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PDF versionDublin abuse report asks: 'When is a lie not a lie?'
Dec. 01, 2009
Dermot Ahern, Ireland's minister for justice, equality and law reform, pauses as he addresses the media Nov. 26 after the release of a report detailing failures of church leaders' handling of sex abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Dublin. The report has r esulted in calls for bishops' resignations and further investigations and prosecution. (CNS photo/Cathal McNaughton, Reuters)
DUBLIN, Ireland -- When is a lie not a lie?
In addition to exposing how child abuse was concealed and perpetuated in the Dublin Archdiocese, a recent report raises questions about Catholic moral teaching on the Eighth Commandment and mental reservations.
The report of the independent Commission of Investigation, headed by Judge Yvonne Murphy, said a mental reservation permits a church official knowingly to convey a misleading impression to another person without being guilty of lying.
The report on how allegations of clerical child abuse were handled in the Dublin Archdiocese gave the following example: "John calls (on) the parish priest to make a complaint about the behavior of one of his curates. The parish priest sees him coming but does not want to see him because he considers John to be a troublemaker. He sends another of his curates to answer the door. John asks the curate if the parish priest is in. The curate replies that he is not. This is clearly untrue but in the church's view it is not a lie, because, when the curate told John that the parish priest was not in, he mentally reserved to himself the words 'to you,'" the report said.
In his evidence to the commission, Cardinal Desmond Connell, who served as archbishop of Dublin 1988-2004, explained. the concept: "The general teaching about mental reservation is that you are not permitted to tell a lie. On the other hand, you may be put in a position where you have to answer, and there may be circumstances in which you can use an ambiguous expression realizing that the person who you are talking to will accept an untrue version of whatever it may be ...."
"It really is a matter of trying to deal with extraordinarily difficult matters that may arise in social relations where people may ask questions that you simply cannot answer," he told the commission. "Everybody knows that this kind of thing is liable to happen. So, mental reservation is, in a sense, a way of answering without lying."
Andrew Madden and Marie Collins, two abuse victims who campaigned for the Commission of Inquiry to be established, told the commission how mental reservations were used in their cases.
Madden was the first Irish clerical abuse survivor to go public. In 1995 he said the Dublin Archdiocese had paid him compensation for being abused by Father Ivan Payne and that the priest was still in parish ministry and in contact with children.
The Murphy Report, as the commission's report has become known, said that during a meeting in 2003, Cardinal Connell apologized for his handling of the Father Payne case.
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"He was, however, at pains to point out to Mr. Madden that he did not lie about the use of diocesan funds in meeting Father Payne's settlement with Mr. Madden," the report said. The cardinal "explained that when he was asked by journalists about the use of diocesan funds for the compensation of complainants of child sexual abuse, he had responded that diocesan funds 'are' not used for such a purpose; that he had not said that diocesan funds 'were' not used for such a purpose. By using the present tense, he had not excluded the possibility that diocesan funds had been used for such purpose in the past. According to Mr. Madden, Cardinal Connell considered that there was an enormous difference between the two."
In Collins' case, after her abuser was convicted in 1997, the archdiocese issued a press statement claiming that it had cooperated with police in relation to her complaint, a claim that upset her deeply.
The report said a friend of Collins, Father James Norman, told police that he asked the archdiocese about the statement and the explanation he received was that "we never said we cooperated 'fully," placing emphasis on the word 'fully.'"
"The American phrase, 'don't ask, don't tell' is appropriate to describe the attitude of the Dublin Archdiocese to clerical sex abuse for most of the period covered," the report said. "The problem as a whole never seems to have been discussed openly by the archbishop and his auxiliaries, at least until the 1990s. Complainants were told as little as possible. The note 'Gain his knowledge, tell him nothing' for dealing with complainants and witnesses, typifies the attitudes of the archdiocese."
Under the heading "Cover-up," the report said: "As can be seen clearly from the case histories, there is no doubt that the reaction of church authorities to reports of clerical child sexual abuse, in the early years of the commission's remit, was to ensure that as few people as possible knew of the individual priest's problem. There was little or no concern for the welfare of the abused child or for the welfare of other children who might come into contact with the priest. Complainants were often met with denial, arrogance and cover-up and with incompetence and incomprehension in some cases."
