By
WASHINGTON
(CNS) — Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick “will rightly face” a Vatican canonical
process regarding sexual abuse allegations against him, but the U.S. Catholic Church must
take steps to respond to church leaders’ “moral failures of judgment,” said the
president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The
accusations against Archbishop McCarrick, a former cardinal and retired
archbishop of Washington, “reveal a grievous moral failure within the church,”
said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston.
“They
cause bishops anger, sadness, and shame; I know they do in me,” he said in an Aug.
1 statement. “They compel bishops to ask, as I do, what more could have been
done to protect the people of God. Both the abuses themselves, and the fact
that they have remained undisclosed for decades, have caused great harm to
people’s lives and represent grave moral failures of judgment on the part of church
leaders.”
To
determine a course of action for the USCCB to take, Cardinal DiNardo said he convened
the bishops’ Executive Committee.
“This
meeting was the first of many among bishops that will extend into our
Administrative Committee meeting in September and our general assembly in
November,” he explained. “All of these discussions will be oriented toward
discerning the right course of action for the USCCB.”
Such
work will “take some time,” but he laid out four points to be acted upon immediately:
—
He encouraged each bishop in their diocese “to respond with compassion
and justice to anyone who has been sexually abused or harassed by anyone in the
church. We should do whatever we can to accompany them.”
—
He urged anyone who has experienced sexual assault or harassment by anyone in
the church to come forward. “Where the incident may rise to the level of a
crime, please also contact local law enforcement.”
—
The USCCB “will pursue the many questions surrounding Archbishop McCarrick’s
conduct to the full extent of its authority; and where that authority finds its
limits, the conference will advocate with those who do have the authority. One
way or the other, we are determined to find the truth in this matter.”
—
“Finally, we bishops recognize that a spiritual conversion is needed as we seek
to restore the right relationship among us and with the Lord. Our church is
suffering from a crisis of sexual morality. The way forward must involve
learning from past sins.”
Cardinal
DiNardo said the failures of judgment by church leaders in the case of
Archbishop McCarrick “raise serious questions.”
“Why
weren’t these allegations of sins against chastity and human dignity disclosed
when they were first brought to church officials?” he asked. “Why wasn’t this
egregious situation addressed decades sooner and with justice? What must our
seminaries do to protect the freedom to discern a priestly vocation without
being subject to misuse of power?”
In
conclusion, he asked all to “pray for God’s wisdom and strength for renewal as
we follow St. Paul’s instruction: ‘Do not conform yourselves to this age but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will
of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.'”
On
July 28, Pope Francis accepted the resignation from the College of Cardinals of then-Cardinal
McCarrick and ordered him to maintain “a life of prayer and penance”
until a canonical trial examines accusations that he sexually abused minors.
In
late June, the 88-year-old prelate said he would no longer exercise any public
ministry “in obedience” to the Vatican after an allegation he abused
a teenager 47 years ago in the Archdiocese of New York was found credible. The
cardinal has said he is innocent.
In the
weeks that followed the announcement, another man came forward claiming he was
abused as a child by Archbishop McCarrick, and several former seminarians have
spoken out about being sexually harassed by the cardinal at a beach house he had. In other developments, two New Jersey dioceses where he served in the
1980s and 1990s said settlements had been reached some years before in a couple
of cases of abuse claims made against him.
He was
the founding bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey, in 1981, then
headed the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, before being named to Washington
in 2001.
– – –
Copyright © 2018 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
