Kenneth E. Lasch a True Pastor--Euge!!

Saturday October 20, 2007This is a statement of my formal acceptance of the 'Priest of IntegrityAward' that is to be conferred on three priest, I among the three, at theAnnual National Conference of the Voice of the Faithful at Providence, RI onSaturday, October 21st. It will be delivered in my absence by Ginny Hoehne,whose sone was abused by a priest in the Diocese of Cleveland.On March 21st, 1985, my life as a Roman Catholic priest, pastor and humanbeing changed forever. It was the day on which Mark Serrano revealed that hehad been molested and raped by one of my predecessors, James Hanley, in thevery same rooms I then occupied as the pastor of St. Joseph Parish inMendham, New Jersey. James Hanley also sexually abused at least 18 otheryoung boys and men that we know of. I suspect there are still others whohave yet to come forward.Shortly after Mark's disclosure, I made a preferential option for victims ofsexual abuse by clergy or religious. In essence, I made a commitment to Markand through Mark to all victims of sexual abuse that I would stand with thempublicly and privately and would never act in their name or on their behalfwithout consulting them.Moreover, I committed myself to data-based decisions as opposed topower-based decisions. By that I mean that all my decisions and actionswould be based on hard and soft data rather than on force or fear or power.Church leaders tend to use force, fear and power rather than data andpositive affirmation to enforce their teachings and decisions about thespiritual wellbeing of Catholics. But even when they accompany theirdecisions with data, they limit dialogue in such manner that stifles thepursuit of truth. In effect, truth is what they define as truth regardlessof the facts. They have deleted the ancient notion of 'sensus fidelium' fromtheir theological lexicon.My experience as vice chancellor and bishop's secretary and then asexecutive secretary for pastoral ministry in the Diocese of Paterson foralmost thirteen years opened my eyes to the vagaries of the clericallifestyle including clandestine sexual relationships and allegations ofsexual assaults against minors and adults. However, it was not until Mark'sdisclosure and my subsequent experience as a victims' advocate that my eyeswere opened to the depth of deceit, manipulation of facts and legalmaneuverings by many bishops and their 'advisors' that ultimately led to themost notorious cover-up of crime by a religious institution in modernhistory. Incidentally, may I suggest that had more women been involved indeliberative decision-making at the highest level of church governance, thistragic scandal of sexual abuse would have had a very different history andin the words of the psalmist, justice and compassion would have been theoverriding mix that would have brought this terrible chapter to closureyears ago.I would be addressing these words to you in person today but for the factthat I myself at the tender age of 70 have found it necessary to be engagedin therapy for what I will call sub-post traumatic stress syndrome.Twenty-two years is a long time even for someone as experienced and defiantas I to face a wall of silence interrupted only by periodic stonewalling andexcuses by those who had the power to heal but chose instead to use thatpower to re-victimize those whose wounds were still raw by prevarication andequivocation.The first general clergy meeting in our diocese following the now historicdisclosures of sexual abuse in Boston was convened not to condemn the horrorof sexual abuse but to inform priests of their canonical and civil rights ifthey should be accused. In that assembly were priests who did indeedsexually abuse young men after plying them with alcohol but because theirvictims were over 16 years of age at the time of the assault, they wereconsidered 'consenting adults.'In a subsequent dialogue with priests at their tri-annual convocation, thebishop referred to incidents of clerical abuse as allegations or in cases ofproven abuse, moral lapses. The bishop was careful to distinguish betweensin and proven criminal misconduct. Priests were invited to reach out totheir brother priests against whom allegations had been made as an act ofcharity. No mention was made of their victims.In a confidential report addressed to the National Conference of CatholicBishops on June 9, 1985, Father Tom Doyle, OP, JCD, noted canonist andformer secretary to the Apostolic Nuncio, Ray Mouton, Esquire, and FatherMichael Peterson, M.D., warned the bishops that the Church in the UnitedStates could suffer losses in excess of one billion dollars if they did notaddress the issue of sexual abuse by clergy with integrity and transparency.The report was 'deep sixed' (buried) by Cardinal Bernard Law despite hispromise to introduce it at a general meeting of the bishops.Notwithstanding the often-expressed opinion among some including bishops'attorneys, editorial writers in the Catholic and secular press, who continueto state that victims are interested more in money than in justice, let thembe reminded that from the earliest allegations until the present, victimssought an acknowledgement of the crimes perpetrated against them, a sincereapology, a full accounting of their handling of the allegations and a firmcommitment that no child or young adult or any man or woman would ever besubject to any sexual assault by a priest. It was the bishops who turnedimmediately to their attorneys and after protracted and