing collars somehow escaped detection. But shouldn’t the men tending the orchards (the ones wearing the miters) have been more vigilant in tossing them out of the basket? And then making sure that whatever sickness they brought to their orchard was eliminated for good, so future seasons would emerge without blemish? And then also have informed neighboring "orchard tenders" about the problem? And then told the community at large about it as well, so the blight didn’t appear elsewhere, outside of the orchard entirely?
YES. But instead, we learned that for many years, they tossed all the rotten ones out of their baskets, and into another. Problem solved!
If you want facts, figures, charts and details regarding this topic, click on the link below and steel yourself for what’s to come. You’ll open up a document titled: The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950 – 2002. Before you do, remember that this report emerged more than ten years ago. Obviously, the nature and frequency of these patterns of abuse since 2002 is not part of this research. (According to The Washington Post, another 1,000 allegations were made in 2004.)
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/child-and-youth-protection/upload/The-Nature-and-Scope-of-Sexual-Abuse-of-Minors-by-Catholic-Priests-and-Deacons-in-the-United-States-1950-2002.pdf
This report was authorized and paid for by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) pursuant to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Charter) unanimously adopted by the USCCB at its June 2002 meeting in Dallas. It was conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The study utilized a double-blind procedure in which all reports were first sent to Ernst & Young, an accounting firm, where they were stripped of information that could be used to identify the area from which they were sent. Ernst & Young then sent the unopened envelopes containing survey responses to the John Jay researchers. The data set is thus stripped of all identifying information that may be linked to an individual diocese, eparchy or religious community, priest or victim.
The details behind these incidents and the less-than-adequate actions taken against these men are shocking. Instead of the numerous charts listing any number of responses and actions taken – like the one shown at the end of this piece – we might be much further along in terms of the frequency of this despicable activity if the Church's responses over these six-plus decades of substantiated claims had been limited to these two:
That’s it. That’s what should have happened when the very first case of abuse emerged from the shadows. It’s what should continue to happen to priests who abuse their positions of power and harm children. They lose their collars and they get formally charged and/or arrested. In public, by law enforcement, not behind the closed doors of the Church, delivered as a “reprimand” or a “suspension.” (Hold that thought. More on that proposed procedure later in this piece.)
Instead, according to the John Jay report from 2002, there were a number of actions that were options against priests who had SUBSTANTIATED allegations against them. The table at the end of this piece lists what the Church actually did to address the sexual abuse cases within the ranks. Reminder: It covers actions taken against priests who were the subjects of SUBSTANTIATED ALLEGATIONS, based on 1,872 surveys. It's not comforting.
From the Executive Summary of the 2002 report, we learned (bold courtesy of TWAN):
To date, the police have been contacted about 1,021 priests with allegations of abuse, or 24% of our total. Nearly all of these reports have led to investigations, and 384 instances have led to criminal charges. Of those priests for whom information about dispositions is available, 252were convicted and at least 100 of those served time in prison. Thus, 6% of all priests against whom allegations were made were convicted and about 2% received prison sentences to date.
Jesus wept.
Or did he?
The John Jay Study was refreshed in subsequent years, and the group produced several updated reports, including one titled The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors By Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950-2010. You can read the entire report here, but a few excerpts follow.
The follow-up report also codifies the response required by every parish in every diocese to reported abuse by the clergy:
“The Five Principles listed below were adopted by a resolution of the bishops on November 19, 1992, as the recommended course of action in response to an allegation of sexual abuse by a priest:
These five principles feel pretty close to the two points we made earlier (fire him; call the cops.) So there’s that. Is that progress in the face of unspeakable evil? You could argue it is exactly that. You could also say it sounds like a move in the right direction but it could be little more than a new, more elaborate Band-Aid applied to a festering wound.
Where does that leave us, other than doubtful, angry, confused, concerned, and dismissive of the faith that has sustained many of us throughout our lives? For some, that church door has been closed and locked for decades, even while they maintain a spiritual relationship with God. For others, they locked the door and turned off the lights, as they lead a life of compassionate agnosticism or atheism in response to the turmoil and anger they feel.
For me? As the editor at Two Weeks Ago News, I often deride the moral outrage we express regularly over pointless or less than substantive events. This is not one of them. But as I continued to read the long and detailed reports from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the United States Council of Catholic Bishops, along with this one from our local Bishop, and this one from Madison, Wisconsin’s Bishop, and considered these very dark and immoral acts, I kept thinking about the people who remained true to their vows; the men who led lives of service and compassion, leading their congregations, including children, into the light. The John Jay Study indicates that rates of alleged abuse across regions of the Catholic Church in the U.S was from 3% to 6% of priests. Another way to put that? From 94% to 97% of priests did not engage in sexual abuse of minors.
