Los obispos americanos nunca más deben tener la opción de mirar hacia otro lado y permanecer en silencio
(Cameron Doody).- La reunión de noviembre de la Conferencia Episcopal estadounidense «podría inaugurar una nueva era» en la Iglesia del país, pero solo si los obispos obligan a sí mismos a denunciar sospechas de abusos de menores a las autoridades civiles, y deciden poner en marcha «un estudio polifacético a largo plazo» sobre la crisis de abusos. Es la advertencia que han hecho académicos de la Universidad Villanova de Pensilvania, quienes han escrito una carta abierta a los prelados norteamericanos en la que les instan a tomar acciones decisivas para por fin pasarle página a la crisis de pederastia.
«La Iglesia católica en los Estados Unidos está en un momento decisivo», advierten los académicos integrantes del grupo de trabajo multidisciplinar de Villanova sobre la crisis de pederastia y encubrimientos en el catolicismo. «La familia católica entera está horrorizada por el abuso que se ha perpetrado», continúan, «y la única forma de hacer frente al dolor y al desconcierto… es dejar a las víctimas de abusos a que cuenten sus historias, y animar a los católicos a que pregunten» por qué pudo pasar tal tragedia a tan grande escala.
A juicio de los expertos de la universidad agustiniana, «la naturaleza generalizada de esta crisis indica problemas sistemáticos en todos los niveles de la Iglesia», por lo que «intentos fragmentados de abordar estos problemas serán ineficaces».
Es por eso que piden dos cosas concretas a los obispos, que se reunirán en su asamblea plenaria otoñal desde el 12 hasta el 14 de noviembre. 1), Que obliguen a sí mismos a denunciar a las autoridades civiles cualquier sospecha de abuso infantil. Algo que actualmente no les es requerido, «pese al hecho de que las acciones nefastas de ciertos obispos transfiriendo de forma subrepticia a curas abusadores de parroquia en parroquia… sin notificar a las autoridades civiles… ha sido uno de los elementos más desmoralizantes de la crisis». Y 2), Que los obispos lancen y financien un «estudio polifacético a largo plazo» sobre el escándalo. Dicho estudio no solo debe contar con la «atención rigurosa de un espectro de laicos competentes -no católicos incluidos», según los expertos. Debe dar sentido también al «espectro completo de factores» que han contribuido a la crisis, además de identificar «los ajustes estructurales» en la Iglesia necesarios para que se haga posible un proceso de curación y renovación.
Pero no es que los intentos de sanación deban quedar solo en el nivel de la reforma estructural. La Conferencia Episcopal también debe «facilitar conversaciones sobre la crisis, tanto al nivel de la parroquia local como al nivel nacional»: «algo parecido a una comisión de la verdad y la reconciliación». «Secretos oscuros han conducido a esta crisis en la Iglesia, y destapar estos secretos es la única forma de avanzar», alertan los académicos. «Los obispos americanos nunca más deben tener la opción de mirar hacia otro lado y permanecer en silencio», finalizan los expertos de la Universidad Villanova.
An Open Letter to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the Eve of Its Meeting to Discuss the Sexual Abuse Crisis in the American Catholic Church
Villanova University Task Force on the Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Church
Dear United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,
The Catholic Church in the USA is at a defining moment. Ever since revelations of widespread sexual abuse of children at the hands of priests and a subsequent cover up by Catholic bishops shook the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002, similar sordid tales have surfaced in other Catholic dioceses across the United States with regrettable regularity. Nor is this a uniquely American phenomenon, as patterns of widespread sexual abuse and ecclesiastical malfeasance have emerged in a number of countries, including Chile, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, Austria, Brazil, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. While difficult even to contemplate, this global crisis in the Church is likely to be only in the incipient stages.
While we applaud the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (2002) and subsequent revisions (2011, 2018) as well-intentioned attempts to erect structural protections for our children, and while we are also grateful to the USCCB’s Administrative Committee’s very recent attempt to rectify some of the shortcomings of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,[1] the USCCB still has not required American bishops to become mandatory reporters of suspected sexual abuse, despite the fact that the nefarious actions of certain bishops surreptitiously transferring sexually abusive priests from parish to parish, and in some cases from diocese to diocese, without notifying civil authorities of the suspected abuse has been one of the most demoralizing elements of this crisis. Children being abused by priests is tragic enough, but when our bishops, who are supposed to be our spiritual and moral leaders, not only abandon our children in their time of need but actually become complicit in that abuse by actively covering it up, we must ensure that effective and rigorous standards are instituted so that children will truly be safe. American bishops should never have the option of looking the other way and remaining silent again. Therefore, we ask the USCCB at its upcoming meeting in November to make American Catholic bishops mandatory reporters to civil authorities of suspected child abuse.
