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Church officials react to Bp. Gumbleton's abuse revelation
Staff and wire services
Detroit — Church officials are reacting to the surprise revelation by Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton last week that he was sexually abused by a priest when he was a teenage seminarian in Detroit.
At a Columbus, Ohio, news conference, Bishop Gumbleton, 75, did not name the now-deceased priest who he claims molested him some 60 years ago, when he was a freshman or sophomore at Sacred Heart Seminary High School. He called the abuse "very inappropriate" behavior by the priest but said it was "minor" compared with the kind of abuse many other victims have suffered. He said the priest died 10-15 years ago.
Cardinal Adam Maida said he was especially saddened to learn that Bishop Gumbleton was apparently an abuse victim many years ago. "The Detroit Archdiocese was never made aware of this," he said.
Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Michael Talbot, chairperson of the Archdiocesan Review Board for Clergy Abuse Matters, said it was unfortunate Bishop Gumbleton, who has served some 50 years as a priest and bishop of the archdiocese, waited until now to share this kind of information. "If there was a priest who had these proclivities," Judge Talbot said, "it seems to me that Bishop Gumbleton should have told the archdiocese or civil authorities in a timely manner."
Judge Talbot speculated how powerful and helpful it would have been if Bishop Gumbleton had told his story to his brother bishops at the Dallas meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in June, 2002, where "The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" was crafted and adopted. "That certainly makes more sense," Judge Talbot said, "than choosing to announce such a sad and serious matter to the media."
In Columbus, Bishop Gumbleton also called for passage of pending legislation in Ohio and other states that would modify the statute of limitations and open a one-year window for civil lawsuits against the Church for clergy sexual abuse of minors that occurred many years ago. His position is in direct opposition to the stand taken by the Ohio and Michigan Catholic Catholic Conferences.
In Detroit, Msgr. Ricardo Bass, Cardinal Maida's delegate for clergy matters, noted there is no time limit on a person bringing forward a complaint to the archdiocese. "Bishop Gumbleton's experience is indeed regrettable," said Msgr. Bass, "and, no doubt, it frames his personal opinion on this matter. As we would with any person in his situation, the archdiocese stands by its commitment to provide counseling assistance as needed."
Regarding the statute of limitations, however, Msgr. Bass added "it has served our society well in protecting the rights of everyone, especially after a long passage of time."
(News Release: Detroit Archdiocese on Abuse Claim by Bishop Thomas Gumbleton)
And in Lansing, Paul Long, vice president for Public Policy at the Michigan Catholic Conference, noted that changing the statute of limitations would force Catholic dioceses and organizations to defend decades-old claims with little or no ability to substantiate allegations. "In many cases," Long added, "the alleged perpetrators and witnesses are deceased or incapacitated. Memories have faded. Evidence is difficult or impossible to locate. That is exactly why the statute of limitations exists."
Archdiocesan communications director, Ned McGrath, said it's ironic that, "on more than one occasion — once just a few years ago — Bishop Gumbleton himself authorized the statute of limitations defense on his own behalf." But for his part, Bishop Gumbleton claimed that bringing old cases to court "may cause pain, embarrassment and sacrifice for our Church" but suggested that settling all such cases is "the only way to protect children and to heal the brokenness within the Church."
McGrath said the local Church has responded out of its responsibility to the victims and to the Catholic community, and not as a result of threatened lawsuits.
"Complaints brought to us are always taken seriously. We've had a policy on clerical sexual abuse since 1988 and it has worked. Twenty-nine priests and one deacon have been removed from ministry," he said. (see: Priests and Policy Status Report) "We've re-constituted our local review board, entered into a voluntary reporting agreement with prosecutors in the six counties of the archdiocese, established a victim assistance coordinator with a toll-free number, issued codes of conduct (see: Pastoral Code of Conduct, Volunteer Code of Conduct, Código de Conducta Para Voluntarios ), and trained thousands of our priests, parish and school staffs, and volunteers in child-safe environment practices."
Every week there is information included in The Michigan Catholic how to bring a complaint forward, McGrath said. "And, on this site, in the section titled 'Promise to Protect. Pledge to Heal,' there is additional contact and resource information."
Nationally, McGrath noted, "since the beginning of this decade, we've had the Dallas Charter, The Essential Norms, the independent studies on clerical sexual abuse by the John Jay College of Criminal Science and the report from the National Review Board."
"We always have to stay vigilant and current, and not rest on our past efforts." McGrath said, "On the other hand, I don't think it's fair to say that the Church has somehow forgotten this issue or forsaken those who were tragically harmed, both physically and spiritually, by clerical sexual abuse."
McGrath reiterated what Msgr. Bass said. "A person can bring forward a complaint to the archdiocese at any time, regardless of when the activity might have occurred. We have and will continue to offer counseling and pastoral support as needed."
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