I walked back from receiving Holy Communion today with tears in my eyes. Tears that emerged as I thought about the thousands of victims, the perpetrators who abused them and the men in leadership positions who facilitated this heinous activity by not shutting it down immediately. How is that justice??? But even through my tears, I keep coming back to an Old Testament story. As long as we’re going back more than two weeks, let’s revisit this, from the Book of Genesis:
And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous.
I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me: or whether it be not so, that I may know. And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way to Sodom: but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord. And drawing nigh he said: Wilt thou destroy the just with the wicked? If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal? and wilt thou not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be therein? Far be it from thee to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the just to be in like case as the wicked, this is not beseeming thee: thou who judgest all the earth, wilt not make this judgment.
And the Lord said to him: If I find in Sodom fifty just within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake. And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes. What if there be five less than fifty just persons? wilt thou for five and forty destroy the whole city? And he said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty. And again he said to him: But if forty be found there, what wilt thou do? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of forty. Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech thee, if I speak: What if thirty shall be found there? He answered: I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if ten should be found there? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten. And the Lord departed, after he had left speaking to Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.
The question is: What will it take for Catholics to remain true to their faith? Do we abandon or destroy our religion because of the actions of some? For the sake of everything that is far more formidable and just; for every person who dedicated a lifetime in service of God and his faith community; for everyone who helped me grow in faith throughout my lifetime, my answer is no. For the sake of those who did the right thing, and will do the right thing in the years to come, I will hold steadfast. I will not let this destroy my faith.
The darkness will embrace the wicked who sinned against God and man with their activities, including the wicked who did nothing to prevent more suffering. And I believe that darkness is relentless, and fearful, and full of pain and sorrow. They earned every bit of it.
But through shared faith, love and by fully ministering to the needs of each other – particularly to the needs of the victims and those who love them - as we emerge from this chapter, the light will come. It will come for the just.
John Jay Study: The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors By Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950-2002
The Causes and Context of the Problem of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States, 1950-2010
Some stories are worth the outrage.
This is one of them.
*** This is painful but cathartic. We hope you’ll indulge TWAN as we share a personal and agonizing response to the outrage of the day. ***
Today we offer a departure from Two Weeks Ago News, to visit Decades and Decades Ago News; news that has reappeared of late, and continues to evoke rightful and desperate outrage from millions. The latest report from a Grand Jury in Pennsylvania continues to document the sordid and evil activity of Catholic priests located around the Commonwealth with stories of sexual abuse and other predatory activity toward children and adolescents that literally go back decades.
Not all of these reports brought new stories to light. Some of them were revealed previously, by victims who came forward with names, dates and details about the abuse they suffered as children or adolescents. The priests were named; the abuses documented. New or old, every one of these stories is a nightmare come true: A child or young person targeted by a man who preferred to look for prey rather than pray.
The lack of a unified, decisive and satisfactory response by the Church’s leadership to these criminals and their degenerate behavior is for many even more outrageous than the acts of the men themselves. The “bad apples” who turned out to be criminals wearing collars somehow escaped detection. But shouldn’t the men tending the orchards (the ones wearing the miters) have been more vigilant in tossing them out of the basket? And then making sure that whatever sickness they brought to their orchard was eliminated for good, so future seasons would emerge without blemish? And then also have informed neighboring "orchard tenders" about the problem? And then told the community at large about it as well, so the blight didn’t appear elsewhere, outside of the orchard entirely?
YES. But instead, we learned that for many years, they tossed all the rotten ones out of their baskets, and into another. Problem solved!
If you want facts, figures, charts and details regarding this topic, click on the link below and steel yourself for what’s to come. You’ll open up a document titled: The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950 – 2002. Before you do, remember that this report emerged more than ten years ago. Obviously, the nature and frequency of these patterns of abuse since 2002 is not part of this research. (According to The Washington Post, another 1,000 allegations were made in 2004.)
