PBS to air documentary about clergy abuse in Alaska

Heartbreaking ...

"none of the priests or those accused of sexual crimes in Alaska will ever be prosecuted" OR EXCOMMUNICATED! BUT WOMEN ORDAINED AS ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST IN VALID APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION AND THOSE WHO SUPPORT THEM, LIKE REV. ROY BOURGEOIS, ARE AUTOMATICALLY EXCOMMUNICATED.

This is simply sin.

"Kettler said in 2010 that he would not have been able to apologize eight years before. 'I don't think I understood the hurt that existed in communities. The process that I went through was a deeper understanding of the depth of the hurt. We can never do enough to make up for what has happened to them (the victims) personally.'"

"WE CAN NEVER DO ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THEM (THE VICTIMS) PERSONALLY."

Words that closely resemble those of Pope Benedict XVI when he said that "everything possible" must be done for the victim/survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

In 2010 Kettler didn't understand the "hurt that existed in communities" eight years before.

What exactly did he understand eight years before?

Rape, sodomy and beatings were what if not crimes against humanity?

I wonder, I really do, what kind of statement, if any at all, Bishop Kettler makes at the meetings of the USCCB when the subject of the removal of STATUTES OF LIMITATION & a TWO YEAR CIVIL WINDOW comes up? Of course it may never have come up at all from the floor at those meetings seeing as:

Bishops and their state Catholic Conferences have viciously opposed STATUTE OF LIMITATION REFORM whenever it has been proposed in state legislatures in the United States.

Such necessary legislative reform has been defeated due to the legislative clout and deep pockets of state Catholic Conferences, at the direction of the bishops, of course.

ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY GO ONLY AS FAR AS THE BISHOPS DECIDE THEY GO, RIGHT?

One has only to look at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to see the truth of such a statement.

And now, instead of being removed as Philadelphia's cardinal archbishop for what he has done and what he has failed to do since the release of the 2005 Philadelphia Grand Jury Report, Pope Benedict XVI has chosen Justin Rigali as his special envoy to the bicentennial celebration of the birth of St. John Neumann being held in the Czech Republic in June.

What chutzpah!

Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
Victims' Advocate
maturlishmdsnd@yahoo.com

Being confronted by such a horrendous reality really does leave me speechless. You have done a fine job at respectfully synthesizing the elements of the show and the key facts in these cases. One of the things that occurred to me, just this week, as a Iread about the Abuse Crisis in Brazil, is that part of the problem is that "we" (the Church?) deal with these occurrences as though they are separate isolated incidents. We categorize and catalog them and believe we have closed the book until another major story hits about a diocese or locale dealing with the abuse that has taken place. In 2002, the truth hit about Boston and we saw it as a U.S. problem. Then there were stories about Europe including the Holy Father's brother's knowledge of a particular case. Now we have stories in Latin America and new stories here in the U.S. Child sexual abuse is not unique to the Catholic Church and it is not an evil perpetrated by many priests and nuns. However, due to particular cultural aspects of the Church as an institution, the systemic abuse was allowed to happen in many, if not most, cases, far longer than it should have because of the particular way in which the culture of the Church as a social institution silences acknowledging its darkness. We need no longer to think of or discuss the issue as the abuse in Boston, or in Fairbanks, or in Trenton as if these are separate unrelated phenomenon. As Church, as the people of God who are the Church, we need to speak honestly about the child sexual abuse in the Church worldwide. It is only then that we will really be able to begin the road to healing, restore the Church's credibility and stability, and protect children and other vulnerable people from victimization. The "Dallas Charter" adopted by the U.S. bishops in 2002 was the beginning of a national policy; imperfect though it may seem now, it was a valuable and important start. Yet it remains limited, and it only applies to the dioceses, eparches, and Catholic religious institutes of the U.S. What we need now is a more robust charter that incorporates the lessons learned since Dallas and that applies to the universal Church, including any necessary changes in Canon Law.

Thanks for the opportunity to respond! I am happy to discuss these ideas further.

