10 Questions: About Clergy Sex Abuse
Monday, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Cardinal Roger Mahony agreed to the biggest settlement yet in a national scandal that has engufled the Catholic Church. It agreed to pay $660 million to over 500 alleged victims of clergy sex abuse.
It's another sad chapter in a sad story for the Catholic Church in America, one that begin when the Boston abuse scandal was revealed in 2002. To put this in context, and get a better understanding of what it means and how the Church has coped with this crisis, we decided to pose this week's 10 Questions to Frank Keating.
Keating is the former governor of Oklahoma who was appointed chairman of the National Review Board, a panel created by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to make sure churches are complying with new rules designed to prevent the abuse of children by priests and religious. His one-year term on the board was marked by controversy and sharp disagreements with some of the Church hierarchy -- most notably, with the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Mahony.
1. Cardinal Mahony has presided over the Los Angeles Archdiocese for more than 20 years. What sort of job has he done?
Not being a member of that archdiocese for those 20 years, I am probably not in a position to discuss the overall performance of Cardinal Mahoney. I am sure he has done many great things for Catholic causes in southern California. My problem was with the way he handled the sex abuse scandal and his reluctance to help resolve the issues and problems.
2. Part of the settlement involved making the confidential documents
public. What might we learn from them?
While none of us looks forward to reading more stories of agony and sadness, I think lifting the veil of secrecy from this process can be beneficial. As a lay Catholic who believes the Church was harmed by this scandal, I would like to know what Cardinal Mahony knew and when did he know it? How many examples are there of priests who are known pedophiles being allowed to serve, being shipped around from parish to parish?
3. You were asked to be the chairman of the National Review Board for
the Catholic Bishops but resigned in summer of 2003 after comparing some of the bishops to La Cosa Nostra. What were your obstacles then and why did you compare them to the Mafia?
While most bishops took the matter seriously and worked closely with law enforcement to sort out the facts and root out the problem priests, others were resistant and almost combative. My comment about La Cosa Nostra was to suggest that some of the bishops, including Mahony, were listening more to their lawyers than their hearts. They were throwing up legal roadblocks and impediments and not allowing law enforcement and the public to get at the true facts. It was Cardinal Mahony who led me to resign from the board but I have never regretted my statements...
It's another sad chapter in a sad story for the Catholic Church in America, one that begin when the Boston abuse scandal was revealed in 2002. To put this in context, and get a better understanding of what it means and how the Church has coped with this crisis, we decided to pose this week's 10 Questions to Frank Keating.
(AP)
1. Cardinal Mahony has presided over the Los Angeles Archdiocese for more than 20 years. What sort of job has he done?
Not being a member of that archdiocese for those 20 years, I am probably not in a position to discuss the overall performance of Cardinal Mahoney. I am sure he has done many great things for Catholic causes in southern California. My problem was with the way he handled the sex abuse scandal and his reluctance to help resolve the issues and problems.
2. Part of the settlement involved making the confidential documents
public. What might we learn from them?
While none of us looks forward to reading more stories of agony and sadness, I think lifting the veil of secrecy from this process can be beneficial. As a lay Catholic who believes the Church was harmed by this scandal, I would like to know what Cardinal Mahony knew and when did he know it? How many examples are there of priests who are known pedophiles being allowed to serve, being shipped around from parish to parish?
3. You were asked to be the chairman of the National Review Board for
the Catholic Bishops but resigned in summer of 2003 after comparing some of the bishops to La Cosa Nostra. What were your obstacles then and why did you compare them to the Mafia?
While most bishops took the matter seriously and worked closely with law enforcement to sort out the facts and root out the problem priests, others were resistant and almost combative. My comment about La Cosa Nostra was to suggest that some of the bishops, including Mahony, were listening more to their lawyers than their hearts. They were throwing up legal roadblocks and impediments and not allowing law enforcement and the public to get at the true facts. It was Cardinal Mahony who led me to resign from the board but I have never regretted my statements...
