Listening sessions set on clergy sex abuse

Bishop William K. Weigand will convene three regional listening sessions this month throughout the Diocese of Sacramento to let Catholics voice their concerns and questions about clergy sexual abuse.

The bishop will participate in the listening sessions, along with diocesan officials including Father David Deibel, vicar episcopal for canonical affairs, who is responsible for implementing the diocese’s sexual misconduct policy.

“We want to give people who are interested an opportunity to speak and be heard on this issue, to voice their concerns and to ask questions about anything,” Father Deibel said. “The recent cases of clergy sex abuse across the country are new reminders of our sinfulness. Church leaders cannot respond in a vacuum. They need to hear from the laity and from victims. Without information, there’s no way to respond to problem and assist those who are injured.”

The listening sessions are scheduled for May 16 at 7 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church in Red Bluff, May 17 at 7 p.m. at Holy Spirit Church in Fairfield, and May 19 at 5 p.m. at St. Lawrence Church in North Highlands.

In the wake of widespread concerns about clergy sex abuse in the church, some parishes in the diocese have already held forums or listening sessions for parishioners to talk about sexual abuse issues.

During an evening listening session April 30 at Holy Rosary Parish in Woodland, Father Deibel along with Father John Boll, pastor, responded to questions and concerns from more than 100 parishioners.

For 90 minutes, many expressed their opinions. Some asked for answers about diocesan priests accused of sexual abuse. Others vented their anger about how bishops have dealt with sexual misconduct among priests and shared their frustration and pain as Catholics living through a crisis which has placed the church in the media spotlight in recent months.

No issue was out of bounds for discussion, including tangential issues that have come up because of clergy sex abuse, such as celibacy, women’s ordination and a married clergy.

Other questions ranged from the screening and sexual maturity of seminarians, the type of insurance the diocese has to cover civil settlements to victims, how complaints by victims are handled locally and with civil authorities, and whether national standards on sexual abuse could be developed that would be applied to all U.S. dioceses.

One parishioner, Dick Adamski, contended that lay people should be speaking out more about sex abuse by priests. “If you can believe half of what’s being reported in the media, we’ve got a major cover up going on about clergy sex abuse,” he said. “And we’re going to have to respond, even it means speaking through the power of the purse by the laity.”

Another parishioner said she was “both saddened and angry” when she “heard about the abuse of children who are helpless…but I believe something good will come out of this crisis because change comes from the people, from those of us who make up the church.”

Lay people, who already lead many ministries in the church, “have to be more involved in the decision making process of the church around sex abuse and other issues,” another parishioner suggested, “so that those who are so institution driven will not have sole control and so that we can preclude more poor decisions in the future.”

Father Boll acknowledged that revelations of clergy sex abuse in recent months have been “a painful time” for priests and laity alike. “We don’t want to ignore or deny what we’re going through, and all of this dialogue will make us a stronger and more inclusive church where we can all participate and be heard,” he said.

Many parishioners wanted to discuss the news from the recent Vatican-U.S. summit that the church may be moving toward a “zero tolerance” policy for priests who are sexually abusive. Some expressed hope about the U.S. cardinals’ proposals, some said they were skeptical, and some said they needed more details before they could decide.

Father Deibel said some of the reforms discussed at the summit reinforce what Bishop Weigand has revealed in recent weeks about past sexual abuse allegations in the diocese and new policies he has outlined to deal with future misconduct.

Over the past 30 years, Father Deibel said, in a pool of 670 priests who have served the diocese, allegations of sexual abuse of minors have been sustained against only 11 priests, representing 1.65 percent of all the priests functioning over that period of time. Two of those priests have died, two have retired and seven have left the priesthood or fled the area, he said.

“Certainly, one priest molester is too many and is a tragedy,” but this indicates that the occurrence of pedophilia among clergy in the diocese is quite low, Father Deibel said. “We have a zero tolerance policy on that kind of behavior here and we do not have any known pedophile priest functioning in our diocese,” he said.

Father Deibel added that as a matter of policy, Bishop Weigand announced that the diocese no longer will instigate confidential settlements of sexual misconduct lawsuits and that diocesan officials are turning over the prosecutors the details of every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor, even if the case is decades old.

“We are redoubling our efforts. We want victims to feel free to come forward,” he said. “We can’t respond to problems we don’t know exist. And abuse can often times continue if it’s unchecked and unreported.”

The diocese’s toll free hot line, (866) 777-9133, for complaints receives calls every day from victims and concerned Catholics, Father Deibel said.

“All complaints will be followed up and we will treat all accusations as if they happened,” he said. “Our policy is that any priest with a sustainable accusation of molesting minors will be taken out of ministry and not allowed to function in this diocese or anywhere else.”

Following the listening session, some Holy Rosary parishioners said despite the anger and frustration expressed, they viewed the gathering as a chance to talk openly about the sex abuse crisis, and as helpful in correcting misinformation about many related issues.

Jeff Wright, a Holy Rosary parishioner for 23 years, said the church needs to continue to reach out if it is to restore trust.

“I was born and raised Catholic and I’m committed to my church,” he said. “People need to have the ability to ask questions and get answers in a straightforward way, with church leaders being factual and realistic about the situation and admitting that things need to be changed.”

Copyright © 2001 Diocese of Sacramento - All Rights Reserved

[Catholic Herald - Cover Page]