Something's happening in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles which is unprecedented.
The details, related to the crisis of sexual abuse by priests, are reported in the Los Angeles Times and include the statement of Los Angeles Archbishop Joseph Gomez who has curtailed the administrative and public ministry of former Los Angeles archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahony; and the announcement that Bishop Thomas Curry has resigned as regional Bishop of Santa Barbara.
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez announced Thursday that Cardinal Roger Mahony would have a reduced role in the church and that Santa Barbara Bishop Thomas J. Curry has stepped down from that job amid recent revelations over their handling of the priest abuse scandal in the 1980s.
"Effective immediately, I have informed Cardinal Mahony that he will no longer have any administrative or public duties. Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Curry has also publicly apologized for his decisions while serving as Vicar for Clergy. I have accepted his request to be relieved of his responsibility as the Regional Bishop of Santa Barbara,” Gomez wrote in a letter.
Internal Catholic church records released Monday show that 15 years before the clergy sex abuse scandal came to light, Mahony and Curry discussed ways to conceal the molestation of children from law enforcement.
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...and the wounds are reopened again...
ReplyDeleteevery single time we start the healing process, once again, somethng like this happens. I know it needs to happen; but could the church Father's who are still harboring these secrets just be honest so that we can purge ourselves of this scourge once and for all?
Incredible news. Let's pray for the victims.
ReplyDeleteI am ever astounded, as more of the veil is torn away. It is painful, so painful - and I cannot even imagine how painful this is for anyone who survived the abuse and their loved ones.
ReplyDeleteThe temple will be destroyed and rebuilt. That's all that I keep thinking.
It is difficult to admit, but I have always had a certain fondness for Roger Mahony. When I lived in Los Angeles and had the opportunity to worship in parishes with him, or years later, when I visited, at the Cathedral, I always found him kind, open, unassuming, warm, personal.
As I walked my dog today, I was thinking about this post and this situation. I was reminded of an abuse situation in my own life, in my own family, and the challenge of paradox, how those we love can also be the ones that hurt us the most. The dissonance makes my heart and mind shatter, but it is the way so many things are.
This is in no way a tidy rationalization, just the way I see this.
I think that Abp. Gomez did what he had to do, I understand that. But then the thought keeps floating up through the dissonance that slays me... of another standing bishop, in fact convicted of knowledge, and yet he remains a bishop in good standing. With all due respect, I simply cannot fathom it. Nor do I like it.
That I love my church as I do is just another element in the dissonance, because I also want to rage against her at times.
You duped me Lord, said the prophet Jeremiah. And so often, I feel the very same way.
Prayers for all, God have mercy on each of us, all of us.
I have mixed feelings...
ReplyDeleteSurprised and intrigued that such a bold step has been taking by and against the hierarchy, yet..sort of feel, so what? Will they be removed from ministry, defrocked? Not likely.
Fran says "The temple will be destroyed and rebuilt. That's all that I keep thinking."
ReplyDeleteYes, my thoughts exactly.
I was wondering ( maybe hoping) if these actions taken by Archbishop Gomez were ordered from Pope Benedict.
( probably not)
If so, maybe there will be more to come. Might it bring some hope, credibility back?