I see. So people weren't
I see.
So people weren't lied to.
They were deliberately deceived.
That's much better.
It's okay to put up bishops who are deceitful, so long as they aren't liars.
A lie is a lie is a lie is a
A lie is a lie is a lie is a lie no matter how dressed up it is or those who say it are.
Secrecy and the abuse of power has brought the institutional Roman Catholic Church to this point and only the entire truth and the application of justice to all will begin to turn it around it such a thing is even possible.
There should be no accomodation in law that gives more protection to sexual predators and any accompanying enablers, individuals, religious denominations or public entities then to the very real victims of childhood sexual abuse.
The abuse of episcopal power and authority has been shown in the United States, in Canada, in Australia and now, again, in Ireland.
The episcopal incompetence shown in the statements of Donel Murry are staggering.
Yet there are laws in the United States that exempt groups, from mainline religious denominations or institutions down to the seemingly most benign local cult, from the laws that the rest of society is required to observe.
The deference given to a religious institution and its churchmen in Ireland is almost unimaginable to most of us who came of age with Vatican Council II.
The fact that such actions by perpetrators and enablers over more than half a century amount to crimes against humanity and are the most flagrant violations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to which the Holy See is a signatory seems not to penetrated the consciousness of those in high places.
It is time that such charges on what is being described as a pandamic of sexual, physical, psychological and spiritual abuse of children was brought before the United Nations.
Moreover, why, when children were taken across state lines and international borders, aren't there more federal charges of TRAFFICKING IN INDIVIDUALS FOR PURPOSES OF SEXUAL EXPLOITATION being brought against perpetrators and enablers?
Where is the outrage?
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
Victims' Advocate
New Castle, Delaware
maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com
You are so right. Isn't it
You are so right. Isn't it amazing that the Bishops actually believe they can lie---after all they are accountable to no one on earth---but they clearly forget that not being fourth members of the Trinity---- they are answerable to God--and as Dante suggests in his Inferno, "The roads of hell are lined with Bishops and priests!"---so true, so true!
"The general teaching about
"The general teaching about mental reservation is that you are not permitted to tell a lie. On the other hand, you may be put in a position where you have to answer, and there may be circumstances in which you can use an ambiguous expression realizing that the person who you are talking to will accept an untrue version of whatever it may be ...."
Ah yes, and not long ago, I had a young neo-trad explain to me how you could even make a person seem to be the one who had done something in place of yourself having (actually) done it, by playing the game of mental reservations. Something of an expanded definition (creeping mental reservation?) in which you lie while you haven't literally lied. And not a wit of concern that the intent was to lie and destroy someone else's reputation. This is what happens to catholic moral theology in a blink of an eye, which is why Jesus said what he had to say about not losing the spirit of the law.
I can hardly believe those
I can hardly believe those words came from an adult - let alone a cardinal of the church. Did he have his fingers crossed as well?
I can believe it. But I
I can believe it. But I wonder how they can do it and continue with a straight face. Amazing powers of concentration I suppose. They should take that act to Vegas.
It's now time for the Church
It's now time for the Church to stop pretending IT IS a moral authority,
the definer of Traditional Values,
or should EVER speak on sexual morality.
When can we know if ANY church official is telling the truth or telling us what we are allowed to hear. To the real world, they lie, and call it the truth.
The church is not preoccupied with the truth and human rights,
the hierarchy are preoccupied with sex and self preservation.
I once looked to them for The Truth, and I got abuse.
It is time to take off the gloves.
-Daniel, Bend, Oregon
Well said!
Well said!
Amen Daniel, I hope you have
Amen Daniel, I hope you have healing in your life.
This is hair splitting. When
This is hair splitting. When it comes to dealing with the sexual abuse of children by anyone, but especially by priests and bishops, there can be no such thing. There must be straight forward answers that do not mislead in any sense of mislead. This kind of semantics is exactly what you expect from corporate America, and must not be the practice of those who claim to stand in persona Christi. The bishops of the Catholic Church surely realize what is at stake. It is none other than the future of the Church itself, let alone their moral authority. If the bishops do not change their strategy and deal with this sex abuse situation like men of courage and moral integrity, then over the next several decades, we will see a huge decline in those who claim to be Catholic. Benedict 16 might very well be satisfied with a "leaner, meaner" church, but that does not seem to be what Christ had in mind, especially for those who claim to be acting in his stead.
