Posted on 04/16/2002 8:54:13 AM PDT by history_matters
Eight American cardinals, some of them under siege in the wake of the spiraling sexual abuse scandal, have been ordered to an extraordinary meeting with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican next week to discuss the exploding tempest.
``I can't think of anything exactly like it,'' said Avery Cardinal Dulles, a theologian at Fordham University in New York and one of the foremost authorities on Catholic church history. ``I don't remember any case where he's called the cardinals and bishops together (but) prompt action is needed at the present time to restore public confidence.''
Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer representing victims of convicted former priest John Geoghan and other alleged clergy offenders, said the session shows how ``widespread'' the problem is in the United States. He said the meeting has also been encouraging for some victims.
``The recognition by the pope of sexual abuse by priests helps relieve some individuals of guilt and at the same time restores some dignity,'' he said.
David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said he and other victims were ``encouraged'' by the meeting but he was pessimistic that anything could come from it.
``We are encouraged that the Vatican is taking greater interest in this horrific problem,'' he said in a statement. ``It is hard to be hopeful about the meeting's outcome, however, since these same men are the ones who largely got us into this terrible situation.''
The meeting, with clerical sexual misconduct as the sole agenda item, will take place next Tuesday and Wednesday between the pope, Vatican officials and the eight U.S. archbishops, including Bernard Cardinal Law.
In addition to Law, the meeting will include Roger Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua of Philadelphia, William Cardinal Keeler of Baltimore, Adam Cardinal Maida of Detroit, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. of Chicago, Edward Cardinal Egan of New York and Theodore Cardinal McCarrick of Washington, D.C.
The top two officials from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops - Bishop Wilton Gregory, the president, and Bishop William Skylstad, the vice president - also will attend, conference spokeswoman Sister Mary Ann Walsh said.
Maida said in a statement that convening the princes of the church will be beneficial to the reeling hierarchy as the list of allegations and victims grows at a mind-numbing pace.
``Bringing together this level of Church leadership in Rome on this most serious issue is the right move at the right time,'' said Maida. ``So much is happening so fast in various dioceses around the United States and elsewhere, that I welcome this opportunity to be able to reflect and react in this collegial setting.''
The crisis has grown exponentially since the beginning of the year as new revelations pour out. In Boston, Law has gone into seclusion after announcing he was remaining as archbishop despite a thickening body of evidence that he shuffled several admitted pedophile priests around and gave letters commending them for their service to the archdiocese.
Egan is also facing a storm of criticism for his handling of accused clerics while he was archbishop in Connecticut, including an allegation that he covered up for a priest who fathered a child by a 14-year-old girl. Mahony is also coming under fire for similar allegations of covering up accusations against sexually abusive priests while he was in Stockton, Calif.
Sources told the Herald last week that Law, the most senior prelate in the United States, offered his resignation to the pope but was rebuffed because his ouster could lead to a domino effect that would force out others.
Stephen J. Pope, chairman of the theology department at Boston College, said the meeting is historical in its short notice and single agenda. In 1989, American bishops were summoned for a meeting on teachings contrary to church views and bishops from Holland were called to the carpet in 1981 for a similar incident.
Pope speculated the meeting could be about ``personnel issues'' such as Law's resignation and what it means for the Catholic church in the United States. He said normally cardinal conclaves have months of lead time for preparation and reflection.
Dulles is one of five American cardinals who were not invited, but he said the focus of the meeting is for those cardinals who actively oversee archdioceses to hammer out a uniform response to the widening scandal.
``American bishops want a little more ability to deal with the question than canon law gives them at this time,'' Dulles told the Herald in a telephone interview yesterday.
Dulles, who was elevated to cardinal last year and shares many of the pope's conservative philosophies on church teachings, said the scandal is an American media creation that does not rise to the level of historical church crises such as the Gregorian revolution in the 12th century or the Protestant reformation of the 16th century.
``I don't think this is anything of comparable proportions,'' he said. ``I don't think there's any great crisis in the U.S . . . It's really practically no news. To the extent it's a crisis, it's created by the news media. I suppose every individual case is terrible but it is not something peculiar to the Catholic church.''
BC's Pope called Dulles' observation ``stunning'' and said it could reflect John Paul's feelings, given the two share similar views.
``That is profoundly out of touch with what ordinary Catholics are thinking,'' said Pope. ``There's a very deep emotional level of anger and depression. If that's the way the Vatican is thinking, there's a very big problem.''
He's not in denial, he's just not bowing under the media onslaught. Cardinal Dulles mentioned that though the victims have been hurt severly, there are not that many nationwide. People tend to think there must be thousands because of the coverage, but as far as I've seen, it has only been in a few Dioceses, and involving a few priests. We hate it because it has hurt children severly, and we're angry that seemingly nothing was done to stop it. But let's not go overboard and blame ALL priests and ALL Bishops, because of the actions of a very few!
We can tear down the Faith of our fellow Catholics by OUR actions more than what those priests did. If we continue to harp and concentrate on the negative rather than think of positive things to do in our Parishes to spread the word of God, we WILL be responsible for a real crisis of Faith.
the infowarrior
As we connect the dots,its interesting to note that Jadot was a Paul VI appointment.And the more I think about things the more I hope that the Pope tells those Cardianls to come home and clean up their messes rather than have others come in and take advice from the same wicked dodoes,who were advising them. While it may be that there are at least one half of our Bishops who are orthodox Catholics in union with the Magisterium under the Holy Father,we can be sure that the ones who need to be replaced have made appointment s that might sabotage and undermine new good men. I think these guys need to be held accountable for cleaning their own houses. As long as we are honestly told what is going on I have no problem,given the givens.
I read that article by Allen,who travelled around with that Kaiser person. Kaiser spent a lot of time serveral years ago trying to revive that sit-com that was nothing but a frontal attack on Catholicism,the program was called "Nothing Sacred".
The two of them Allen and Kaiser were trouping around my diocese last week-end. Our Bishop was also appointed by Jadot.My friends who attended the session said that both of the speakers were ill informed but that the old blue hairs who were there in support of the "agenda" are so programmed ,they didn't even understand that these men are no longer Catholic,and neither are they.
We must pray for the Pope and write the Papal Nuncio.
My point is, that the radical Left has infiltrated all Christian denominations, equally, and having gained positions of authority through whatever means, are bent on enforcing their views, that of "cafeteria Christianity" down the throats of an unwilling flock. The Catholic church is not alone in this problem, all denominations are affected, and to a discerning individual, this is no accident...
the infowarrior
A simpler explanation, rather than harking to some sort of conspiracy, is that victims are no longer willing to be silenced.
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