In addition, we ask the USCCB to launch and fund a long-term and multi-faceted study on this crisis. While a great deal of information has been uncovered as a result of legal and civil proceedings, we are only beginning to understand what really happened. Quite clearly, the widespread nature of this crisis indicates systemic problems at every level in the Church, and piecemeal attempts to deal with these problems will be ineffectual. What is sorely needed is rigorous, sustained attention from a range of competent laity — including non-Catholics — who will make sense out of the full range of contributory factors to this crisis, and who will also identify necessary structural adjustments and begin to develop the needed spiritual vision and practice that will both heal and renew the Church and the society so that this horrendous crisis may result in the creation of healthy human remedies.
Finally, we ask the USCCB to begin the healing process by facilitating conversations about this crisis, both at the local parish level as well as at the national level in something akin to a truth and reconciliation commission. Many more victims of sexual abuse will assuredly come forward whose lives have been torn asunder by abuse, and their parents, siblings, relatives, and friends will experience the sting of anger and guilt at what has happened to their loved ones. The entire Catholic family is aghast at the abuse that has been perpetrated, and the only way to deal with the pain and bewilderment felt by Catholics worldwide is to allow victims of abuse to tell their stories, and to encourage Catholics to ask questions about why it happened, to show kindness and compassion and solidarity to those who have been abused, and to begin to fashion a safer and loving Church that protects and nurtures its children. Dark secrets have led to this crisis in the Church, and exposing these secrets to the light of day is the only way to move forward.
The November meeting of the USCCB could inaugurate a new era in the American Church, one characterized by honesty, accountability, generosity, and love. Yet this will only happen if the USCCB embarks on an ambitious agenda to deal openly with this crisis in a sustained and coordinated manner. We American Catholics and non-Catholics join in community to hope and pray that the USCCB will meet this challenge directly and courageously, and we gladly offer whatever assistance is requested to help understand this crisis and to prevent it from ever happening again. May God’s grace be with you during your November meeting, and may that grace keep our children front and center in your awareness as the USCCB considers practical avenues to make the Church a reflection of God’s love.
[1] See the United States Council of Catholic Bishops’ Administrative Committee Statement of September 19, 2018, which may be accessed here: http://www.usccb.org/news/2018/18-152.cfm.
VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY TASK FORCE ON THE SEXUAL ABUSE CRISIS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Mark Doorley, Ethics
Elizabeth Dowdell, Nursing
John Edwards, Campus Ministry
Massimo Faggioli, Theology & Religious Studies
Allan Fitzgerald, O.S.A., Augustinian Institute
Jim Gallo, Center for Church Management
Kathryn Getek Soltis, Center for Peace & Justice Education
Mark Graham, Theology & Religious Studies
Lowell Gustafson, Political Science
Matthew Manion, Center for Church Management
Michael Moreland, Law
Sally Scholz, Philosophy
Peter Spitaler, Theology & Religious Studies
Additional Signatories:
Allison Covey, Ethics
Amber Stuver, Physics
Amrit Heer, Ethics
Amy Ellis, Graduate Tax Department
Amy Emerson, Law
Andrea Steck, Nursing
Angela DiBenedetto, Biology
Ann McKinzie, Nursing
Ann Scheve, Nursing
Anthony J. Godzieba, Theology & Religious Studies
Art Purcaro OSA, Mission and Ministry
Audra Goodnight, Ethics
Barbara Wall, Mission and Ministry and Philosophy
Barry Selinsky, Liberal Arts & Sciences
Bernadette Rudolph, Theology & Religious Studies
Beth Hassel, PBVM, Center for Faith and Reason
Bette Mariani, Nursing
Brett Wilmot, Ethics
Brian McCabe, Campus Ministry
Brianna Remster, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology
Bruce Pollack-Johnson, Mathematics and Statistics
Cameron G. Quevedo, Communication
Carey Walsh, Theology and Religious Studies
Carol Anthony, Center for Peace and Justice Education
Carolina Favazza, Office of Education Abroad
Cecilia Ready, English
Charles Ashley, Mathematics and Statistics
Charles M. McKeough Assistant Prof.ECE, retired
Charlotte Holmes, Office for Undergraduate Students
Christie Vuoto, Career Center
Christine Brewer, Nursing
Christopher Kilby, Economics