The mental reservation as
The mental reservation as used in Ireland and the US hierarchy is realy based on the notion that the hierarchy have absolutly no obligation to tell civil authorities the truth. Forget about reporters.. The hierarchs believe reporters and survivors [and their lawyers] are no more entitiled to the truth as the parish pests walking up to the rectory door.
The hierarchal beliefs that rightious civil authorities whether police, judges, oaths in court do not have any right to truth is realy a treasonish belief and action. Of course it is based on their belief they are ABOVE civil law. They live and work in a closed church society with Canon Law!!. Civil authorities have no juristriction over them. Not at all different than the Mafia, as Gov Keating pointed out in 2003..Maybe The name Canon law should be changed to Corporate best practices like all other entities ... to avoid this moral confusion in the future..
You are right. That's why
You are right. That's why intelligent people no longer believe that clergy have credibility---especially Bishops. Anything they preach about morals is questionable given their own lifestyles. I for one gave up on these dimwits called clergy years ago.
A lie is a lie reservation or
A lie is a lie reservation or not particularly when coming from a moral source. Obstruction of justice is another word for it and should be treated as such.
Predators dressed in Priests Clothing
http://www.butlerreport.com/Opinion/BREd_clerical_report.html
How satanic, the deceiver has
How satanic, the deceiver has infiltrated the Church. A lie is not a lie because of a "mental reservation". That's what happens when you worship an institution of men instead of God.
It seems the bishops have
It seems the bishops have been using a Clinton-style mental reservation:
"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the--if he--if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true."
It didn't fly with Clinton and it doesn't fly with bishops.
Sounds to me like the best
Sounds to me like the best you could make of your thought is to say the opposite...that Clinton had used an bishop's-style mental reservation. The Church has been using this approach for nearly a couple of millenia before Clinton. Let's at least recognize that Clinton did what attorneys do--if I remember rightly he is an attorney somewhere there in the background--and did not claim to ba some absolute moral authority, whereas the bishops are neither attorneys nor absolute moral authorities, but sure claim to be. Don't think that equation comes out quite like you state.
You are so right. Thanks for
You are so right. Thanks for clearing this up.
How Clintonesque! Sounds a
How Clintonesque! Sounds a lot like when President Clinton said, "It depends on what your definition of 'is' is."
How Nixonian! What really did in Richard Nixon was the coverup, as if the Watergate break-in itself was not adequately heinous.
The people of God are well aware that the clergy and Church heirarchy have clay feet, just like the rest of us. When will they embrace and love their own humanity and end the hypocrisy?
The above three comments
The above three comments paralleled one of my two reactions to the article. Immediately I was reminded of the famous (infamous?) but transparent answer by President Clinton. His obvious attempt was not to deceive but to change direction of thought, a legal maneuver. From the article's quotes it appears attempts were definitely to deceive rather than to misdirect (in one case to stall by means of a "mental reservation" which we've all used from time to time (the thing about not being home to you).
The other reaction had to do about being ethical. I can clearly recall being taught while in a Catholic University about the difference between a lie and a mental reservation. It is a prime example of what's meant by "orthodoxy". It's never OK to lie, but sometimes occasions call for mental reservations as was explained early on in the article - that's what we were taught. It's a case of living by the letter of the law..... or orthodoxy (repeating myself). What got to me much more deeply though were the much more serious cases of lie-by-example: allowing lies to be lived lies so that sexual predators remain in situations where others will almost certainly come under abuse while pretending to the world that nothing is amiss with brother clerics. The other galling thing was the arrogance by which other bishops almost certainly violated even a rule of when a thing is a mental reservation versus being a lie. That dialogue as to the present tense "are" as opposed to the past tense "was" in my book doesn't fit in the ethics I was taught; it's purely legalese language. These were not U.S. bishops. The question I'm left with is how many U.S. Bishops have engaged in this type of non-ethical misdirection? How many U.S. Bishops have felt the urge to follow examples that come from African countries regarding restorative justice/public reconcialiation? It has happened there in transparency with regard to genecide and apartheid and asking forgiveness of rescued child soldiers, etc.. Why are our bishops who hold themselves up as upholders of morality and Catholic identity so incapable, so fearful of making it happen here?
