Courageous Church Leaders

FOLLOW UP TO ISSUES OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND MISHANDLING BY LEADERSHIP IN THE CHURCH
In the past month I have not dealt directly with issues of child sexual abuse by clergy and the mishandling of this issue by bishops within the church.
That does not mean the issue is “off my radar”.

On a blog I posted on the parish website April 10, 2010 I suggested that some leadership in the church were acting as “enablers”.

There are examples of other church hierarchy who are refusing to act as “enablers” and are challenging leadership within the church to face issues of child sexual abuse and mishandling by those in authority within the Catholic church. Below are two such examples of an Archbishop and a Cardinal who have acted courageously.

1.
Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn
Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn said a top Vatican official had blocked an investigation of sexual abuse and offended victims by calling their complaints “petty gossip”, according to news reports from Austria. Cardinal Schonborn made his remarks about Cardinal Angelo Sodano, long time secretary of state under Pope John Paul II and now the dean of the College of Cardinals, in a private conversation with Austrian news editors at the end of April, the news outlets reported. According to the reports, Cardinal Schonborn said Cardinal Sodano had hindered the investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of minors by the late Austrian Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, who was forced to step down as archbishop of Vienna in 1995. Cardinal Schonborn said Pope Benedict XVI, then head of the Vatican office in charge of investigating accusations of clerical sex abuse, had been thwarted by Cardinal Sodano in his efforts to take more direct action on the accusations against Cardinal Groer, the reports said. (Source: Origins, May 20, 2010; Volume 40: Number 2)

2.
ARCHBISHOP MARTIN DISHEARTENED AND DISCOURAGED BY LACK OF CHURCH RENEWAL

The lack of willingness in the Catholic Church to begin “a painful process of renewal” in the wake of the clerical abuse scandals has left Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin “disheartened and discouraged”.

“There are still strong forces which would prefer that the truth did not emerge” he said. “The truth will make us free, even when that truth is uncomfortable. There are signs of subconscious denial on the part of many about the extent of the abuse which occurred within the church and how it was covered up. There are other signs of rejection of a sense of responsibility for what had happened. There are worrying signs that despite solid regulations and norms these are not being followed with the rigour required.”

Archbishop Martin also said the Irish church (he is the archbishop of Dublin, Ireland) needed to carefully look at priestly formation.

“I am working on plans to ensure that for the future of Dublin, our seminarians, our prospective deacons and our trainee lay pastoral workers…will share some sections of their studies together, in order to create a better culture of collaborative ministry. The narrow culture of clericalism has to be eliminated” he said. (Source: Prairie Messenger May 19, 2010; Volume 87: Number 45)