Tearing down Oregon’s Cloister of Secrecy
Tearing down Oregon’s Cloister of Secrecy
The Oregonian, Guest Commentary
March 2002
As your editorial of March 21 noted, the words of Portland Archbishop John Vlazny on child abuse in the Church are appropriate and should prove comforting to Oregonians and Oregon Catholics. And, for the most part, the actions of the Archdiocese and its lawyers have, of late, been right and responsible when dealing with the victims of priests’ sexual abuse. For this, the Oregonian is correct to commend Archbishop Vlazny.
But Oregonians must not be naive or misled about the extent of the historical problem of child abuse by Catholic priests in Oregon. For decades, a cloister of secrecy ruled the dealings of the Church in Oregon when it came to "Father’s problem with young boys." When sexual abuse by priests was discovered, all too often it was not met with responsible and wise actions — removal, reporting, and treatment for the priests, and help for the victims — but instead led to transfers of pedophile priests and stonewalling or intimidation against those who reported the abuse.
The recent cases involving the actions of Fr. Maurice Grammond and Fr. Aldo Orso-Manzonetta shined light on a historical, entrenched, institutional policy of denial and indifference, in place from at least the 1940’s through the 1980’s or early 1990’s, a policy which should sadden and shock Oregonians. The twisted and shattered lives left in the wake of such unfathomable abuse is the result of this "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" philosophy. To be blunt, ignoring or burying claims of abuse was the common practice here in Oregon, just as much as it apparently was in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and other dioceses across the nation.
The Church must, by now, recognize that child abuse by priests is not only a moral failing, as Pope John Paul noted this week, but also a serious mental and emotional sickness. And the problem is not celibacy, as some suggest: there are plenty of celibate priests who perform their sacred Call responsibly. The problem is pedophilia — a complex, profound, addictive illness that cannot be cured by transfers, confessions, or promises. While the new reporting measures announced by the Portland Archdiocese are an essential first step, vigilance by Catholics is needed to transform the historically ingrained, reflexive secrecy of the Church. Only when rank and file Catholics raise their voices will the shameful practices of the past be forever a thing of the past.
So too, compassion for the tormented souls of perpetrators must not obscure the inconceivably horrible suffering of the victims. Indeed, lawsuits and civil justice are only the beginning of healing for these victims. Clear-thinking prelates like Archbishop Vlazny should indeed be commended when they stand up and take responsibility for their Church. However, the victims that come forward are the brave few — the "band of brothers" in the words of Shakespeare’s Henry V, as noted in an Oregonian article on the Grammond victims — who endure embarrassment and fear, and overcome crippling emotional injuries in order to obtain not only justice, but also change in the Church they once loved, and sometimes still love. Their effort and courage cannot be overstated, and Catholics and the Church need to seek out and offer their hands to these victims.
Hopefully, the Catholic Church in Oregon is slowly becoming a different institution from the cloister of secrecy it once was, or that which the dioceses of Boston and New York seemingly continue to be. Yet much is left to be done. The sentiments of Archbishop Vlazny must be put into action. Churches should be providing conciliation measures and open offers of counseling to the victims. Investigation and removal of problem priests must take place over weeks, not years. Finally, education of churches and church members about the problem should become a consistent priority.
If the Church is to be the "Church at its best" and is to be faithful to its Call, it must remember the words of its Master: "It would be better to have a millstone hanged about your neck, and cast in to the depths of the sea, than to cause one of these little children to stumble," as well as the more hopeful Promise, "Suffer the little children to come onto me, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these."
Kelly Clark is a Portland attorney who has represented dozens of victims of child sexual abuse, including many survivors of priest sexual abuse. In 1999, he obtained a successful decision from the Oregon Supreme Court in Fearing v. Bucher and the Archdiocese of Portland, concerning key questions of institutional liability in cases of child abuse.