Sounds like, "Depends on what
Sounds like, "Depends on what the definition of IS is...."
But we all know what it is.....
Peace and Good. A couple of
Peace and Good.
A couple of quotes from Pope Benedict`s Encyclical `Charity in Truth` give us light in a situation where there are many shadows:
To defend the truth, to articulate it with humility and conviction, and to bear witness to it in life are therefore exacting and indispensable forms of charity. Charity, in fact, “rejoices in the truth” (1 Cor 13:6) (Par.1)
What they need even more is that this truth should be loved and demonstrated. Without truth, without trust and love for what is true, there is no social conscience and responsibility, and social action ends up serving private interests and the logic of power, resulting in social fragmentation, especially in a globalized society at difficult times like the present.(Par.5)
Mutual prayers in such difficult times, and in the great Season of Advent,
Fr John Andersen
Good post Father, BUT..... if
Good post Father, BUT..... if B16 really believes what he said "To defend the truth, to articulate it with humility and conviction, and to bear witness to it" then why isn't he bearing witness to this mess in Ireland???? Why hasn't he addressed it directly, articulated it directly, condemned "mental reservation" directly and relieved those archbishops of their duties directly. He says one thing, does another, therefore is he also using "mental reservation" with us?
I used to wonder why Pope
I used to wonder why Pope JPII didn't retire earlier. He seemed to be in agony and often times looked as if he were being propped up like a porcelain doll. I felt deeply sorry for him even tho I did not trust his position on women's ordination, manditory celibacy, birth-control etc.
I surmised Ratzinger was behind the scenes running the show to get the troops lined up against Vatican II. He became the Pope to seal the deal, I thought.
I believe B16 is a Machiavelian whose reform of the reform exacerbates a situation he only thinks he can control.
One who does not rely on faith in the Holy Sprit cannot begin to ..."hold a moonbeam in his hand, ... throw a whirling dervish out of whirl, ... catch a cloud and pin it down or keep a "sunami" on the sand."
Unfortunately Father
Unfortunately Father Andersen, Benedict doesn't exactly practice what he writes. No other single cleric has been as instrumental in fostering the coverup of child sexual abuse as Cardinal Ratzinger and now Pope Benedict. Cardinal Connell may have deceived his way in Dublin during his tenure, but Dublin was one Archdiocese. Benedict, as head of the CDF, mandated this strategy through the entire global church. One should not be 'deceived' into thinking other wise.
Aha! You may have revealed
Aha! You may have revealed the weakest link exposing Rome in all this. How ironic, Ratzinger as head of the CDF probably thought the strongest chain of events subsequent to JPII's death, would be his papacy. Maybe not!
All of these priests and
All of these priests and bishops have actually studied philosophy and they've all become experts in the fallacy of equivocation. But they've also studied ethics and now so we see the use and abuse of logic and ethics. So combine their logico-ethico thinking with secrecy and this is what we get, a church with many scoundrels who sometime rise to the top. The church is human, after all, human all too human.
Wonder how well it'll work
Wonder how well it'll work with St. Peter at the Pearly Gates...
Will they claim that they have "mental reservations" to accomodations inside?
Where this runs the bishops'
Where this runs the bishops' moral authority on matters such as sex, marriage, and abortion on the rocks is obvious.
The difference between the truth and a lie is so simple and basic that even a 7-year-old can discern it.
It follows, then in the minds of very rational people that if the bishops have not shown mastery of even 7-year-old morality, their pronouncements on more nuanced and complex manner are suspect.
Indeed, it calls into question whether they have even been invested with the teaching authority of the Magisterium, faith, ecclesial foundations, and guys named 'Rocky' notwithstanding. Or, if they have been invested with same, whether they are using it honestly or consistently.
It is reasonable to ask "If a man does not even tell the truth in a simple answer to the yes/no question 'were Diocesean funds used to compensate victims?' then were is the truth to be found in his other pronouncements?" If the former answer is nothing but self-serving deception under aegis of "mental reservation" then what of more weighty matters?
