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PDF versionDanneels latest symbol of a culture in need of reform
by Tom Roberts on Aug. 30, 2010
Some will be surprised at the revelation that Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Belgium urged a victim who was abused by his uncle, a bishop, to remain quiet, accept a private apology and allow the bishop to retire and not “drag his name through the mud.”
Secretly made recordings of meetings among the cardinal, the victim and the perpetrator leave little room for Danneels to explain his way out of his own words. He didn’t call the police, he didn’t immediately seek removal of the bishop, he didn’t act immediately to find out whether there had been other victims.
One press report termed the leaked recordings “ some of the most damaging documents to emerge in the scandal rocking the Roman Catholic Church.” That may be a bit of overstatement. But what the recordings underline is the fact that when church leaders are caught in their own words – in depositions, letters, memos, directives, in the tens of thousands of pages, for instance, archived at bishopaccountability.com – the true nature of the scandal is bared. The deepest part of it, that part which refuses to go away with countless pro-forma apologies and programs, has little to do with sex and much to do with a culture that sees itself above accountability.
That’s why analyzing the scandal requires seeing it as much broader than a referendum on a certain ecclesiology or a particular view of reform or orthodoxy. And that’s why some of the recent thinking and comments by church leaders in different parts of the world becomes important. Whether the questions that are being raised in other countries have any “legs” is itself an open questions. Who knows whether those raising the questions have the stomach for pursuing them beyond their own diocesan borders.
Danneels was generally seen as one of the last of the Vatican II generation who knew that council intimately and supported its reforms. He would be, for lack of a better term, a liberal by many of today’s ecclesiastical measures. But it doesn’t matter. So was Archbishop Rembert Weakland, and his handling of some abuse cases was notoriously callous, and in his own attempt to hide a homosexual liaison he saw fit to lift nearly a half million dollars from archdiocesan coffers without telling anyone.
By contrast, Cardinal Anthony Bevelacqua of Philadelphia was a noted conservative, one of those who could be described as leading the reversal on Vatican II reforms. The Philadelphia Grand Jury report on his role in hiding sexual predators and using the law to avoid accountability is deeply disturbing reading. So are the documents in which Cardinals Bernard Law and Edward Egan are depicted overseeing the handling of abuse cases in their respective dioceses. Both are staunch conservatives and would be considered by many as protectors of a traditionalist approach to ecclesiology and church teaching.
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Wherever members of the hierarchy are on the political, theological or ecclesiological spectrums, they meet first as brothers in a unique culture of celibate men who have sworn oaths of allegiance to the papacy and who have repeatedly acted to protect the institution while shunning the plight of thousands of child victims of abusive priests.
“I came to think that the problem was in some way cultural,” wrote Australian Bishop Mark Coleridge of the sex abuse crisis. “But that prompted the further question of how; what was it that allowed this canker to grow in the body of the Catholic church, not just here and there but more broadly?”
Coleridge does not provide a magic answer in that pastoral letter prepared last spring for Pentecost. However, he raises a number of issues – inadequat seminary training, the church’s “culture of discretion,” seminary training that creates “a kind of institutional immaturity, “a certain church triumphalism,” and the church’s tendence to see things in the light of sin and forgiveness rather than crime and punishment – that deserve far wider discussion and examination.
He includes in that list “clericalism understood as a hierarchy of power, not service.” It is one of many influences that caused so many in the hierarchy to confront the abuse crisis in ways they now say they regret. Perhaps it ought to be at the top of the list. Danneels is merely the latest sorry example, though a current one, demonstrating that for so long the actions of many of the community’s leaders were drastically out of step with what they were preaching.
An English translation of parts of the transcripts of the audio recording are here: Belgium cardinal tried to keep abuse victim quiet
Feet of clay wear shoes of
Feet of clay wear shoes of all theological stripes.
Protection of one's peers is endemic in a caste that has a self-image that is constantly puffed up with ceremony, jewelry, regalia, all the trappings of mystery and feudal authority, and the persistent reminders of their role as mediators for the divine. The corruption of power is a constant danger.
As one who was physically
As one who was physically abused by nuns in grammar school, by priests , lay teachers and nuns in high school, sexually abused by one nun in high school and sexually harrassed by another nun as a young seminarian I would like to agree with this assessment. I really would. But I cannot. Here is why.
We see bishops as holy men. They see themselves as managers from corporate that are here in (fill in the blank with the city or region's name) to protect corporate Catholicism from the barbarians.