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/child-and-youth-protection/upload/The-Nature-and-Scope-of-Sexual-Abuse-of-Minors-by-Catholic-Priests-and-Deacons-in-the-United-States-1950-2002.pdf
This report was authorized and paid for by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) pursuant to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Charter) unanimously adopted by the USCCB at its June 2002 meeting in Dallas. It was conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The study utilized a double-blind procedure in which all reports were first sent to Ernst & Young, an accounting firm, where they were stripped of information that could be used to identify the area from which they were sent. Ernst & Young then sent the unopened envelopes containing survey responses to the John Jay researchers. The data set is thus stripped of all identifying information that may be linked to an individual diocese, eparchy or religious community, priest or victim.
The details behind these incidents and the less-than-adequate actions taken against these men are shocking. Instead of the numerous charts listing any number of responses and actions taken – like the one shown at the end of this piece – we might be much further along in terms of the frequency of this despicable activity if the Church's responses over these six-plus decades of substantiated claims had been limited to these two:
- Removal from the clergy
- All allegations reported to law enforcement (NOTE: this response is not listed in the chart below.) Let the police sort out what’s true, what’s false and how to proceed in any circumstance.
That’s it. That’s what should have happened when the very first case of abuse emerged from the shadows. It’s what should continue to happen to priests who abuse their positions of power and harm children. They lose their collars and they get formally charged and/or arrested. In public, by law enforcement, not behind the closed doors of the Church, delivered as a “reprimand” or a “suspension.” (Hold that thought. More on that proposed procedure later in this piece.)
Instead, according to the John Jay report from 2002, there were a number of actions that were options against priests who had SUBSTANTIATED allegations against them. The table at the end of this piece lists what the Church actually did to address the sexual abuse cases within the ranks. Reminder: It covers actions taken against priests who were the subjects of SUBSTANTIATED ALLEGATIONS, based on 1,872 surveys. It's not comforting.
From the Executive Summary of the 2002 report, we learned (bold courtesy of TWAN):
To date, the police have been contacted about 1,021 priests with allegations of abuse, or 24% of our total. Nearly all of these reports have led to investigations, and 384 instances have led to criminal charges. Of those priests for whom information about dispositions is available, 252were convicted and at least 100 of those served time in prison. Thus, 6% of all priests against whom allegations were made were convicted and about 2% received prison sentences to date.
Jesus wept.
Or did he?
The John Jay Study was refreshed in subsequent years, and the group produced several updated reports, including one titled The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors By Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950-2010. You can read the entire report here, but a few excerpts follow.
- By 1985, bishops knew that the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests was a problem, but they did not know the scope of the problem. Though more than 80 percent of cases now known had already occurred by 1985, only 6 percent of those cases had been reported to the dioceses by that time.
- The responses to reports of sexual abuse of minors made before 1985 differed greatly from reports brought to dioceses in 1995 or in 2002. More than 80 percent of pre-1985 reports of sexual abuse were made to the diocese within a year of the incident, and three quarters of the reports were made by the victim or a family member.
- From the 1980s forward, the likelihood of a reprimand and quick return to duty decreases.
- The likelihood of being put on administrative leave or suspended increases after 1985.
- Treatment was not the first course of action after 1985.
- The elevated percentages for the category of “No action taken” would be expected as the time between the incident and the report increase; the accused priests are less likely to be in active ministry or deceased.
- Before 1985:
- 35%: The likelihood of a priest being reprimanded and returned to the parish or reinstated after an accusation.
- After 1985:
- 18%: The likelihood of a priest being reinstated to the parish after an accusation.
- 5%: The likelihood of a priest being reprimanded and returned to the parish after an accusation.
- Using spiritual retreat and medical leave declined by more than 50% after 1985.
- After 2000:
- 8.5%: The likelihood of a priest being reinstated to the parish after an accusation.
The follow-up report also codifies the response required by every parish in every diocese to reported abuse by the clergy:
“The Five Principles listed below were adopted by a resolution of the bishops on November 19, 1992, as the recommended course of action in response to an allegation of sexual abuse by a priest:
- Respond promptly to all allegations of abuse where there is reasonable belief that abuse has occurred.
- If such an allegation is supported by sufficient evidence, relieve the alleged offender promptly of his ministerial duties and refer him for appropriate medical evaluation and intervention.
- Comply with the obligations of civil law as regards reporting the incident and cooperating with the investigation.
- Reach out to the victims and their families and communicate sincere commitment to their spiritual and emotional well-being.
- Within the confines of respect for privacy of the individuals involved, deal as openly as possible with the members of the community.”
