Some 300 Roman Catholic priests, nuns and church workers gathered yesterday in Concord to take part in pilot program on how to better detect and prevent sexual abuse in the Church. As NHPR's Josh Rogers reports, Catholic officials hope greater openness will help quell the current national controversy.
"We as a church have to change??so that the church might be a holier and powerful presence of god in human history."
The reverend Edward Asenault oversees sexual misconduct investigations for the Manchester Diocese. He told a hotel function room packed with priests and church workers that institutional efforts to address priest pedophilia have been misguided. The ongoing church scandal, says Arsenault, will prove a turning point in Catholicism.
"The church?s attempt to prevent scandal, to prevent scandal among ourselves has in fact become a worse scandal. We have leaded the hard way how we handle the issue of inappropriate relationships in ministry, has to be out in the open. And we must be broader in our consultation among those people whose expertise we rely."
Among those now lending expertise is national catholic services; a church owned insurance company that serves more than a quarter of the nations? 194 diocese. National catholic produced the sometimes lurid instructional videos the diocese presented to the priests in the hopes it will raise awareness of sex abuse.
"I was 10 when I was molested. I had to face my molester every day not knowing if he was ever going to mess with me again?.And he did do it again and again and again??I felt dirty and ugly, like know one would ever love me again?."
But the videos do more than simply tell of victims, they also put a face and voice to church-affiliated sexual predators.
"Over my lifetime I fondled probably up to 500 hundred. My dream doll was usually slender blonde haired blue eyed girls. I liked them from the ages of five to ten??I started molesting children when I was 10 and I was apprehended when I was 36. So I molested children over a period of 26 years, for a total of approximately 34 victims."
Diocese officials say such footage should help drive home their new policies. Those include mandatory reporting to police of credible accusations of sexual abuse, and a prohibition on accused priests retaining their pastoral duties. Auxiliary bishop Francis Christian urged those in attendance to embrace the new standard.
"This policy is our best opportunity to make sure the love of god the care of god the concern of god for every single one of us prevent them from suffering any forms of abuse."
But it remains hard to gauge how the priests in attendance feel about the new requirements?.. Most proved brusque when asked about them, the instructional videos, or the current church controversy?..
No comment.....I don't want to be quoted......I'm not going to comment......
More forthcoming, were some of the church workers in attendance. Jesus Guzman, educational supervisor for Penacook?s church of the immaculate conception described the day?s instruction as pretty basic??.and said suggestions such as conduction background checks on all church workers and volunteers has long been standard at his Parish.?.Guzman also confessed frustration with the non-attendance of the diocese?s top official, Bishop John McCormack, whose past role in policing priest sexual misconduct for the archdiocese of Boston has made him the target of criticism.
"He is the Shepard and the flock wants to hear from the Shepard?..there are a lot of unanswered questions and you can?t always have other sheep speak for you."
Others, however, like Manchester church organist Vivian Vago, said she took solace in the diocese?s call for all suspected abuse to be reported. Vago says her attempt to report abuse at her church last year went totally ignored.
"I really felt frightened in reporting and troubled?..And this is just me reporting?.Can you imagine for the individual who has been abused?.how difficult it is for them and this is children?"
But despite the call for more candor, and despite a state law that requires all citizens report any case of suspected child abuse, the church still limits its cooperation...As the Reverend Arsenault explains, the confidentiality of the confessional remains beyond civil authority.
"Our tradition is that the sacrament of penacy is inviolate?..to keep the sacrament of penace inviolate would require if there was a report in that sacramental forum that the law would not be observed. Yes."
Arsenault says that policy is never likely to change?? The diocese of Manchester is scheduled to will conduct three identical sexual abuse seminars in the coming weeks?..Father Arsenault believes Bishop McCormack will attend at least one.
