May 13, 2004

Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali

Archdiocese of Philadelphia

222 North 17th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19102

Dear Cardinal Rigali:

We were shocked to see in this morning’s newspaper that you and other bishops are seeking to put off an audit this year on the handling of the clerical sexual abuse crisis. We were further disheartened to see that, according to press reports, you yourself have taken the initiative in opposing any extension by being the first signer of a letter from 22 bishops seeking to postpone or even eliminate the audit.

In light of this attempt at retrenchment, we were not surprised that Judge Anne Burke, chair of the National Review Board (NRB), which oversaw the audits, spoke out in strong terms about being "manipulated" by our bishops and seeing these steps as a "decision to go back to business as usual" (As you know, the NRB recommended that the audits be conducted annually). We agree with NRB-member Robert Bennett that any attempt to take a step backward will create more problems and "cause enormous tensions with the laity."

One of the main purposes of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by you and all the other bishops in June 2002, was to rebuild the bonds of trust between bishops and the faithful that had been so severely damaged by the sexual abuse crisis. Scuttling the NRB’s audits is a way to further erode—not rebuild—the trust of the faithful.

In the Charter, the bishops committed to "making an annual public report on the progress made" in the Charter’s implementation. You further pledged to "devote to this goal the resources and personnel necessary to accomplish it." You committed to "transparency," "openness" and "accountability" in responding to the sexual abuse crisis. You set up the NRB as a crucial entity to carry out these commitments. If you back down from the pledges and commitments made at Dallas, you will drastically undercut your credibility and the faithful’s ability to give you the trust you seek. You will send the message that you hold yourselves above accountability to the church you serve.

The NRB’s first audit was an excellent piece of work. It showed how lay involvement can bring to light sins and mistakes committed in the darkness and can probe in depth both the causes of the sexual abuse crisis and the steps needed for healing. Rather than trying to escape the scrutiny provided by annual audits, we urge you to see the National Review Board as a magnificent example of how clergy and laity can cooperate in building up the church in honesty, openness, truth and love. We need more such mechanisms for clerical/lay cooperation, not fewer.

Cardinal Rigali, Voice of the Faithful of Greater Philadelphia draws its membership from more than 40 parishes in the archdiocese. We hear constantly from our members about faithful Catholics who are embarrassed to call themselves Catholics, who are hanging onto their membership by their fingertips, or who actually have left the Church. If our bishops dismantle the NRB or undercut its effectiveness, it will cause even more disaffection from the Church. To alienate people from the Church is the opposite of the "New Evangelization" for which Pope John Paul II calls. We urge you prayerfully to rethink your position and to support the NRB’s recommendation that its audits be done annually.

Sincerely yours,

Sylvester E. Bretschneider,

for the VOTF/GP Steering Committee