These five principles feel pretty close to the two points we made earlier (fire him; call the cops.) So there’s that. Is that progress in the face of unspeakable evil? You could argue it is exactly that. You could also say it sounds like a move in the right direction but it could be little more than a new, more elaborate Band-Aid applied to a festering wound.
Where does that leave us, other than doubtful, angry, confused, concerned, and dismissive of the faith that has sustained many of us throughout our lives? For some, that church door has been closed and locked for decades, even while they maintain a spiritual relationship with God. For others, they locked the door and turned off the lights, as they lead a life of compassionate agnosticism or atheism in response to the turmoil and anger they feel.
For me? As the editor at Two Weeks Ago News, I often deride the moral outrage we express regularly over pointless or less than substantive events. This is not one of them. But as I continued to read the long and detailed reports from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the United States Council of Catholic Bishops, along with this one from our local Bishop, and this one from Madison, Wisconsin’s Bishop, and considered these very dark and immoral acts, I kept thinking about the people who remained true to their vows; the men who led lives of service and compassion, leading their congregations, including children, into the light. The John Jay Study indicates that rates of alleged abuse across regions of the Catholic Church in the U.S was from 3% to 6% of priests. Another way to put that? From 94% to 97% of priests did not engage in sexual abuse of minors.
I walked back from receiving Holy Communion today with tears in my eyes. Tears that emerged as I thought about the thousands of victims, the perpetrators who abused them and the men in leadership positions who facilitated this heinous activity by not shutting it down immediately. How is that justice??? But even through my tears, I keep coming back to an Old Testament story. As long as we’re going back more than two weeks, let’s revisit this, from the Book of Genesis:
And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous.
I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me: or whether it be not so, that I may know. And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way to Sodom: but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord. And drawing nigh he said: Wilt thou destroy the just with the wicked? If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal? and wilt thou not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be therein? Far be it from thee to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the just to be in like case as the wicked, this is not beseeming thee: thou who judgest all the earth, wilt not make this judgment.
And the Lord said to him: If I find in Sodom fifty just within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake. And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes. What if there be five less than fifty just persons? wilt thou for five and forty destroy the whole city? And he said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty. And again he said to him: But if forty be found there, what wilt thou do? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of forty. Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech thee, if I speak: What if thirty shall be found there? He answered: I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if ten should be found there? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten. And the Lord departed, after he had left speaking to Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.
The question is: What will it take for Catholics to remain true to their faith? Do we abandon or destroy our religion because of the actions of some? For the sake of everything that is far more formidable and just; for every person who dedicated a lifetime in service of God and his faith community; for everyone who helped me grow in faith throughout my lifetime, my answer is no. For the sake of those who did the right thing, and will do the right thing in the years to come, I will hold steadfast. I will not let this destroy my faith.
The darkness will embrace the wicked who sinned against God and man with their activities, including the wicked who did nothing to prevent more suffering. And I believe that darkness is relentless, and fearful, and full of pain and sorrow. They earned every bit of it.
But through shared faith, love and by fully ministering to the needs of each other – particularly to the needs of the victims and those who love them - as we emerge from this chapter, the light will come. It will come for the just.
John Jay Study: The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors By Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950-2002
The Causes and Context of the Problem of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States, 1950-2010
PRIEST SUBJECT OF SUBSTANTIATED ALLEGATIONS: 1,872 SURVEYS
ACTION |
NUMBER OF CASES |
PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL |
PRIEST DEAD OR NOT ACTIVE AT TIME OF ALLEGATION |
206 |
11% |
PRIEST RESIGNED OR RETIRED |
545 |
29.1% |
PRIEST SOUGHT LAICIZATION |
113 |
6% |
PREIST REMOVED FROM CLERGY |
115 |
6.1% |
PREIST REPIMANDED AND RETURNED |
172 |
9.2% |
PRIEST REFERRED FOR EVALUATION |
918 |
49% |
PRIEST GIVEN ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE |
699 |
37.3% |
PRIEST SENT TO SPIRITUAL RETREAT |
143 |
7.6% |
PRIEST SENT FOR TREATMENT |
998 |
53.3% |
PRIEST GIVEN MEDICAL LEAVE |
162 |
8.7% |
PRIEST SUSPENDED |
852 |
45.5% |
PRIEST RETURNED TO ORDER OR SUPERIOR NOTIFIED |
88 |
4.7% |
NO ACTION TAKEN |
49 |
2.6% |
OTHER ACTION TAKEN |
444 |
23.7% |