IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring
By Ed Langlois
PORTLAND,
Ore. (CNS) — Portland Archbishop Alexander K. Sample issued a letter Aug. 20 to
western Oregon Catholics in which he expresses shock, anger and discouragement
over revelations of clergy sex abuse in other parts of the country.
“I
have been shaken to the core of my soul over them,” Archbishop Sample wrote in
the five-page letter, which includes a call for renewed care of victims,
reinvigorated prayer life among priests and an outside lay-run investigative
body. Archbishop Sample also said that bishops should be held to the same standards
as priests.
A
grand jury investigation about decades of sexual abuse claims in six
Pennsylvania dioceses followed revelations about crimes and misdeeds alleged
against Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, a former cardinal and retired
archbishop of Washington.
Abuse
scandals, including cover-ups by bishops, also have shocked and saddened
Catholics in Chile, Ireland and Australia in the past year.
“These
horrific revelations are particularly painful in light of what victims in our
own archdiocese have suffered and the impact that sexual abuse has had on the church
here in western Oregon,” the archbishop wrote in the five-page letter. “I am
sorry beyond words for the harm that has been done.”
The
archbishop urged Catholics to read a letter from Pope Francis, which was issued
the same day. The pope called what has happened part of the “culture of death.”
“These
most-recent accusations and details expose — yet again — certain systematic
and profound failures of episcopal leadership in our church,” Archbishop Sample
wrote. “These failures are both institutional and spiritual in nature, and date
back many decades.”
Archbishop
Sample said that Archbishop McCarrick was entrusted with pastoral
responsibility and care but instead acted “in a heinously sinful and criminal
manner.”
“It
is also an institutional failure that someone like this could rise to such a
high level unimpeded and without being challenged or held accountable,”
Archbishop Sample wrote. He also was critical of the cover-ups the Pennsylvania
report said were carried out by church leaders.
“All
of these allegations should have been brought to light much sooner; and then
dealt with swiftly, justly and transparently,” the archbishop wrote.
He
called clerical sex abuse a spiritual failure in that men called to be good
shepherds instead act “in such a gravely sinful, evil manner.”
The
archbishop wrote that when clergy and religious lose their personal
relationship with God, careerism, clericalism and “ways of life at odds with
the Gospel” often result.
Those
who committed the sinful and illegal acts, or covered them up, are culpable,
and at the same time their deeds are the work of Satan, the archbishop wrote.
“In
the history of the church, whenever there was a moral or spiritual crisis, God
has raised up saints who became agents of reform. This is a time for saints,”
the archbishop wrote.
Saying
he will get more serious about prayer, penance and sacrifice, he called for a
“profound spiritual renewal” among clergy. He urged priests every day to pray
the Liturgy of the Hours, spend an hour with the Blessed Sacrament and pray the
rosary.
“We
who are clergy must reject all tendencies toward a worldliness and secularity
that is inconsistent with our vocation,” he wrote.
He
also asked the lay faithful to pray, acknowledging that they are not
responsible for the scandal.
The
archbishop offered a plan of action that begins with caring for and supporting
victims of abuse.
“Whatever
we do as a church to address these atrocities, we must keep in mind those who
have been seriously harmed,” Archbishop Sample wrote. “They have suffered
greatly at the hands of those they should have been able to count on for
spiritual care and support and in whom they should have experienced the love of
the Good Shepherd.”
He
urged that bishops be held to the same standards as priests in matters of
improper behavior or abuse, with amendments to the charter that guides policy.
He
also called for an outside investigation process with the “substantial
involvement” of lay experts. “A body investigating itself does not inspire
confidence in the objectivity of the outcome,” he wrote. Those who knew about
abuse and did little or nothing should be held accountable, Archbishop Sample
said, adding that all reports of misbehavior or abuse should be properly
investigated.
The
archbishop called the Archdiocese of Portland’s child protection policies,
forged after a scandal more than a decade ago, “solid and extensive.”
The
archbishop urged anyone who has been abused by a church worker to come forward
to the archdiocese’s Office of Victim Assistance. “We want to help you,” he
wrote.
“In
dealing with all of this some are quite understandably tempted to give up on
the church,” the archbishop concluded. “Yet our faith is finally in God, not in
individuals who fail to live up to their calling in Christ.”
A
Mass of healing for victims of sexual abuse is scheduled for St. Mary Cathedral
of the Immaculate Conception in Portland Aug. 26.
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Langlois
is managing editor of the Catholic Sentinel, newspaper of the Archdiocese of
Portland.
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