Bishops' Schedules: Schedule of Bishop Robert C. Morlino Friday, March 5, 2004 12:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, St. Raphael Cathedral, followed by the praying of the rosary in the Cathedral Saturday, March 6, 2004 4:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Catholic Boy and Girl Scout Celebration, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison Sunday, March 7, 2004 10:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison 1:30 p.m. -- Attend Viewing of The Passion of the Christ, Point Cinema, followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Prayer, and Benediction at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison Tuesday, March 9, 2004 9:30 a.m. -- Attend Corporate Board Meeting, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison 7:30 p.m. -- Guest Presenter, Lecture Series, St. John the Baptist Parish, Waunakee Wednesday, March 10, 2004 7:30 p.m. -- Guest Presenter, Lenten Series for 2004, Holy Mother of Consolation Parish, Oregon Bishop William H. Bullock, Bishop Emeritus Friday, March 5, 2004 12:30 p.m. -- Guest Speaker, Serra Club of Madison, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison Saturday, March 6, 2004 10:00 a.m. -- Guest Presenter, Day of Recollection for St. Raphael Altar Society, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison

Clergy sexual misconduct:
Response to study, report

		Under the Gospel Book + Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Dear Friends,

Last Friday the awaited John Jay Study detailing statistics of clergy sexual misconduct for the last 50 years in the United States, along with the accompanying report and recommendations of the National Review Board for this matter constituted by the Bishops' Conference, were issued.

Sadness for those affected

The sadness that every bishop experiences at the very depths over this matter was renewed in my own heart: sadness in the first place for the victims whose lives have been destroyed and devastated by one who is called to be the "Good Shepherd" for them; sadness for my brother priests the vast majority of whom serve each day so generously and so well and who continue to find themselves under a certain cloud because this issue will not go away very soon - it will not because it cannot and it should not; sadness for all of my sisters and brothers in the Catholic Church who have been betrayed and disheartened by the behavior of some of their shepherds, priests and bishops alike; and sadness for the priest perpetrators whose inner selves also must have been consumed with the awareness of the harm that was being done.

I admit a special and owed sadness for those priests falsely accused because even after their good name has been cleared, things can never be the same again. I have a special sadness too for the families of priests who have died, or who have Alzheimer's for example, or who are otherwise incapacitated and whose names have been in one way or another published. Such priests clearly present no danger to anyone, and it is far less than fair for their families to bear the heavy burden of what they have done. The release of the John Jay Study and the National Review Board Report certainly occasioned a lot of sadness.

Apologies to victims, families, priests

At this point with my brother bishops and on behalf of our priests I want to renew our most sincere apologies to victims and their families for the harm that has been done in the first place. I want to renew my heartfelt apologies to priests who have been wrongly accused as processes go forward.

I want to renew my heartfelt apology to my brothers and sisters in the Catholic community especially in the Diocese of Madison for the heartache that you have had to carry. At the same time, I want to express our deepest appreciation for the careful attention given here in the past by Bishop Bullock, Monsignor Swain, Kate Wiskus, and our very competent Diocesan Review Board. Our own report for the last 56 years appeared February 18, 2003, well over a year ago.

Report by Catholic League

Secondly, I would want to direct your attention to another article published in this week's Catholic Herald entitled Sexual Abuse in Social Context: Catholic Clergy and Other Professionals, a special report by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. I am so deeply grateful to William Donohue and the Catholic League for the depth of research that went into this report and for its having been made available to bishops so that we might share it with you. (See page 14 [of print edition].)

From what I have already said, it should be clear that I in no way condone the crimes and sins that have been committed and the harm that has been done, nor do I in any way attempt to diminish its significance. But I have to point out that the report of our National Review Board and the John Jay Study are unique - as bishops we asked for these instruments to help us better to understand what happened in the church and in the priesthood so that it might never happen again.

But there are virtually no comparable studies available relating to other professional groups that would provide the context for our own self-understanding. As the Catholic League document points out, the vast majority of sexual misconduct involving minors is perpetrated by family members and friends. Recently a sting operation in Detroit involving the availability of teenage girls for sex drew 16 males to come to a house to meet the girls for that sex when the invitation had only been available on the Internet for 40 hours, not even two days. Such a short time of "invitation" yielded 16 males who were willing to risk coming to the door, being seen, and filmed by those performing the sting operation, etc.

Public high school teachers would be another group from whom the kind of self-assessment that we have done would be most helpful. And we are already in dialogue with the clergy of other Christian churches and religious communities about the situation in which they find themselves.

Not just a Catholic problem

I raise this matter not to indict others and try to make us look better. But we commissioned our own study and report as a service to the larger society in which we live because sexual misconduct with children is a profound societal problem, not only a Catholic problem, and it cannot be solved by the measures taken by Catholic bishops alone.

Part of our mission to the world, our caring for the world in the name of Christ, is to straighten out our own house in this matter, but also to invite others to join us in the effort because our own work in this area alone could never be sufficient. A societal problem must be addressed by the wider society. I believe we are doing our part, thank God. But others must be willing to make the explorations that we have made, to generate polices and procedures as we have attempted to generate if we really are to address the issue. Please do read the Catholic League document in this issue of the Catholic Herald.

God will lead us from darkness to light

Lastly, all of these reasons to be sad at the revelations and recommendations contained in the John Jay Study and the National Review Board Report have by no means turned me into a sad person, and I hope they would not make you a sad person either. The Lord never ceases to amaze any of us in His ability to draw good out of evil. As I have said many times, the scandal of 2002 and following came as no surprise to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the Providence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit will lead us out of darkness into even a more wonderful light.

One of the finest sections of the National Review Board report involves their recommendations for us as we look at our seminaries and the young men whom God is calling to the priesthood today. He is calling them precisely to be part of the solution to this grave problem rather than further contributors to the problem. But we do need to look carefully at our seminaries and the formation approaches being taken to ensure that those to whom the Lord has really given the gifts to lead us out of the present difficulty will have those gifts fine tuned, polished, and expanded in every way.

The Holy See has mandated a visitation of all of our seminaries with precisely these goals in mind and that will take place in the days ahead. So while my heart is filled with sorrow for many things that have gone on in the past, my heart is also fixed on the future, fixed on the journey to the holiness of heaven on which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are surely guiding each one of us, giving us the grace to carry out the sacred mission entrusted to us every day: to love the world, to serve the world, to teach the world, and to be the bearer of God's grace saving the world. So at a difficult time when there is reason to be sad, let us nonetheless take heart!

Thank for reading this, God bless each one of you, and may you continue along the road to holiness with Mary, like Mary, during these blessed days of Lent.