Op-Ed by John Aretakis
For The Record
All must act responsibly
I write in response to the Nov. 2 letter by Jim Baldwin regarding Father Sam Rodino. At first glance, it appears admirable and charitable to support a priest who has been found credibly accused of sexual abuse of a child by his own employer, the Diocese of Albany. But the most important issue has to do with the compassionate treatment of the two victims by all of us.
A lot of online chatter in The Record suggests that the victim may have come forward for some easy money. That is not true, as the church so far as been successfully hiding behind the Statute of Limitations defense that does not allow a lawsuit to be filed by a victim who is over 21 years of age. Secondly, the few settlements paid have been done for token amounts. Does anyone have any idea how much quality therapy costs for a victim of childhood abuse?
The data and statistics tell us that one out of every four girls is sexually abused as a child and one out of every six boys. We also know that false accusations are extremely rare. Do you really think a 40 year old wants to come out and tell the world that his first sexual experiences in puberty were with a man three times his age? Can you grasp how hard it is to keep this terrible and lonely secret for most of your life? Can you grasp how shameful and embarrassing it is to admit that your first sexual encounter was with a priest?
As children, we are taught not only to admire the priest, but calling him “Father” means he has a parent-like power over us, along with his religious and spiritual power of being “another Christ” on earth.
This gets us to the major point. The public outcry of support for this priest has the effect of scaring other prospective victims and witnesses. Who would dare come forward when a lynch mob of 200 people gathers to shout that Father Rodino’s removal was some sort of conspiracy by Bishop Hubbard?
Don’t get me wrong. I believe the Bishop has mismanaged and mishandled the clergy sexual abuse crisis. I don’t know why he or his hand-picked panel recommended removal of Father Rodino, when I have given the bishop dozens of other accusations that have not been acted on. And most people don’t even know Bishop Hubbard’s policy of refusing to cast guilt on any deceased priest who molested children.
Catholics, even supporters of Father Rodino, must act responsibly as their own religion teaches. And most importantly, Bishop Hubbard must follow his own guidelines; that is, to tell all of his flock to not say a bad work about those who accuse priests.
John A. Aretakis
Troy
Reprinted from the Troy Record, November 28, 2009.
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/11/28/obituaries/doc4b10b57a63e80356605810.txt
« Car Magnets | Home | Mr. Rodino’s Statement »
Leave a Comment
By Submitting a comment, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of this Site. Any comments that are defamatory, libelous, or slanderous will be removed. For more information, Read the Disclaimer
We encourage you to voice your opinion by commenting on one of our blog or news posts. If you comment, you will be asked for your name and an email address. We understand if you are concerned about revealing identity. Therefore, you don't have to use your real name, and you don't have to use your real email address. You do, however, need to type something into each box.
For example, you could use something like:
Name: John Cardinal McCloskey
Email: Johnny@Cardinal.com