None of the bastards that abused the children in Alaska will be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations.

The bishops have proven that their main concern from day one, has not been the children of God but the protection of these sexual abusers and themswlves.

Many, many years ago they sealed that decision when they came to a fork in the road. Take the road to protect God's children or protect the sex abusers and they choose the sex abusers.

Even an idiot realizes that the statute of limitation has, over the years proven to protect the abuser, yet the bishops use million of dollars to fight any changes in the law and to top it off, they use church contributions to do so.

In no way do I wish to discredit anything that happened in those dark years in the frozen tundra. But, I wish to question an impossible timeline.

In Sr. Rose article, it states that "In 1968...Lundowski was studying to become a deacon." This is very curious timing. In Oct. 1968 the Holy See approved the organization of the Diaconate in America. It took many years until most bishops accepted the possibility of another ordinated level in which to share.

In Alaska, the FIRST DEACON to be ordained was in 1981 - that's 22 years after the article stated that Jospeh Lundowski was "studying to become a deacon". It was 5 years after he left Alaska that a "real" deacon was ordained. Did Lundowski have the insight to forsee the deaconate becoming a reality before it was ever promolgated? And in Alaska, yet? And able to fool the established clergy, as well?

In several articles about this upcoming PBS documentary, Joseph Lundowski is offered as: Church Volunteer...Catholic Priest...Catholic Volunteer...Former Trappist Monk...Jesuit Brother...Deacon...Volunteer missionary, and Deacon Joe. Which is it? Or maybe none of the above?

Just wondering.

What gets me with these statements from bishops like Kettler is that they don't understand that the Church is the People of God. Not the clergy's private possession or organization. I am a part of the Church, the People of God. Why should the laity of the Church have to be apologetic for the deeds of those in the hierarchy and clergy (albeit that Lundowski was not ordained -but perceived as such a person, from this article). The "Church" as referenced by Bishop Kettler seems to be his way of spreading the sin out, an excuse that doesn't ring true. He had to "learn" how this affected people??? Sexual abuse and domestic abuse has been around for decades and the studies on how it devastates the victims. Where has he been??? And who is paying for all the restitution? The laity, the same part of the Church that suffered through the abuse...the apologies haven't gone far enough to include everyone who is suffering the ramifications...

Catastrophe. Ruined lives, lost lives. So the Church is not a democracy? So the role of the laity is to simply pay, pray and obey? Not any more.

As a cradle Catholic, parent of four sons, teacher--this news is so hard to read. I have been to Alaska and loved
the wonderful Native Alaskan families I have met there. How dare these priest-lay monsters hurt the children of
these remote villages of the North!! And to think these priests escaped prosecution! Shame on the Jesuit order for
this terrible crime on children. Look at the cost on the little boy whose father beat him and shot his brother! I no longer want to be part of this abusive church that I believe it no longer reflects Christ's teachings. ( My sons left for the same reasons! )The entire American Catholic church has been raped by this abuse scandal and the long lasting spiritual scars the abusive monster priests and nuns have cause will mark the church for a very long time to come! They have a lot to answer for before their Lord! God forgive them because a lot of existing or former Catholics will not and cannot do so!

Re Crimes Against Humanity by Pope: Write The Hague Prosecutor by May 11, 2011. The Hague International Criminal Court will soon decide whether to pursue criminal charges against Joseph Ratzinger (otherwise known as the “Pope”) as a German citizen who is complicit in crimes against humanity, especially in light of the epidemic of pedophilia by Catholic priests. Click here: http://cityofangels11.blogspot.com for more info and address to send your evidence to The Hague Prosecutor – Persons with evidence of crimes committed by the Catholic Church or The Vatican can now write directly to the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in charge of this case, Dr. Luis Moreno Ocampo, according to the two German Lawyers who are applying to prosecute Ratzinger, Christian Sailer and Gert Hetzel. Source: City of Angels Blog by Kay Ebeling.