Leaders in any organization
Leaders in any organization set the tone and cultural ethos.
So now it has been publicly admitted what so many people have suspected for a long time from their behavior -- Satan, the Father of Lies, has been the main inspiration for the Irish Church leadership, rather than Christ,("I am the Way, the Truth and the Life").
Deafening silence from the
Deafening silence from the anti-liberal group in the ncr forum... where are they?
Have you ever seen critters
Have you ever seen critters run from the light? If they faced the Truth as a Way of Life their "holy" deception in the name of Jesus would have to stop.
On mental reservations: when
On mental reservations: when I say, each Sunday during the Nicene Creed, "I believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church," I do not consider myself to be talking about the Roman Catholic Church alone, but about all Christian Churches, Orthodox, Protestant, and so forth.
If my meaning is different from that of the neo-trad priest saying the mass, am I guilty of a mental reservation? or am I simply guilty of catholicism as opposed to Roman catholicis?
I taught my high school
I taught my high school freshmen in Morality class that, "A lie is the withholding of information from anyone who has the right to it." So telling the stranger at the door that Mom is home but can't come to the door is not a lie since that stranger has no right to know that the young person is alone. On the other hand, not telling your parents that your boyfriend, who has been barred from the house, is in your closet is a lie, even if your parents don't ask because they have the right to know. Maybe the bishops should go back to freshman Morality. At least the 15 year olds have their youth and raging hormones to explain their lying while the bishops have their fear of losing power.
It is time for women to take
It is time for women to take over the church. How many nuns do you know who have sexually abused children- or how many women are involved in the sex trade? Time for a refreshing dose of female wisdom and compassion to fill the catholic church rather than misguided laws and men seeking power. Isn't the women religious investigation a way of silencing that wisdom with the hope of also diverting attention from the abusive priests. I am suprised there is not a huge protest around the Vatican. Where is the indignation being put into practice?
You hit the nail on the head!
You hit the nail on the head! All this about the religious vistitation, the political landscape around abortion, the newly decided "conversion" of Anglican priests to the Roman Catholic Church, is I believe all a "smoke screen".
These are all smoke screens to divert attention from the sex abuse scandal in the United States Roman Catholic church. All this talk about indulgences, following the letter of the law, revising translations of the GIRM, is first to develop job security for the cardinals/pope. I mean if no one listens to them then they aren't really that powerful are they? And of course, it's an opportunity to flex their "male" muscles. Let us know who's boss, so they think.
Why can't we all just follow the 2 commandments Jesus gave us? 1. Love God, 2/ Love your neighbor as yourself. Maybe the bishops, cardinals and pope should truly practice the gospel message.
Maybe the great lession for
Maybe the great lession for Catholics and non-Catholics alike is that we must become ministers sent by the Creator and not elevate people beyond their capacity. I still hear too much conversation about morality. What we must encourage is ethical behavior. That would create human responsibilities rather than the divine right of kings and queens.
Let's have a look at the
Let's have a look at the official position. The 1994 edition of "The Catechism of the Catholic Church described a lie as "to speak or act against the truth in order to lead into error someone who has the right to know the truth." Here, telling the truth is a matter of justice.
The current edition, altered as it happens by Cardinal Ratzinger, describes a lie as consisting "in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving." (2482). There may be sufficient reasons for being silent "or for making use of a discreet language".(2489)
Under the 1994 rationale the mental reservations described were clearly outlawed as the authorities were entitled to fully truthful information.
The 1997 rationale permits discreet language, which is simply a euphemism for mental reservation. But I know of no traditional authority who would have countenanced this in the circumstances described.
I think any church official
I think any church official who uses the principle of "Mental Reservation" is and honest and trustworthy man*
*Mental Reservation taken: I was thinking "NOT!"
Thank God for the National
Thank God for the National Catholic Reporter where people are able to express themselves freely without recrimination. Can we believe anything the Church says? Can things get any worse?
It seems ev en more necessary in this day and age for the people to speak up,
answers to be given, trust to be reestablished. Sometimes it almost seems impossible. What news will tomorrow bring? And then the Vatican thinks the sisters should be investigated!!!!!!!