Cristina Soriano, History Department
Dan Griffin, Mission & Ministry
David Burke, Falvey Memorial Library
David W. Dinehart, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Denise Downey, Accountancy & Information Systems
Denzell Stanislaus, Residence Life
Diane M. Ellis, Nursing
Diane Penneys Edelman, Law
Diego Fernandez-Duque, Psychological and Brain Sciences Department
Donna McFadden, BA, MFA Theatre Department
Douglas Norton, Mathematics and Statistics
Dveera Segal, Law
Edward Garcia Fierros, Education and Counseling
Edward Hastings, Theology and Religious Studies
Edward Sloane, Campus Ministry Service and Justice Experiences
Elayne Howard, Marketing
Elizabeth Keech, Nursing
Elizabeth Richetti, Parking & Trans Department
Elizabeth-Jane McGuire, Augustine and Culture Seminar Program
Ellen Bonds English
Eloise Berry, Office of Intercultural Affairs
Eugene McCarraher, Humanities
Evan Radcliffe, English
Gabriele Bauer, Villanova Institute for Teaching and Learning
Guy Aiken, ACS
Helen Lafferty, Education and Counseling
Heather Moriarty, Nursing
Ilia Delio, OSF, Theology & Religious Studies
Irene Kan, Psychological & Brain Sciences
Jack Johannes, Political Science
James J. Mullen, Jr. (Retired from VSB)
James Wetzel, Philosophy
Jay Einspanier, Villanova School of Business
Jean Lutes, English
Jenn Brophy, Academic Support for Athletics
Jennifer Liberato, Residence Life
Jennifer Palenchar, Chemistry
Jesse Couenhoven, Humanities and Theology
John D. Caputo, Theology and Religious Studies
John Groch – Theology & Religious Studies
John Olson, Biology
Jonathan Jerome, Campus Ministry
Jonathan P. Yates, Theology & Religious Studies
Jose R. Irizarry, Theology & Religious Studies
Joseph Citera, Student Involvement
Joseph D. Calderone, O.S.A., Center for Pastoral Ministry & Education
Joseph Oechsle, Mathematics
Joshua Wise, Theology & Religious Studies
Joyce Minogue, Health Promotion
Juanita Weaver, Communication
Julia Sheetz-Willard, Campus Ministry
Julie Klein, Philosophy
Kail Ellis, OSA Dean Emeritus
Kaley M. Carpenter, Augustine & Culture Seminar Program
Karen Cunningham, Theology and Religious Studies
Karen McKenna, Nursing
Karyn Hollis, English and Global Interdisciplinary Studies
Kate Giancatarino, Campus Ministry
Kathleen DeMara, Astrophysics
Kathryn Reynolds, Nursing
Kevin DePrinzio, OSA, Theology and Religious Studies
Kevin Hughes, Theology & Religious Studies; Humanities
Krista Malott, Education & Counseling
Levi Brautigan, Office of Education Abroad
Linda Carman Copel, Nursing
Lisa Sewell, English
Louis J. Sirico, Law
Marcy Bray, Mission and Ministry
Maragaret Lyons, Nursing
Marguerite K. Schlag, Nursing
Maria Coan, Office of the Provost
Mark Shiffman, Humanities
Martin Garcia, Office of Education Abroad
Marvin Lee, Ethics
Marcy Bray, Mission and Ministry
Mary Ann Cantrel, Nursing
Mary Grace Salomone, EH&S
Mary Lou Glenn, Office of the Provost
Maryanne Lieb
Marylu Hill, The Augustine and Culture Seminar Program
Mathew Verghese, Campus Ministry
Megan Quigley, English Department
Meghan Dietzler, Campus Ministry
Meghan Petsko, Graduate Tax Program
Melissa O’Connor, Nursing
Michael Campbell, Law
Michelle Madden Dempsey, Law
Michelle Sherman, Campus Ministry
Nancy C. Sharts-Hopko, PhD, RN, FAAN, Fitzpatrick College of Nursing
Naomi Washington-Leapheart, Theology & Religious Studies
Olukunle Owolabi, Political Science
Patricia H. Eget, Advancement
Patricia L. Ryan Nursing
Paul L. Danove, Theology & Religious Studies
Peggy Elder, Ethics Program
Peter Palenchar, Chemistry
Rita V. Goslin, Office of Financial Assistance
Robert and Margot Giuliano, Chemistry, STOV Parish
Rodger Van Allen, Theology & Religious Studies
Rosemarie Jenkins, Psychological & Brain Sciences
Ruth McDermott-Levy, Nursing
Sarah Faggioli, Augustine and Culture Seminar Program
Sarah-Vaughan Brakman, Philosophy
Shauna MacDonald, Communication and Gender & Women’s Studies
Sherry A. Burrell, Nursing
Sinead Hellings, Nursing
Stacy Andes, Office of Health Promotion
Stefanie Knauss, Theology & Religious Studies
Stephen DeAngelis, VSB
Susan Markert, Inn at VU
Susan C. Slaninkia, Nursing
Suzanne Teleha, Center for Faith & Learning
Suzanne Toton, (retired) Theology & Religious Studies
Suzanne Wentzel, Mission and Ministry
Tamara Kear, Nursing
Terence Yee, Education and Counseling
Teresa Nance, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Thomas P. Umile, Chemistry
Thomas W. Smith, Honors
Timothy Brunk, Theology and Religious Studies
Timothy Hanchin, Theology & Religious Studies
Travis M. Foster, English
Trudy Pacella, Mission and Ministry
Valerie Joyce, Theatre and Studio Art
William O’Neill, Adjunct/Marketing & Business Law Department
Yannik Thiem, Philosophy
