|
FIVE
Years Later
Witness in Peoria
From John Ryan, VOTF Peoria, Illinois, national
chair of the priests’ support working group.
I was with some remarkable people yesterday across
the street from the Cathedral in Peoria while Bishop
Jenky was inside celebrating the 10:30 am mass on the
Feast
of the Epiphany. I was there with some survivors and
family members to commemorate the fifth anniversary
of the breaking news in the Boston Globe of the sexual
abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.
Arriving around 10:45 am before the others, I noted
the presence of a Security person in front of the Cathedral,
who occasionally strolled around the corner looking
this way and that as if on the alert about something.
She eventually just took up her post on the steps of
the Cathedral. While waiting, I walked by her into
the foyer of the Cathedral in time to hear the stirring
gospel of the three Magi, followed by the opening remarks
of Bishop Jenky who preached the homily. He opened
with a statement about the difference between excellent
and mediocre schools, and I left a couple of minutes
later wondering how the bishop was going to link back
in his homily (if at all) to the gospel message.
Back outside, I was joined by five others, three of
whom were survivors and two spouses. We gathered together
across the street on the corner, and I noted they had
brought vigil candles along with some hastily prepared
signage and pictures of themselves and the priest who abused them when they were around ten years
old. Having heard their stories at one of the SNAP
meetings in Peoria late last year, these pictures brought
everything back to me in a most vivid and poignant
way.
The plan was to wait until mass had ended, and while
parishioners were exiting the church, we would hold
up the signs and pictures, and also, recite petitions
as a prayer of the faithful aloud holding the vigil
candles. While waiting, one of our members had need to use a restroom, and was refused admission to the
Cathedral by the security person. Before and after
that, several other individuals freely entered without
interference. We also noted the presence of a police
car, which slowed down when passing us by as if to
let us know that they were here. Because there had
been no announcement of our meeting until I notified
those on my VOTF distribution listing 24 hours earlier,
we concluded that someone on my listing may well have
been the one to notify the chancery of this event.
We speculated that inside the church, an announcement
would be made at the end of mass alerting the attendees
that a protest group was outside and that they should
avoid any contact with us. In fact, as people left
the cathedral, very few looked at us much
less came within 30 feet of us. Those who looked, looked
hard and long, as lookers look when taking in the scene
of a horrible accident. We did audibly greet some who
came within earshot, but only got the hard stern looks
in response.
As a non-survivor, it gave me some inkling of the
way survivors must feel when being shunned, as they
have been shunned, not only by the Sacred Pastors (bishops),
but also by most priests and laity. It brought home
to me how successful the bishops, and in particular
Bishop Jenky, have been in convincing the faithful
that the survivor community is a threat to
the welfare of the church and is to be shunned and
avoided at all costs. It is one thing for the bishops
to act from such a flawed perspective as ministers
of the gospel and shepherds of the flock. It is another
to see it reflected in the faces of the faithful Catholic
laity, some of whom may well be friends and neighbors.
I asked the wife of one survivor in our group how
she would feel if Bishop Jenky were to come across
the street after mass and greet the group, stretch
out his arms and embrace them, and invite them join
him for coffee and donuts in the chancery. After her
first surprised look upon reflecting on this unlikely prospect,
she stated that it would be wonderful to be received
and acknowledge in such a manner.
There was some media presence, and attempts to interview
the survivors were thwarted due to the cathedral bells
ringing (deafeningly loud) from the end of the mass
until just a few minutes after we disbanded, a total
of forty uninterrupted minutes of deafening bell ringing!!!
I cannot imagine that is a standard practice and that
the people living in the nearby community would tolerate such a din. Talk about
noise ordinances!!!
Being with these remarkable people was a grace, and
I cannot say enough about their courage and witness.
Believe what you want to believe about this scandal,
but please do not forget that the real ongoing scandal
is the manner in which the hierarchical church, and
the rest of us, have responded to the needs of those
most harmed by it all.
I paste below a statement from a Denver SNAP leader
Jeb Barrett that I think expresses very well just what
it is that survivors want to hear from church leadership,
and I would add, with the full support of the faith
community:
”What we victims of sexual abuse by clergy and
our families need to hear from priests, bishops, archbishops,
cardinals, and the pope is something like this: ‘We
were wrong in what we did, what we allowed to happen,
for covering up criminal acts against children,
for continuing to place protection of sexual predators
above the protection of children, for not
reporting crimes to civil authorities, for not reaching
out to victims and their families, and for shunning
those we have harmed. We have not been healers and reconcilers or protectors of children.
What can we do to make it right? How can we ever compensate
you, the Church and society for the harm we have done?’ We
have yet to hear anyone among Catholic hierarchy take
this vital step toward reconciliation, followed by
proactive restitution.”
Catholics in 56 cities across the country participated
in vigils to mark the 5th Anniversary of the start
of the Boston Globe’s “Spotlight Series” on
the clergy abuse scandal. This Pulitzer Prize winning
newspaper series was the force that brought the scandal
to national and international attention and marked
the beginning of Voice of the Faithful. The weekend’s
events were covered by hundreds of newspapers, TV and
radio stations all over the US. In addition, NPR featured
the scandal in a 3-part series that aired on January
11, & 12. (From VOTF Focus)
-
For more info on the NPR series click
here.
-
For information on how you can participate in VOTF’s
Campaign for Accountability – Protecting
Our Children click here.
“
Hand of God” is a microcosm of countless working
class Catholic childhoods spent in Catholic
schools from elementary school through college and
growing
up in loving, religiously devoted, close-knit
families. Up to a point, the Cultrera story crosses
your own
in countless ways. After that point, it casts
in stunning relief what has been wrong in our Church
and how, like
an abuse experience, it seeps into the rest
of our Church’s life. We encourage our readers
to take the opportunity to view the entire film
pgs.org.
Read
VOTF Stan Doherty's Scripture
Reflection
“Unanswered
questions linger” by Steve Krueger. If you
would like to see a pdf of the Globe page
featuring these commentaries, click
here.
|