I pray that it does get
I pray that it does get worse. We must reach a pressure point of critical mass where more and more people stand up and speak out, no longer refusing to sit on the sidelines because what is happening is "irrevelant to their lives."
It must get worse so that it can get better. Excise the pathology within.
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 30, 2009
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 30, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will be praying in a particular way for children in December.
The Apostleship of Prayer announced this general intention chosen by the Pope: "That children may be respected and loved and never be the victims of exploitation in its various forms.".(sic!)
If someone lies or uses
If someone lies or uses mental reservation, the intention is the same to not tell the truth. Cardinal Connell's comments about mental reservation can be summarized as follows. A person is asked a question. Instead of giving an honest answer, the person feels that the circumstances--I thought the church condemned situation ethics--warrants using ambiguous language so that the questioner accepts an untrue version of whatever is asked. Cardinal Connell should check his dictionary: an untruth is defined as a lie.
Why should a person abused by a priest presume that his/her bishop will tell the truth? Why should an abused person be told the truth that his/her abuser is still in ministry, allowing him to abuse more children? We can never forget that the lies and mental reservations were used not only to cover up the truth but also to allow the continued rape and abuse of innocent children. Absolutely no compassion or concern was voiced or shown by any bishops and their advisers for these children. How morally bankrupt can one get? These are the same bishops who rightly protect the innocent unborn. Where were these so-called “leaders” when it came time to protect the innocent children living outside the womb?
One thing I have to give the Irish, American, and you-name-the-country bishops. They were and are consistent in the way they handled the sexual abuse cases, the way they covered up, and in the way they tried to rationalize their actions. Unfortunately, their actions were not and are not consistent with Gospel teaching.
I know there is justifiable
I know there is justifiable "withholding of the truth" (lying) eg people, in Nazi occupied Europe, harbouring Jewish people trying to escape the Nazis and lying so as to protect the refugees.....Fine by me and, hopefully, I would do the same. BUT lying to cover up child abuse.....DAMNABLE. May these blokes have a large millstone hung round their necks etc.
When was the last time the Roman Catholic Church had a thorough pruning? It badly needs one and beginning with the Vatican. Benedict's strategy: take us back to the glorious medieval past with Latin, incense, lace, clericalism; a silent, uneducated and obedient laity; princly bishops. I feel sick!
Could part of the problem be that the bishops (incl the pope and the cardinals) are so disconnected from reality; so remote from ordinary living; so pampered and protected; so cocooned in a web of piety and "sanctity" that they are, effectively, useless?
Yes---they are effectively
Yes---they are effectively useless! They are caught in their own web of arroganc
To Sister Maureen Paul
To Sister Maureen Paul Turlish:Practically speaking, how do we take the abuse violations to the United Nations?
Mental reservation was
Mental reservation was traditionally thought to be ethical only when the questioner had no right to the whole truth. The example in Catholic thinking would apply in cases such as should a Nazi agent ask a man hiding Jewish families in his home if there were any Jews in his house. Such a man might reply: "No." The reservation would mean for such a man: "No, you have no right to such information." The case of hiding the whole truth from civil authorities asking about the sexual abuse of children or any person of any age for that matter is an abuse of an otherwise appropriate moral principle. My belief is that Church authorities believed they were above civil law if the questions would result in
"scandal to the faithful." Their reservations had the unintended consequences of even greater harm to the integrity of the institutional Church, the double victimization of the victims, the loss of credibility in the eyes of "the faithful,"
and the manifestation of a type of institutional idolatry. St. Augustine said something like:"God would only permit evil if good would result from it." I trust good will come out of this tragedy. My commitment to the Catholic Church is unconditional because it is my conviction that in its essence it is a community established by Jesus Himself. I am not blind to this institution's defects and sinfulness but it is also Holy, as we say in the Creed, because of the Holiness of its Founder and the means He left it for the salvation of all of us sinners. God help us!
Sounds more like Bill
Sounds more like Bill Clinton's discussion surrounding "what your definition of is, is."
The apprehension over spreading scandal to the faithful is a canard.
They knew what they were doing as they were doing it and they did it anyway.
I am not deceived in the least.
Next, please.
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