I have personally known one bishop, casually known another, and been in the presence of three cardinals over my lifetime. They are brilliant men and generally, they are Vatican educated. They are picked to be bishops precisely because they are company men and they can be trusted to control a crowd and bend it to the will of Rome and to protect the corporate church at all times, at all costs. They are in effect, generals of the church militant in any given area.
This is not a bad thing, on the face of it. We expect that from corporation CEOs every day. The problem is that WE see the Church as the right hand of G*d and THEY see the church as a corporation to be protected from people like you and me. They are not evil, they are company men...at all times, in all circumstances, in every conceivable type of situation.
Daneels was acting as a CEO/general knowing full well that the damage would be extensive. He was trying to use his powers of persuasion to keep this young man silent. That is what generals/CEOs do.
I am a retired Coast Guard warrant officer, a personnel administrator. I have worked for five admirals and they do this kind of thing every day of every week. They are promoted to admiral precisely to do this sort of thing. This is normal behavior for an admiral, general, bishop, Grand Mufti, Chief Rabbi, senior alderman, state senator, principal of a high school or any other person who is in charge of millions of dollars of assets and thousands of minds to manipulate.
We get shocked every time we read of this sort of thing because WE see the bishop as a holy man. Trust me, he does not see himself that way. I never met one that did. Not ever. Not once.
We need to realize that corporate wrongs done by corporate entities demand corporate justice.
Sue the bastards out of existence. It is our only real hope of changing the church.
The answer is that it a
The answer is that it a clerical cultural sewer and has nothing to do with liberal or conservative. World wide 3000 bishops... how many diocesan bishops will 'stand up'???a couple of retired and couple of auxiliaries.and 100,000 priests and a few dozen priests stand up!
One press report termed the
One press report termed the leaked recordings “some of the most damaging documents to emerge in the scandal rocking the Roman Catholic Church.”
I don't think this is an overstatement. Just four months ago, the most powerful Catholic official in Belgium is trying to persuade a victim of an admitted predator to keep silent about the crimes. For three decades,Danneels headed the Belgium Bishops Conference. He was on many "short lists" as a possible replacement for JPII.
A prominent Cardinal engaged in a recent, proven cover up of another bishop's admitted child sex crimes. . .that's pretty awful stuff. . .
David Clohessy, SNAP, SNAPclohessy@aol.com
Actually, I think the deepest
Actually, I think the deepest part of the scandal does have to do with sex. What is most striking in the cover-up is that none of these church leaders seem to be moved at all by the information that a child was raped by one of their priests. They seem to be completely lacking in the natural human instinct to be appalled and horrified by such an act committed against a child. It almost seems like the leaders of the Catholic Church don't consider children to be fully human and feeling beings. This is what stands out in the Danneels transcript even more than the sense of being above accountability. Outside of the Catholic Church authorities, is there anyone on earth who would not catch their breath at the mere thought of a child being butchered by any man, not to mention a religious man? I'm afraid this natural human instinct is completely lacking in the Catholic Church, and therefore I have to pose the question, is the Catholic Church a global pedophile ring?
Amazing. Cardinal Daneels was
Amazing. Cardinal Daneels was a lion of liberal Catholicism. I never thought the NCR would be so quick to dismiss him.
Before following the link to
Before following the link to what is called a translation, please take note that there isn't an excuse for NCR publishing so poor a version - the Flemish live only a few miles from us and plenty of proficient translators can readily be hired at a few hours notice.
A true version will be posted when it is finished. Be warned: it makes Danneels look even worse !!!!! !!!!!
apologies - I cannot deliver
apologies - I cannot deliver any further translation after all
Seminary training is a major
Seminary training is a major factor in their failings??
Hah! They were out of the student mode for decades before rising to power -- it was rubbing shoulders with so many venal religious colleagues and leaders that taught them the ropes & how to play the system for their own benefits, not for God's work...
With such widespread corruption and moral cowardice, keeping the bulk of the old leadership is NOT the way to clean up the mess.
The Allies insisted that there be a wholesale de-Nazification campaign in post-war western zone Germany because they knew that it was the only effective way to install a new way of thinking to break with the errors of the past...
One would think that German-born Ratzinger would instinctively understand that point as a model for the Vatican in dealing with the whole sexual abuse & coverup mess...
It is quite unprofessional
It is quite unprofessional for a catholic reporter to complacently refer to a slanderous article in De Standaard. Shame !!!
http://pere-walter-covens.skynetblogs.be/archive/2010/09/01/le-cardinal-...
Note to Catholic Church: I'm
Note to Catholic Church:
I'm GONE
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