The Catholic community's right to know

Well they say that the reason we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so we can tell what we've done wrong to another human being and then reconcile and ultimately be forgiven. They might only give a series of prayers or some little penance but they still hand them out. The hierarchy wants this whole sex mess to go away without the stating of the sin, the penance and then the reconciliation. It seems they don't want to do what they expect the rest of us to do.

Hopefully, the Irish hierarchy will have learned from the mistakes their American counterparts have made for years, as indicated in former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating's remarks when he resigned from the national oversight board of the USCCB on April 9, 2003:

"To act like LA COSA NOSTRA and hide and suppress, I think, is very unhealthy. Eventually, it will all come out."

PUBLIC APOLOGIES FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY?

I agree with the statements Tom Doyle O.P. makes in the American publication, the National Catholic Reporter “Irish abuse report demands decisive action,” (05/21/09):

http://ncronline.org/news/accountability /irish-abuse-report-demands-decisive-ac tion

“The report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse is not unique though it may well be the most shocking example of the reality of such a culture of evil. In the past two decades over two dozen reports have described physical and sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults by Catholic clergy and religious.”

Now the world awaits the publication of the Dublin Report, which is the result of the government's inquiry into clergy sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland, which is expected to be even more shocking then the Ryan Report was.

I’m sorry but a whole lot more than public apologies from cardinals, bishops and government officials are necessary here.

The government of Ireland made a deal with the Devil in agreeing not to prosecute or name any of the individuals, living or dead, who were party to the widespread torture and abuse of children as has been reported in the recently released Ryan Report.

The Holy See itself along with the bishops and superiors of every religious order implicated in this tragedy like the Christian Brothers, the Sisters of Mercy and the Sisters of Charity and the individual perpetrators, living or dead, who were ever convicted, credibly accused or known by church authorites to have raped, sodomized, tortured and abused the children in their care should be brought before the world court.

The two nuns who brokered the arrangement with the Irish government to limit the institutional Roman Catholic Church’s accountability and transparency should be ashamed of themselves, I know I am.

They are Sisters Elizabeth Maxwell who was then the secretary general of the Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI) and currently heads the northern province of the Presentation Sisters, and Helena O’Donoghue the leader of the Sisters of Mercy, south central province. Sadly, they personify the worst of the church’s clericalism and patriarchial system, just in the female variation.

These are nothing less than crimes against humanity and they should be prosecuted as such.

The Holy See is a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child even though it has never submitted one of the required compliance reports and I suspect that Ireland is a signatory to that document as well.

Crimes against humanity!

Every single God given right has been denied these children and they are deserving of some justice. They should get it from the world court and the sooner the better.

Where is the outrage?

Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
Victims’ Advocate
New Castle, Delaware, USA
maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com

Sister Turlish is a Delaware educator and victims’ advocate who testified before the Delaware Senate and House Judiciary Committees in the U.S in support of the state of Delaware’s 2007 Child Victims Law.

Tom, You ending line is prophetic. "But the need to know and the church's parallel insistence on secrecy are like pieces of flint striking, fueling the longevity of the scandal." We have heard from the survivors, and made lists of the sinners on line. How can we call forth new ministers and leaders in our church, without understanding how the bishops allowed this to continue for decades on end. Rebuilding the connections between the faithful believers and the ordained will take some work. Maybe next year, the Vatican can announce a "Year of the Bishop" to assist their connection with the real pain of the faithful believers in today's church.

Crimes without punishment. In my opinion, Catholic bishops have been getting away with committing crimes and avoiding punishment. Would you agree that bishops have knowingly and secretly moved abusive priests from one parish to another unsuspecting parish, placing more children in harms way. Would you agree that the reason why these bishops knowingly made these secret moves was to avoid reporting these crimes to local authorities and to protect their own involvement.Then, to top it off,they allowed these pedophiles to go free withou having to register as sex offenders. These bishops, that still refuse to be held accountable are still in complete control, using billions of dollars of church money as they see fit. Now the Catholics in Ireland have the same problem. What country is next?

It is seven years after the Dallas Charter of 2002 promised an end to secrecy. And the Diocese of Bridgeport has apparently decided to appeal its right to secrecy to the US Supreme Court.

The bishops, then, wonder why SNAP, other advocacy groups, and "the anti-Catholic press" won't allow them to just put the scandal behind them.

What the bishops and religious superiors are really attempting to defend is their right to re-write history.

Over the past decade, the hierarchy has relied upon those who hold them in unconditional positive regard to bolster it against the onslaught of laity who would instead call them to an accounting for their policies of clericalism. Much of the laity have remained steadfast in this regard in the face of escalating evidence that the hierarchy best served not the People of God, or the Deity herself, but rather their fellow priests and religious. But with each revelation, more and more of that support erodes. The release of the Bridgeport documents will just contribute to that erosion.