I am grateful to all who have helped to make this viewing and any publicity about it available - this issue MUST be
addressed openly so that ALL may heal - especially the reluctant Hierarchy members. At least this )one and only, so far)
Bishop began to see some ofthe need and was willing to respond even if not 'perfectly'. All members of society need to look closely at the implications for the necessity of making child abuse in any form totally unacceptable. Peace, EHS

This is a continuing horror story.

Is it possible that some 'insensitive men' are so focused on their sexual pleasure that they imagine the recipients get pleasure from it also? That is if they even think of the other person...

Do these men imagine that children will quickly forget? Are they aware that the victim's whole life will be impacted? And RUINED? No amount of money will heal a life.It mmight pay for some psychological help, but most often too late.

I hope that some day the eyes of abusers will REALLY be opened and that will be their hell---and maybe their salvation.

Because of the statute of limitations, none of the priests or those accused of sexual crimes in Alaska will ever be prosecuted.

This last line of the article is unfortunate. None of the priests will ever be prosecuted! This is horrible! Being paid is not enough and never a solution to the problem! Still if priests have money they can escape from their responsibility by paying!

I can only express my shame at a church hierarchy who are shameless. They keep themselves distant from victims and then when pressured to respond use ritual as their only response. As leaders of a church that claims to be loving and compassionate, they are pathetic. As long as there are bishops who are lobbying state legislatures to shorten the statute of limitatios on child abuse cases, the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy deserves no alliegence and no support. I will give no more money to the church. They have used my donations to enable the sodomizing of innocent children.

And Cardinal Wuerl et al. wonder why people LAUGH at their critique of feminist theologian Elizabeth Johnson?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAITzn8-QqY

UNF#@$&*ING BELIEVABLE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0WCzIw0Qfg&feature=related

This will continue until the requirements for entering the priesthood are changed. A seminary must not continue to be a sanctuary for "questioning" young men. I am not saying that this is a gay issue, as both sexes are being abused. But, however the issue is couched, contemplate with an open mind and the root causes are obvious.

Allowing women and married individuals into the priesthood would go a long way to ameliorating this horrible problem, but occasional abuse would still occur. I see my children struggling with their relationship with the Catholic church and 4 of 5 are no longer affiliated with it.

Perhaps it would be best if the Catholic church is put out of business via this slow legal process.

I was one of many Jesuit Volunteers abused by Fr. James Poole noted in the article and I thank you for your blog entry. The documentary is important and I'm glad it's getting attention. Elsie Boudreau who brought a lawsuit against the Jesuits because of his abuse is one of the most courageous, compassionate women I know.
The Jesuit volunteers who were exploited by Fr. Poole is a still untold part of the story and has yet to be taken seriously by the Jesuits.
It's interesting to note that as the story airs, James Poole is still a priest--supposedly living under supervision, but still a priest. And, at the same time, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, MM, is facing expulsion from both the priesthood and from his community for his support of the legitimate call of women to the priesthood.
The evil perpetuated by the institution takes my breath away.
Anne McCarthy, osb

There is so much conflated in a lot of these responses that it’s hard to make sense of what some responders actually understand about the facts of Catholic clergy sexual abuse. Just one example is the anger and indignation expressed that none of these perpetrators will be criminally prosecuted. Since the Frontline segment mentions that there were several abusers but actually only names three (Jim Poole, SJ, George Endal, SJ and Joseph Lundowski) and since Endal and Lundowski were long dead before these allegations surfaced, this hardly becomes an example of the official Church finessing statute of limitations laws in Alaska.

I do, however, have another view on the wisdom of these statutes of limitations. They are actually intended not so much to shield criminal actions from prosecution, as witness in there being no statute of limitation on murder or kidnapping, as they are meant to ensure the integrity of investigations and judicial proceedings, particularly when the alleged crimes happened 30-50 years ago and it is extremely difficult to gather evidence, witnesses, etc. I suspect that some readers will think that I am advocating a “get-out-of-jail” pass for criminals, particularly Catholic clergy, but that it is not the reason at all. I have worked for a church organization for ten years, attempting to deal fairly with these kinds of allegations and all the time have been guided by the caution that those who name themselves as victims of clergy sexual abuse should have an edge on credibility, compassion, etc.

