Margie Robben

“GOING FOR THE VATICAN JUGULAR”?

Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, ran an advertisement today (3-30-10) on the Opinion Page of The New York Times, called, “Going for the Vatican Jugular,” in which he defends the Catholic Church and its response over the years to the predatory child molestation behaviors of some of their priests.

Mr. Donohue, in his role as “protector” of the Church, offers seven talking points in which he blames everyone else for the crisis except the Church. He states that in one case from 1950, the victims’ families never contacted the police until the mid 1970s. He said the Vatican didn’t learn of Father Laurence Murphy, of the diocese of Milwaukee, charged with the sexual molestation of over 200 deaf children, until 1996. He blames the Media and their editorials, he blames radical lawyers out to get the Church, and on and on.

Nowhere in Mr. Donohue’s advertisement of protection of the Church was there a mention of how the Vatican and the Church failed to protect its’ children, nor how they will protect them in the future. I find this very sad.

It was comforting as a child to grow up in the Catholic Church. My family was caring but somewhat chaotic and unstimulating and I was always on the lookout for activities that I could participate in. I went to public school and attended weekly Catechism classes at St. Francis Xavier in the Bronx. On Friday afternoons Father Quinn had a girl’s program of running races that I absolutely loved.  He called it St. Theresa’s Little Flower of Jesus Program.  Since I was a good runner I always left with a handful of wonderful candy that was the reward for the winners. During the Lenten period I would save all the Friday candy until I could start eating it on Easter Sunday.

The Little Flower Girl’s Club was a hit with me and my friends.  Somehow most of us knew to stay clear of old Father Quinn who sat on a bench and watched the games. He always had one of the little girls sitting on his lap. The girls would say “Yuk!” and secretly laugh at the smell of Father Quinn’s odorous breath.

There was another priest, Father Kilmartin, in the parish. He was extremely handsome and enjoyed dancing with the older girls. He attended the Friday night basketball games and dances, having the greatest time laughing and dancing. He made quite an impression.  He didn’t last long. He was transferred out of the parish. It wasn’t known where or why.

Why did the Church go wrong? The world grew and changed but the Church didn’t. The Church remained static in a “job protection” mode.  The Church did not recognize as their responsibility the protection of their children.

Mr. Donohue presents many excuses for the Church’s failures. None of his comments take an interior look. He only blames others. The excuses don’t fit with an effort to change and to see the priesthood as it is. The Church continues to have no use for women as priests or as partners. The Church sees children as captive receptacles for their sexual frustrations. The priests are not real “fathers” and have no personal experience living with the valuable children and women they represent. When a father is a real “Dad” and “husband” he experiences first hand the love and responsibility that his children and partner give him and he can more joyously live out his life.

The Catholic Church hierarchy as an all-male society is flawed by not including married men and women in the mix. Not having a more diverse priesthood is a recipe for failure. The laity has been working for the expansion of the priesthood for years but to no avail. The priesthood likes things just the way they are.

The hierarchy of the Catholic Church fails to see sexual abuse of children as a crime. They have fooled themselves and others into believing their Brothers in Christ have fallen into sin and can be saved, forgiven, transferred or hidden. In order to survive, the Catholic Church must change and expand its views and behavior toward children and see sexual abuse as a crime. No more secret files, payoffs and quiet lips. The predators must quickly be turned over to the authorities, put on trial, and if proven guilty, be prosecuted, and taken out of circulation. If they make these beginning corrections maybe there will still be hope for the Catholic Church.