Religion & Law

A couple of days ago The New York Times ran an editorial entitled ?More Shame? in which it critiques the Roman Catholic Church?especially its hierarchy?on the ground that children are still at risk of being victims of sexual abuse. The journal relies on the recent grand jury report from Philadelphia which notes, amongst other items, that as recently as the 1990s, children are still being sexually assaulted and abused by clerics and laity.

The editorial advances three important points about this tragic situation. The first is that children remain at risk in spite of either good intentions or due to mismanagement of the assignment of ?credibly accused priests? to new assignments. I cannot argue about the importance of raising the gravity of this matter knowing that children remain at risk. The problem cannot be responsibly addressed unless action is taken against all ?credibly accused? persons?not just priests.

The second point advanced by the editorial pertains to recommended action of the Archdiocese to remove ?credibly accused priests from ministry and financing truly independent investigations.? But, again, why limit this action to ?credibly accused priests?? Why not make the exhortation holistic and remove all credibly accused persons? Or is it that only clerics alone deserve such action? If so, the problem will continue to plague us and future victims.

This brings me to the editorial?s third point regarding the grand jury?s recommendation that the Pennsylvania civil statute of limitations on sexual abuse claims be suspended for two years. The editorial urges that all states do the same. Otherwise, ?[t]here will be no justice or healing until all victims? voices are heard and the church [sic] finally shows true accountability.? My point is why restrict the impact of this comment and the presumed suspension of statutes of limitations to the Church? It is clear that those members of the Church who have defiled themselves by sexually assaulting and abusing children are but a small percentage of those responsible for the tragedy and the horror, the sin and the crime. According to the National Association to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Children [NAPSAC], there are over 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the U.S. today. It is clear that a small percentage of these cases is attributable to the misconduct of Church members. Should we not be concerned about the remaining majority of juvenile sexual abuse cases if ?true accountability? is the goal? I reply in the affirmative. That is why NAPSAC has argued that abuse claims which have been barred in the past?such as those against public school systems?also benefit from statutory reform. Unfortunately The New York Times?s editorial places the blame only on the Church. This may help some victims; however, the large majority will be denied the ?true accountability? which this journal of opinion claims to pursue.

RJA sj