What is also striking to me is that even some well-known Catholic justice advocates who routinely interrogate through their writings and speeches the morality and spirituality of certain U.S. policies and laws can so comfortably come to the belief that only through police investigations, judicial proceedings, and hefty financial settlements will victims of clergy sexual abuse find resolution.

I once was at a meeting in which the alleged victim was being deposed in a civil suit against a religious organization. Along with her were four lawyers and me. With the exception of one attorney, all of us were Catholics. The thought occurred to me midway in this rather long deposition, “Is this the best that we can do?” How did we come to the belief that American tort law would transform, resolve, and heal these deep emotional, psychological, and spiritual wounds.

It doesn’t help, of course, that our Church leadership in some of these matters is so ignorant and misinformed about the nature of clergy sexual abuse and then so woefully equipped to respond to victims in an authentic, empathetic human and pastoral manner. Bishop Donald Kettler comes across as horribly naïve, distant, and underwhelming. Unfortunately, this is too often the personality that appears to be most attractive to those in Rome who make Episcopal appointments. Yikes!

As several responders have already noted, the film is quite moving and difficult to watch. Having both interviewed and responded to victims of clergy sexual abuse, all of these emotions are very real and were painful to experience. Who could not be moved by people who decades after the abuse are still so incredibly vulnerable and tender!

I can recall my own experience at times at similar sessions, wishing that I could disinter the dead abusers and shake their bones and shout at them, “What were you thinking!” On another level, however, I know that abusers aren’t thinking, at least with any kind of moral or spiritual center. I also know that these men were not licensed by the Church to abuse and that these actions would be abhorrent to most priests. When some people respond to these actions, whether the actual crimes of sexual abuse or some church leaders’ wrongful responses to these crimes, by declaring that they can have nothing further to do with the Church, I can understand their frustration, anger, disappointment, and disillusionment. This is not, after all, how priests are supposed to be and this is not the ethical behavior we expect from religious leadership. I’ve been all over the emotional map myself in response to these realities, but I have never once thought of leaving the Church.

I’ve known too many excellent lay people, lay leaders, nuns, priests, and even a couple really admirable bishops and I’ve found too much inspiration in our shared life for me to think about leaving. If you haven’t had this experience, however, I could understand that you would conclude that it’s time to depart. What is curious though is that we know statistically that the highest percent of child sexual abuse occurs within the family. So what do we do with that fact? Leave the family? Leave all families? Refuse to have a family?

I thought that PBS did an excellent job in dealing with this painful reality of ruined lives, and the protection of Priests who betrayed them. I saw an old Holy Card (Like the Sisters used to give us) of Jesus serving communion to a little girl for the first time. Its a beautiful old painting, and makes me wonder how these monsters "men of God" could betray the beauty of our faith, and the innocence of humanity for their own ugly needs. I Love the Catholic faith, and it sickens me to see the pomp and politics that the Old Boys favor over the simple message of Jesus Christ, Love one another as I Loved you. They deny women the ability to participate in leadership, they deny Gays a place at the table of Jesus, and they believe Jesus will be delighted to take over the reigns of the Vatican upon his return, and be proud of the dark ugly secrets of these "men of God", that betrayed the faithful.

Please help support victims of sexual abuse by demanding honesty, transparency, and accountability from Church leaders. Please visit our website and create productive discussion about how we, as a society, can prevent future children and vulnerable adults from sexual abuse inside and outside the walls of the Catholic Church.

www.Victims4Justice.org

I write the day following this PBS airing and didn't witness it. However, as usual, Sr. Rose gives a great summary/review/analysis. Personally I was touched that, as professional, she isn't afraid to share her emotions & reactions with us, her readers.

What most deeply affected me was the summing up of the kinship she felt for the victims in the FRONTLINE showing, "I think the people who tell their stories in the film are among the most heroic I have ever seen and heard."

Finally this story reminded me of those that emanated from South Africa's Truth and Reconcialiation Committee and from others in Africa (I think of Uganda for one) and Central America.

