2-March-2004 -- EWTNews Feature

EWTNews TOWN HALL MEETING: The National Review Board Report on Clerical Sexual Abuse

Irondale, AL (EWTN) – EWTN Global Catholic Network, in cooperation with The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, DC presented An EWTNews Town Hall Meeting; The National Review Board live from the CUA campus on Friday, February 27. Hosted by EWTNews director, Raymond Arroyo, the 90-minute call in program aired internationally on television, radio and the Internet. The Town Hall Meeting was held to discuss the last of three reports released that day by The National Review Board on clergy sexual abuse in the U.S. Catholic Church. It contained the findings of a survey by criminologists, detailing all known allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests in the past 50 years as well as a preliminary analysis of the causes and context of the abuse, based on interviews the review board conducted with bishops, victims and offenders.

Members of the review board, Catholic scholars and writers and members of the clergy discussed the report and its implications. Panelists included National Review Board members Justice Anne Burke, Attorney Robert Bennett, and William Burleigh, Scripps Chairman; the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus; former Johns Hopkins psychiatrist in-chief Dr. Paul McHugh; scholar George Weigel; and members of the clergy, including Bishop John D’Arcy, of the Diocese of Ft. Wayne-South Bend, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and Archbishop Raymond Burke of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Arroyo posed the first question, “In your opinion what caused this crisis?" Bennett responded, "The church admitted into seminary many years ago many dysfunctional and psychologically immature young men…when problems developed, they were not dealt with directly and forthrightly with any sense of transparency. I think there was a near-paranoid fear of bringing scandal to the church." Arroyo then solicited comments as to how the abuses happened and how predators continued to be reassigned. Bennett said, "I don't think any bishop knowingly transferred somebody they had reason to believe would offend again. I think there was the presumption that somebody was cured, that going to confession and saying they would never do it again would be enough. People thought pedophilia could be cured.”

The host then asked Bill Burleigh if the research "unearthed information about the priest himself, his pattern of behavior, his spiritual life?" Burleigh said, "We were told by several bishops that they had never encountered any perpetrator who had not lost his prayer life along the way – that his spiritual side had dried up. That seemed to be a common theme."

Arroyo posed the question to Justice Burke and Bill Burleigh, “Who holds the bishops accountable? Are there any teeth in your report? "Burleigh said, "The eyes of the Church are on the bishops. The ball is in their court." Burke added, "And they have controls in place to help them…Our goal is to make every diocese safe for children in the future. There should be no more victims."

A member of the studio audience asked, "How much is this a problem in the United States and how much is it a problem of the Church universal?" Archbishop Dolan said, "One of the things we cannot forget is that this is a societal problem. This is not a Catholic problem. There is no aspect of society that is free of this scourge. God willing, we can provide a good example to others of how to approach it." Justice Burke added, "The good news about what the Catholic Church did today, it's a model for everyone else to do self-examination of what's happening within their organization."

A caller from Pennsylvania asked, "Even though there is a smaller percentage of complaints against pedophile acts, my understanding of pedophilia, is the average pedophile before they're actually arrested, caught, whatever, has, on the average molested up to 75 to 100 children. So the question is, even though there is a smaller percentage, are there more complaints regarding the pedophile priests?" Bishop D'Arcy responded, "We shouldn't lose what's at the heart of this. We ordained a lot of people that have severe pathologies that never should have been ordained. It wasn't fair to them. They didn't have the capacity for true pastoral love. That's what we have to focus on for the future. If we get good priests, we get good bishops."

A caller from Ohio asked, "Did you find evidence of abuse of minor or adult females and also was there any correlation between pornography and the abusive priests?" Burleigh answered, "About 10% of the cases involve minor females and certainly in the John Jay study, pornography played a role, but not the only thing involved in the abuse cases." Bishop D'Arcy added, "I've given more than 50 retreats to priests and bishops around the country. Most priests live chaste lives."

A caller from Minnesota wanted to know, "What should we do as Roman Catholics to protect priests who are wrongly accused by mentally ill people who thought they were molested when they weren't?" Arroyo said, "This is a key point and something I hear from a lot of clergy." Agreeing, Fr. Neuhaus stated, "The Review Board, to paraphrase, says, great injustices are done with regard to the abuse of teenage boys, but you don't right that injustice by doing another injustice to priests who frequently are falsely accused."

 Arroyo closed the meeting by offering hope that the results of the reports had provided some answers and healing had begun for many of the victims. "As always, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this abuse, their families, and the many innocent priests who have been unfairly tarnished during this trying time." EWTN will continue to follow this crisis and provide updates as they are made available.