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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2002
Contact: Sr. Christine Schenk, csj
Executive Director
216-228-0869
(cell) 216-215-8476
Fr. Lou Trivison
FutureChurch Leadership Council
440-232-5700, ext. 512
Safety of Our Children Must Come First
Group Urges Full Empowerment of Independent Lay Review Boards, Critiques Scapegoating Gay Priests, Supports Due Process Tribunals
"As they meet to approve norms addressing clergy sexual misconduct, U.S. Bishops must remember that their first responsibility is to protect the children of the Church," said Sr. Christine Schenk, executive director of FutureChurch a Catholic organization based in Cleveland. "We think the best way to do this is to include parents, lay professionals and victim advocates in assessment of allegations about clergy sexual abuse and decisions about suitability for ministry," she said. "In the past there were no procedures for removal of priests who had insufficient evidence for civil prosecution though the weight of the data raised serious doubts about the wisdom of allowing them to continue in ministry. The new norms allow for the removal of such an individual and this is a step in the right direction."
"Due process for accused priests is important because there are cases of false allegations" said Fr. Louis J. Trivison, FutureChurch co founder. "The norms clarify the procedures for protecting the rights of accused priests, which is a good thing," he said. "However to restore credibility, the Bishops will have to fully empower the lay review boards or it will look like we are back to business as usual. For decades bishops protected fellow clergy at the expense of innocent children. This must never happen again."
Neither should bishops or the Vatican scapegoat homosexual clergy as a way of diverting attention from their own culpability Schenk said, citing experts who say that healthy gay priests are no more likely to violate celibacy promises than healthy straight priests .
Instead the bishops must accept responsibility for the consequences of a closed clerical culture of secrecy which allowed such abuses to continue without the knowledge of civil authorities or lay Catholics.
"We plan to ask our members and all faithful Catholics to become pro active in their dioceses in assuring that the lay review boards have real authority so that the new norms are implemented" said Schenk. "We want an annual public accounting to all Catholics in each diocese about the number, disposition, and costs of handling allegations. We must expect our dioceses to be accountable to us for how our money is spent or we are not being responsible stewards."
But according to Trivison it must not end there: "Ultimately, bishops must heed the voices of lay people and include them meaningfully on all levels of church decision making.'
"Polling data shows that the nations Catholics are deeply troubled by the steady decline in the number of priests," said Fr. Trivison, a retired priest from the diocese of Cleveland. An already grave shortage has been exacerbated by the removal from active ministry of scores of priests being investigated for sexual misconduct.
"Once bishops begin to listen to lay people in earnest, they will have to confront issues that church officials have long refused to discuss," said Trivison, "For a long time lay people have been crying out for church structures that are more inclusive and more pastoral -- and they have not been heard. They have been crying out for real dialogue on issues such as priestly celibacy and the ordination of women -- and they have not been heard."
"Catholics know that the priest shortage has already compromised the regular receipt of the Eucharist in many parts of this world, as well as in our own country," he said. "They also know that there is no shortage of vocations among women and married men who are experiencing a call to ordination."
FutureChurch advocates for the preservation of the Eucharist by opening the priesthood to all the baptized. The organization has called for its members and other concerned Catholics to wear green ribbons as a sign of hope for healing and renewal in a broken church.
FutureChurch, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is a U.S. coalition of 5,000 parish based Catholics striving to educate about the seriousness of the priest shortage, the centrality of the Eucharist (Mass) and the inequality of women in the Catholic Church. FutureChurch makes presentations throughout the country, distributes educational and informational packets and recruits activists who call on Catholic leadership to open ordination to all baptized persons who are called to priestly ministry by God and the people of God.
15800 Montrose Avenue Cleveland, OH 44111-1804
216-228-0869 fax: 216-228-4872
e-mail: info@futurechurch.org
www.futurechurch.org
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