In turn, that will hasten the day when the Bishops and religious superiors are
held to account by those who have supported them in the manner to which they have become all too well-accustomed. That will be a rude awakening for those who've fancied themselves as accountable only upwards, to the Vatican.

It is the Catholic Hierarchy's reliance on secrecy that allowed priests to abuse children and vulnerable adults. The bishops gave tacit approval to these actions by covering for the pedophiles in the ranks. As a victim (at age 13) of sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest I can tell you from direct personal experience that the Catholic Hierarchy does not get the concept of doing the correct, right and moral thing. They still protect these monsters, still cover for those that have been credibly reported and, where possible, hide them from the public eye to minimze "damage". When these monsters die, they are given elaborate funerals and eulogized as great men of God. This happens even with the Bishops knowing full well that they have victimized dozens of children.
No, they don't get it and parishioners don't hold Bishops accountable for their lack of action.
All diocese should turn over the records of all priests for review. Those with credible accusations should be investigate and adjudicated by civil authorities. The Catholic church cannot be trusted to police itself.
At some point this all stopped being about God.

Can I reprint Sister Maureen's reply online at my website?

Kelly
Marquette, MI

"The Catholic Community's Right To Know"? But do they really WANT to know? When we victims of clergy sexual violation have tried to warn Roman Catholic Laity of the possible dangers of clergy sexual violation that might await their children and grandchildren, they have not exactly thanked us for our efforts. Rather, the Roman Catholic Laity have resented us for bringing them what can only be described as,"Bad News". Believe me, I hate to hear of new cases of sexual victimization by Roman Catholic Clergy. Why? Because it means another Child of Our Church is suffering. Worse still, another Child of Our Church may have lost their Faith in Our Loving and Merciful GOD. When I was a Sexually Victimized Child of the Roman Catholic Church I used to kneel at the Communion Rail (when we still had Communion Rails); I used to kneel and pray to die, because living was so hard. And later, after the abuse was discovered and I was beaten and threatened to keep me quiet, for years I did not talk to GOD, I turned my back on HIM. I knew HE was there, but I was so angry, I chose to ignore HIM. Thankfully, I found my way back to GOD; but never again would I swear my allegiance to the Catholic Church via The Apostle's Creed. I used to pray, "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Get Me Through This Day". I ask the Faithful to look to Our Crucified Lord for Salvation and Truth. Forget Rome.

The efforts for transparency of the dealings of bishops and religious orders concerning priests who have committed sexually violence against children and vulnerable adults is well worth striving towards. I commend Fr.Tom Doyle and those who follow him in this effort. I also propose that providing widespread information about the Church's teaching about sexual abuse will not accomplish transparency by our bishops and religious, HOWEVER, such information openly made known to laiety may help sequester further support for transparency. The more people who actually know the harm done to the rights of children that is backed up by Catholic magisterial teaching has the potential to shift a long standing prejudice promoted by hierarchy that has nothing to do with the actual magisterial teachings. Please read the following: Catechism of the Catholic Church #2356 "Rape...IT DOES INJURY TO JUSTICE AND CHARITY. Rape deeply wounds the respect, freedom, and physical and moral integrity to which every person has a right. It CAUSES GRAVE DAMAGEthat can mark the victim for life. IT IS ALWAYS AND INTRINSICALLY EVIL ACT. GRAVER STILL IS THE RAPE OF CHILDREN committed by parents (incest) or those responsible for the education of the children entrusted to them." (this can be found on the USCCB website. See also Church document Familiaris Consortio #26 "...special attention must be devoted to the children by developing a profound esteem for their personal dignity, and a great respect and generous concern for their rights. This is true for every child, but it becomes all the more urgent the smaller the child is and the more it is in need of everything, when it is sick, suffering or handicapped." this can be found on the vatican.va website. The better informed our Catholic people are the better each person can be encouraged to do what is right and just in defending the right of children.

Note to KM,

You certainly can reprint my reply online at your website. In fact you can reprint anything else that I have said publicly since I have gotten involved in supporting victim/survivors of sexual abuse - by anyone - and lobbying for legislative reform beginning with Deleware's 2007 Child Victim's Act which removed all Statutes of Limitation in regard to childhood sexual abuse AND OPENED A TWO YEAR CIVIL WINDOW FOR PREVIOUSLY TIME BARRED CASES OF SEXUAL ABUSE. That window just closed in Delaware

Just "Google" my name - Maureen Paul Turlish - and take what you like. I stand by my statements and I will be happy to discuss them next weekend in Washington. Contact me at: maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com