'I Saw the [Catholic] Bishops Lie on the Stand' (former church insider helps sex abuse victims)

Hundreds of alleged victims of clergy sex abuse might never have come forward if not for a former Roman Catholic insider who is now a military chaplain at Ramstein Air Base.

The Rev. Thomas Doyle once was a canon lawyer at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, D.C., and on the fast track to becoming a bishop.

But soon after the first major U.S. clergy scandal emerged in the late 1980's, Doyle says he saw a conflict between trying to protect the church and the victims--and sided with the victims.

Now he is one of the few priests committed to appearing as an expert witness for alleged abuse victims in civil court. He has consulted with hundreds of victims in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Britain, New Zealand and Australia, and testified in dozens of cases.

Victims' advocates hail him as a long-running hero. In public, church officials are gently critical of Dole, although sometimes there are private expressions of hostility.

Doyle, an American, insists his goal has always been to help the church become a better institution.

"I wasn't outspoken because I wanted to be a maverick," Doyle said in an interview at his apartment in southwestern Germany. "I found out the system didn't want to bear the truth. I was shocked."

When clerical sex abuse of minors first became an issue, Doyle worked at the embassy, where he administered the promotions of U.S. Bishops. He was smart and ambitious--with masters degrees in philosophy, political science, theology, and canon law.

In 1984, Doyle was asked to prepare a response to a letter from the vicar-general of Louisiana informing the embassy that the Rev. Gilbert Gauthe was accused of sexually abusing five children.

"At that time," Doyle said, "I was still trying to protect the institutional church at the same time as the victims."

The scandal at first appeared containable. Gauthe's diocese was negotiating settlements. But a week later, another letter arrived at the embassy: One of the families had pulled out and was filing a civil law suit.

The case became a watershed, marking the first time the U.S. church publicly confronted sex abuse of minors. Gauthe pleaded guilty to molesting 11 boys and admitted to victimizing dozens more.

Working with two other men, the Rev. Michael Peterson, a psychiatrist who has since died, and Gauthe attorney Ray Mouton, Doyle drafted a protocol intended to help the bishops deal with clergy abuse.

But, the 98-page manual describing a broad range of medical, legal, insurance, and pastoral issues was never formally adopted as the authors hoped, despite its initial backing from influential cardinals.

With his career stalled, Doyle joined the military in 1986 and turned his focus toward helping survivors of priest sex abuse.

Said Mouton: "I really believed in what we were doing. He believed in what we were doing."

"It was like the church said, 'You go walk point for us and find the enemy.' and we did, we found the enemy and radioed back, "The enemy is us.' And they called a strike in on us."

Survivors of clerical abuse say innumerable cases never would have been heard without Doyle.

A rugged and trim 57, Doyle is comfortable with his everyday life in the Air Force. He loves to fly airplanes, is a lifelong member of the National Rifle Association and is more at ease in military battle dress than a Roman collar.

"There is more integrity in the leadership of the military than in the Roman Catholic Church," he said. "An officer does not walk past a problem."

Doyle seems surprised the latest American scandals have led to next week's meeting with the pope, Vatican officials and U.S. cardinals. But in contrast to previous cases, he said, both the offenders and the superiors who protected them now are being held accountable.

"I was involved in all the big cases," Doyle said. "I saw the bishops lie on the stand. I saw the evidence, clear as a bell. But they survived. It's like the Teflon hierarchy. This time, it's different."

Oh I get it now. You are saying the Military could have done something about Clintoon, so they failed to "walk past the problem"

......(Flac helmet, Flac helmet, I know I had one around here somewhere)...

"Abusers are everywhere. How they're handled sends a signal to the perps and victims alike." - sinkspur

Exactly. My problem isn't with these nutcake predatory creeps who seem to have have taken over the US RC priesthood in the US, it's with the US BISHOPS, like Cardinal Law, who have actively worked to ennable & protect all these bogus "priests" pursuing their decadent lifestyles on the rank & file Catholic's hard earned dime- via the weekly collection basket. Get these weirdo sleaze-bucket predators, & their apologists & ennablers, OUT OF THE CHURCH, ...NOW!!!!!

Another poster on FR the other day said that in the Protestant denomiations, the married ministers work their way through all of the women in the church and then they are moved on to another church.

Well, that's as stupid as portraying all Catholic priests as pederasts.

That sounds highly dubious as a common occurence. Note however that there is not an allegation of sex crimes. If there are no sex crimes, it ceases to be a matter for the public square in my opinion, and becames a matter for the religion to work out internally.

Oh I get it now. You are saying the Military could have done something about Clintoon, so they failed to "walk past the problem" ......(Flac helmet, Flac helmet, I know I had one around here somewhere)...

Actually, yes. That is what I am saying. Imagine for a moment what would have happened if some military officers refused to bomb that pharmacy to distract from the Lewinsky matter? What if some military officers refused to lie and cover-up the deaths with the lie that pharmacy was actually making weapons?

The military is not superior to the Catholic Church and military officers do, frequently, "walk past problems."

The military is not superior to the Catholic Church and military officers do, frequently, "walk past problems."

I suspect most American Catholics would disagree with you about that, at this point in time.

Clinton appears to be giving the finger during his salute. That's probably a figment of the angle of the photograph. But, isn't he also gripping something between the thumb and the forefinger of his saluting hand? I know you are technically not supposed to return salutes if you are not in uniform which Ronald Reagan (I believe) was the first president to ignore. Now, presidents routinely return salutes (I believe Bush does this). But saluting with something in your hand?

I suspect most American Catholics would disagree with you about that, at this point in time.

Agreed. But, imagine if journalists were to collect incidences of when military officers did "walk past problems." Then, imagine a lengthy series of articles for several moneths detailing these incidences. Imagine endless editorialising about the incidences of "walking past the problem."

After several months, the vast majority of American Catholics would agree with me. And, after all, that is what truly matters - not objective truth, but that others agree with me.

I used to have some social contact with Fr. Doyle as well -- doubt he remembers. I was not a Catholic then, and a lot of this sort of thing was keeping me out of the Church at the time. But I was impressed with him and wished all priests were as straightforward(heck -- as straight!) as he.

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