Zero tolerance? Did the bishops go too far?
Lasch, Kenneth
ZERO TOLERANCE? Taking another look A reluctant As anticipated, media coverage of sexual abuse by clergy seems to be cresting, at least to some degree. However, the crisis remains one of tragic...
...If the offender tells them there was only one incident and there is no evidence to the contrary from other victims, the diagnosis and prognosis tend to favor the "reformed" offender, declaring him "safe" for ministry...
...He forfeited that right by his act of degradation, which was in effect a total derogation of his office...
...However, the crisis remains one of tragic proportions and should receive the attention of church officials for the foreseeable future...
...It means only that the evidence is insufficient...
...On the other hand, victims and survivors of sexual abuse are as quick to cry foul in the face of this mounting opposition, stating that the very nature of this crime is such that one incident is unlikely...
...Moreover, citing a breach of their canonical right to due process, some priests are appealing to Rome...
...Moreover, despite the more open atmosphere created by the Boston disclosures, this "secret" remains a strong inhibitor, preventing many victims from revealing the incident for years, and for some, forever...
...This does not exclude the possibility that an aged or infirm priest will be cared for with minimum amenities and health protection...
...They will lie and think that they are telling the truth...
...It is part of the illness...
...Negotiations designed to be opportunities for healing and reconciliation have become opportunities for intimidation by defense attorneys and the institutions that often protect offenders...
...Although such conversations should take place on a level playing field, in many cases the field has been far from level...
...However, it does not mean the incidents did not take place...
...no justice without truth...
...Victims need to have become survivors in order to speak out confidently on a platform of wellness, as it were...
...The lack of evidence and the testimony of the accused are not sufficient proof for them that it occurred only once...
...They may be correct...
...I have not yet been exposed to psychological or psychiatric evidence or opinion to the contrary...
...Other cases of dated incidents may be less clear as a result of insufficient evidence...
...no truth without full accountability...
...They convince their victims that they are the only ones to whom they have given special affection...
...Priests who were identified, evaluated, and punished years ago are crying foul, calling the bishops' zero-tolerance policy flawed...
...The database to which I have been exposed over the last seventeen years in dealing with the issue head-on convinces me that the weight of evidence is on the side of victims...
...Stories of priests who have confessed their crime and whose witness to virtue has been applauded firsthand by their congregations have left some Catholics disillusioned by the severity of the new policy within a church that preaches forgiveness as a gospel mandate...
...This is a further inhibitor even for victims who feel they must speak up but are unable to do so...
...Forgiveness does not automatically restore a victimizer's right to a position of trust...
...Psychiatrists and therapists can deal only with the data to which they are privy...
...Catholics are resilient but their mantra remains explicit: "There will be no healing without justice...
...Until they are able to do so, they remain captive to their own protective wall of silence, as well as the wall built around them by authorities and authority figures...
...This makes the victims unique and special...
...Offenders are con artists and will leave no stone unturned to cover up their sexual crime or misconduct...
...This situation works to the legal advantage of the alleged offender, as indeed it should-innocent until proved guilty...
...It already appears that, pending further word from the Vatican, some dioceses will in fact not implement a zero-tolerance policy in those cases in which there is no clear evidence that there was more than one offense...
...the damage to the victim is residual and permanent...
...The act can never be undone...
...Though complex, the pattern of sexual offenders is clear...
...The situation is ambiguous at best for both the alleged offender and the alleged victim, but it remains a moral issue for the church...
...The absence of public disclosure of even one incident results in the virtual denial of an opportunity for other victims of the same offender to know that there were other victims...
...Even on the assumption that there may be situations in which offenders have indeed been guilty of one offense and experienced a subsequent metanoia, the prevailing sense among victims and people in the pew appears to support the consensus that offenders should never again be permitted to function in ministry...
Vol. 129 • September 2002 • No. 16