While I was glad to see the bishop apologizing on behalf of the church and seeking to console -- a step that is so welcome to them and Catholics in the pews everywhere that it is difficult to describe -- seeing this also made it clear what more was needed and how we could do this better. For example, it is dismaying to see that this and other bishops aren't warmer, especially in the face of such suffering and need. (Is “be pastoral first and foremost” to their job description? Could it be?). It must have been difficult to be being filmed, but I concur with the above that he seemed very distant.

With the recent Belgian bishop's interview in France and the failure to show remorse or understand the seriousness of the situation, I was also struck again at the Vatican's inadequate response and thought of John Allen's recent articles/themes that "the Vatican needs better P.R." While in many respects that point is awful to contemplate and it is not where we'd want to start in our response as a church, clearly they need to do a better job, and apparently they need help! Clearly they are not getting good advice. Clearly common sense and compassion is lacking.

Do they realize there are some simple things they could do that would help a great deal? Do they understand how meaningful some larger gestures and substantive and symbolic actions would be, on their part? Lay people in the pews and also professionals who work in this area can probably provide some excellent advice. Is anyone asking them, the right folks, instead of whoever is drafting/suggesting/encouraging painful and inadequate legalistic, low information/high secrecy responses that are further discrediting the church at every step?

I wished the bishop last night did not say, in the reconciliation service for these victims, “any pain the church (may have) caused you” and just said “pain the church has caused you” or “all the pain the church has caused you.” That is what we seek to heal, and we do not wish to deny the pain and suffering that is so clearly there, and even already established in the earlier dialogue and interviews. This wording diminishes the service some and was reflective of a legalistic approach, especially inappropriate in that setting.

With the recently reported happenings in the Philadelphia and Wilmington, DE dioceses and the Belgian bishop's interview, some other ideas about how the Vatican could respond and communicate the church's suffering, remorse, and commitment to change:

* Re-state the church's abhorrence of crimes against the powerless and place the church's (new) response to these crimes, in context. Clarify the church's understandings and traditions that actions taken (by those in power) against the powerless are the worst we understand, and connect this with the condemnation the church has been directing toward abortion in recent decades. Abortion and child molestation irrevocably harm those who can least defend themselves. A lesser point: While not mentioning it directly, such a statement could also go some way toward addressing the enormous harm caused by the Vatican's statement last spring (unintentionally?) equating child molestation and ordination of women as both "gravitas delictas." (And what a terrible word to read in English!)

* Put away clerical garb with lace for 5 years, as the church and the clergy undertake a period of repentance. This might be a minimal step, but it would be symbolic. The Vatican could encourage all bishops and cardinals to wear simple brown robes, such as the Franciscans, and undertake and be seen undertaking hands on service to the powerless.

* Publicly initiate a period of reflection, internal inquiry, and metanoia. In contrast to Bishop Vangheluwe's comment and church defense talking points, such child molestation is not common in other fields (schools, sports) and by recent reported calculations, priests are 100 times more likely to sexually abuse children than the average person. Rates of abuse may still be low for this horrific crime, but if it is 20 times more likely, or more likely at all, it is incumbent on us to look at this more closely. What do priests (all the many non-abusing priests) think about this? Do they have any thoughts or insights about their peers, the system, what might be the problem? What else can be done, that would make a difference? What should be done early, in seminary? What are related problems or indicators?
* What will it take to make our church leaders more (evidently) compassionate and pastoral? This could be part of the reflection above. It is tempting to think that women, mothers, fathers might have an easier time of this, but we have many saints and priests who also show the way. On a large scale, we need to do something different though.

This is just a start. I think it is time for the rest of us to think about this though, provide guidance, ask priests and nuns what they think too.

I agree with Rev. Alice Iaquinta. Yes, it IS valid to point out the absurd fact that the Catholic Church has equated pedophiles who rape children with women who believe that they should be able to become priests. The Vatican issued a statement to this effect. Then, later, they said that they did not mean that. God save us all.