painful negotiationsthat included stonewalling and endless delays came to financial settlementsthat were protected by legal gag orders, ostensibly for the protection ofthe victims when in fact they were for the protection the Church. And ofcourse, the bishops have disclosed little about church attorney fees.Some may say this is all history and I say it is still the modus operandi ofmany American bishops and their advisors. The bishops may have followed theletter of the law in the implementation of the Dallas Charter but they havefallen far short of the spirit of the law and surely of the Gospel. As lateas six months ago when I asked to speak with my bishop, his attorney said itwas not in his best interest to speak with me. To which I replied, "Indeedit is not in his best interest, but it is in the best interests of theChurch."I have used the term 'many' in my references to bishops because I do notwant to assume that every bishop should be painted with the same brush.However, where are the 'good bishops' who should be holding their brothersaccountable? Who are they? Where are they?Please be clear that the majority of men and women sexually abused bypriests were 16 years or older. The canonical age of majority was not raisedto 18 years of age until the mid-eighties. In as much as many of theallegations were made by adults whose abuse took place prior to themid-eighties, they do not come under the Dallas Charter and Norms.Therefore, know that there are priests who have been guilty of sexualmisconduct who are still functioning as "priests in good standing!"In the meantime, bishops issue edicts about how to wear the stole and limitthe role of lay ministers at Eucharist. The world is burning and bishops arepiddling in the pond.Now that I have gotten that off my chest, again—I want to turn briefly tothe positive.I want to praise victim/survivors of sexual abuse by clergy and religiousfor their undying courage and say them once more from the depth of my heart,"I am so very sorry for what you have endured and continue to endure. Thepain that I have endured as an advocate does come close to what your andyour families have suffered. I am so very, very sorry!"To my brother and sister advocates, do take care of yourselves. Do notresort in anger to hateful epithets or to vindictive language in yourpursuit of justice. Hold our bishops and their advisors accountable but donot bash them. Remember, data-based processes are more effective thanpower-based processes. Do your homework. Keep abreast of the latest studieson child abuse and the most recent insights of experts in psychology.Continue to lobby your elected officials providing them with solidinformation on sexual abuse and arm yourselves with examples of miscarriagesof justice by both church and civil officials.To my brother priests: I know there are more of you who have stood withvictims even though for whatever reason, you declined to speak publicly.While I do not question your decision to remain silent, I ask you to searchyour heart and soul and ask you to at least speak in private to your bishopto let him know what you know and to assure him that your loyalty depends onhis accountability as well as yours.To my brother priests who knew and still know who's doing what with whom,it's never too late to take a courageous stand for justice and integrityeven at the risk of a loss of a few perks or worse. In the words of DietrichBonhoffer, "There are no cheap graces." The clerical system is broken andclerical privilege is on the way out.To members of the VOICE of the FAITHFUL, take the words of Bill Casey andDavid O'Brien in their recent article, Shared Burden, to heart: "VOTF, it isour conviction, provides [the] opportunity at a particularly critical momentin U.S. Catholic history. Since the sexual- abuse crisis exploded in 2002,the bishops have taken some significant steps to prevent future abuse, butthey have failed to address what we think are the underlying causes of theworst scandal in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States.Bishop are unlikely to open up the decision-making process unless there arestrong, independent Catholic organizations working to make the church'spastoral planning, personnel policies, and financial operations moretransparent, honest and accountable." [Commonweal, October 12, 2007] ( Forthe full text of the article, click 'Notes, Quotes & Comments' on mywebsite. )I dream of that day when our bishops will speak as vehemently against theslaughter of the innocent souls of those who have been sexually abused by apriest or religious as they do about the death of a child in the womb.I dream of that day when bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay peoplewill once again consider their common baptismal call to be one people ofGod, sharing in the joys and pains of the entire Body of Christ, indeed ofthe world, as the most significant sign that Christ is indeed alive. I dreamof that day when transparency will replace secrecy, when truth will behonored not by exception but by rule, when integrity will be the umbrellavirtue that authenticates the gospel without equivocation.Until that day, my words remain firm: "There will be no forgiveness andhealing until there is justice; no justice until there is the fulldisclosure of truth; no disclosure of truth until there is fullaccountability."We are not there yet but we must not let hope die.I am deeply grateful for and humbled by the honor you have conferred on me.Kenneth E. LaschDiocese of Paterson