Where is Pope Francis?
By Dan Murphy
As I listened to Republican commentator Hugh Hewitt say “I’m embarrassed to be a Catholic” on Meet the Press last weekend, I joined in his sentiments, along with millions of other Catholic Americans who cannot believe that we are going through another disclosure of priests who have been coddled, transferred and covered up, once again by our Catholic Church.
In 2002 we went through a similar horror from Massachusetts; this time it’s in Pennsylvania, but the playbook is the same: “Above all, don’t tell the police, don’t call it rape,” and identify children who have been abused or may be able to be abused again by putting a cross around their neck.” All of this from a Pennsylvania Grand Jury report, which found that more than 300 priests abused more than 1,000 victims.
But the number of victims identified are only the ones who have voluntarily come forward. The report said there are likely thousands more victims whose records were lost or who were too afraid to come forward.
Our Catholic Church has paid billions in settlements to victims over the years, and I heard one catholic say on cable television news that one reason we really haven’t addressed this scandal properly is because “it is too widespread” among the Catholic Church and its priests.
Which is ludicrous. The recent resignation and allegations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington who is accused of sexually abusing basically anyone he could get his hands on – minors, seminarians, young priests – is an example of the abusers having no shame.
I remember watching McCarrick on “Meet the Press” with Tim Russert, another proud Catholic, when it was Christmastime, or at Easter, proclaiming the works of Jesus Christ on the air – and then molesting helpless victims once the cameras went black.
“Despite some institutional reform, individual leaders of the church have largely escaped public accountability,” the Grand Jury wrote. “Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing; they hid it all. For decades. Until that changes, we think it is too early to close the book on the Catholic Church sex scandal.”
Unfortunately, almost no new criminal charges will be filed from the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report because most of the perverted priests named are dead, or the statute of limitations against their crimes has expired.
The bishops in Pennsylvania have called for prayers for the victims and promises of greater openness. Pope Francis, supposedly a transformational leader of the Catholic Church, remained silent for two days after the report was released, and then in a statement the Vatican said: “Victims should know that the pope is on their side. Those who have suffered are his priority, and the church wants to listen to them, to root out this tragic horror that destroys the lives of the innocent. There are two words that can express the feelings faced with these horrible crimes: shame and sorrow.”
Pope Francis, considered progressive and enlightened on many issues, has struggled to get a grip on the scandal that has gravely weakened the Catholic Church’s moral authority. Despite calling for “decisive action” when he was elected as pontiff in 2013, he has failed to act pro-actively.
The Westchester connection to the Pennsylvania priest scandal is Edmond Parrakow, who was alleged to have sexually abused multiple minors in the 1970s and 1980s. According to the Grand Jury report, Parrakow “allegedly admitted to church officials that he sexually abused about 35 male children as a priest in New York – including engaging in mutual masturbation, fellatio and anal intercourse. He allegedly abused more minors while serving in the Greensburg diocese in the late 1980s and was eventually removed from ministry because of the allegations, the diocese said. He also admitted to a state Grand Jury that he had molested children as a priest, many of whom were altar boys.”
Parrakow served at Assumption Catholic Church in Tuckahoe, and St. Peter Church in Yonkers, in the late 1960s and 1970s.
The condemnations against the church and the priests have never matched the pain of the abuse for the victims. The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 5:20, “Reprimand publicly those who do sin, so that the rest also will be afraid.” This has never been accomplished. Not in 2002 and not today.
Non-Catholics are quick to acknowledge this fact and mock the church. Non-practicing Catholics and those who still attend Mass on a regular basis, or those who are cafeteria Catholics, need to do something, speak out – take action – demand accountability for every priest in every church and encourage those abused to come out and speak publicly.
The denials from the higher ups in the Catholic Church continue, even after this report. Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh came out after the Grand Jury report and said, “There was no cover-up going on. We have over the course of the last 30 years, for sure, been transparent about everything that has in fact been transpiring.”
The Grand Jury report tells a different story, about following a “playbook for concealing the truth,” and instead of using the word “rape,” use “inappropriate contact,” and not telling a parish why a priest had suddenly disappeared from the community. “Tell his parishioners that he is on ‘sick leave,’ or suffering from ‘nervous exhaustion.’ Or say nothing at all,” the report said.
Kudos to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who has taken the lead and investigated the Catholic Church like no other official in this country. “They protected their institution at all costs. As the Grand Jury found, the church showed a complete disdain for victims,” and the cover up “stretched in some cases all the way up to the Vatican,” according to the report.
Some victims joined Shapiro to announce the Grand Jury report. Others did not attend. Some had committed suicide years ago.
One legal matter that could help punish sexually deviant priests is to lift the statute of limitations, which has prevented childhood victims from filing civil lawsuits against the church after they turn 30. For many victims, it has taken decades to gain the courage to speak about the abuse, long past when the law would allow them to sue.
The PA Grand Jury and the attorney general strongly recommended that the statute of limitations be extended in civil and criminal cases. They recommended opening a temporary “window” that would permit older victims to file civil lawsuits against perpetrators, and the church. The church has lobbied against any change to the statute.
Standing up for the victims of abuse has become a worthy cause in our society today. The #MeToo movement is one of those causes. Someone needs to stand up and speak out for the victims of predator priests. It could be our pope, or other attorneys general, or an elected official. Let’s not wait another 15 years for the next batch of accusations come out.
