[Disclaimer: Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has been a life long acquaintance and a good friend. We are both from Saint Louis and were in seminary together for over a decade both in Saint Louis and in Rome. I am a true fan of His Eminence.]
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archdiocese of New York, said his flock is calling the last few months the “summer of hell.”
Dolan held a press conference on Thursday with a two-fold purpose: to assuage the widespread anger surrounding the sexual abuse crisis and to show what’s being done.
He acknowledged a severe loss of trust among parishioners and announced a new initiative meant to create “accountability.”
“If I lost the trust of my people and this community, I don't have a lot left,” Dolan said, “they want transparency, accountability and action.”
The Cardinal appears to be among the few who understand the reality of what has been happening among the Catholic faithful.
His Eminence took this occasion to introduce the new a new special counsel and independent reviewer, former judge Barbara Jones, whose legal firm will not only hold Priests accountable but also Bishops who have been shown to be part of a culture that has covered up for accused priests.
The appointment of Judge Jones comes two weeks after New York's Attorney General announced that she was undertaking a comprehensive investigation of how the Church and its leaders have handled abuse allegations across the State.
In a related story involving Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York said that, while he has confidence in the way Pope Francis is handling the Church’s ongoing sexual abuse crisis, he has grown “impatient” while awaiting a decision from the Pope on a request made by U.S. Bishops more than one month ago.
Speaking at a press conference Cardinal Timothy Dolan called for a formal investigation- an Apostolic Visitation- of the Church in the United States in response to allegations that have surfaced in recent months regarding decades of sexual immorality on the part of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick.
“Part of my people saying ‘we're beginning to lose trust in Bishops’ and they have legitimate question as to how could a man continue to rise in the Church with a background like that?’ And that’s a darn good question, that I share. We have got to get to the bottom of that.”
“How [that happens] is an ongoing question. I think particularly an Apostolic Visitation from the Holy See that included lay professionals would be a particularly effective way to do that. We’ve proposed that to the Holy See and we wait.”
An Apostolic Visitation was formally proposed to the Vatican in an August 16 statement from Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference. It has since been reiterated by several U.S. Bishops.
Even though Cardinal DiNardo and other leaders of the Bishops’ Conference met with Pope Francis September 13, there has not yet been any announcement from the Vatican regarding an Apostolic Visitation.
Within the Church, only the Vatican has the authority to order an investigation into the conduct of those Bishops who stand accused of covering up the sexual coercion and assault McCarrick is alleged to have committed.
Asked by a reporter why approval for an Apostolic Visitation had not been forthcoming, Dolan answered: “I tend to get as impatient as you obviously are, so I don’t know the answer to that.”
The cardinal was also asked if the pope is doing enough to address concerns about sexual abuse and misconduct in the Church in the United States.
“I mean, you won’t be surprised that I love him and trust him very much and know that he’s on our side. So I think...I mean he has a beautiful posture of reflection, of ‘let’s not act impetuously,’ you know- he’s spoken with prophetic fire in condemning this.
“I trust that he’s going to come through,” Dolan said. “But I don’t mind admitting that I get a little impatient too.”
Dear Cardinal Dolan, we all are too!
No comments:
Post a Comment