Voice of the Faithful

 of Greater Philadelphia

P.O. Box 4397, Philadelphia, PA 19118-8397

June 30, 2005

Letters

The Inquirer

400 N. Broad St.

Philadelphia, PA 19101

To the Editor:

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has announced that seven local priests have been defrocked by the Vatican.  This number is an initial indication of Philadelphia's involvement in the sexual abuse of an estimated 10,000 young people by priests in the United States.

Victims' advocates, who fought for years to have some of these defrocked priests isolated from young people, may ask what took so long?  Surprisingly, a clerical culture and episcopal protectionism were not the only reasons.  In some cases, the loyalty of parishioners and the appreciation of the priest (perpetrator) as a role model and homilist averted a more critical investigation.

To those who say most of these cases of child abuse are decades old, let us remember that the victims of this abuse suffered great pain, insult and disregard for many decades and into the present.  There is no past history for them.

In announcing his diocese's settlement with victims of child-molesting priests, Bishop Roger Foys of Covington, Ky., said: "After personally meeting with more than 70 victims, I am painfully aware that no amount of money can compensate for the harm these victims suffered as innocent children.  Nevertheless, I pray that this settlement will bring some measure of peace and healing to victims and their loved ones."

The words of Bishop Foys are encouraging, but there seems to be something missing.  As members of a faith community, we should be expecting more.  Sexual abuse victims are most wounded in forming relationships.  Yet the Church is, above all, about loving relationships - accepting the marginalized, nurturing newly baptized infants, supporting young married couples; visiting the sick.

Voice of the Faithful of Greater Philadelphia, an organization of Catholic laity working to enable all Catholics to fulfill their baptismal call, has made support of victims and survivors a top priority and has held forums for victims/survivors and their mothers to share their story.  VOTF/GP calls upon the episcopal leadership of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to move beyond the litany of bankrupt dioceses, sales of church real estate and court settlements to initiate a year of repentance, education and healing that will clarify the gravity and consequences of the sexual abuse scandal and offer a more appropriate response to the pain of the victims.

Sincerely,

Bud Bretschneider, President

Voice of the Faithful of Greater Philadelphia

21 W. Tulpehocken St.

Philadelphia, PA 19144

215-292-4024