Mortal Sins: Sex, Crime, and the Era of Catholic Scandal

by D'Antonio, Michael

  Six years had passed since the archdiocese had agreed to make the files public, but attorneys for the Church had used legal maneuvers to delay actually issuing it. The court finally stopped allowing the Church more time under pressure mainly from Jeffrey Anderson’s co-counsel, Anthony DeMarco. Joined in the pursuit of the papers by the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press, DeMarco had persuaded Judge Emilie Elias that members of the Church and the general public, were entitled to the records.

  On the day when the Church acted, news outlets across the country cited excerpts that revived the most gruesome cases of assaults on children and the schemes used to cover up crimes. Police and prosecutors announced they would search the pages for evidence of crimes. In the meantime a federal bankruptcy judge in Milwaukee seemed ready to make public priest files held by the Church in Wisconsin. In that case, Judge Susan V. Kelley, had found that then Archbishop Timothy Dolan had improperly transferred $55 million to a cemetery trust fund. Agreeing with Anderson, Kelley ordered that the money be made available to creditors including abuse victims. The archdiocese of Milwaukee planned to appeal, but once again the actions of Church leaders had amplified public revulsion and extended, rather than ended, the crisis.

  As Catholics in America absorbed the developments in Los Angeles and Wisconsin, an historic announcement was made in Rome. For the first time in six hundred years a pope resigned. Benedict XVI had been at the center of the abuse crisis since the 1980s, when he ran the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (previously The Inquisition). He cited weariness and the Church’s need for a strong and vigorous leader among the reasons for his abdication. Virtually every news story published on the day his decision was announced mentioned the abuse scandal, and more than a few noted it as the heaviest of his burdens and one that would be shouldered by his successor.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, The Gift of Peace, Chicago: Loyola Press, 1997.

  Jason Berry, Render Unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2011.

  Jason Berry, Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children. New York, Doubleday, 1992.

  Jason Berry and Gerald Renner, Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II, New York: Free Press, 2004.

  Angela Bonavoglia, Good Catholic Girls, New York: HarperCollins, 2005.

  The Investigative Staff of The Boston Globe, Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church, Boston: Little, Brown, 2002.

  Daniel Brown, Alan W. Scheflin, & D. Corydon Hammond, Memory: Trauma, Treatment, and the Law, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1998.

  Frank Bruni, and Elinor Burkett, A Gospel of Shame: Children, Sexual Abuse, and the Catholic Church, New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2002.

  Nicholas P. Cafardi, Before Dallas: The U.S. Bishops’ Response to Clergy Sexual Abuse of Children, New York: Paulist Press, 2008.

  Betty Clermont, The Neo-Catholics: Implementing Christian Nationalism in America, Atlanta, GA: Clarity Press, Inc., 2009.

  Paul E. Dinter, The Other Side of the Altar: One Man’s Life in the Catholic Priesthood, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.

  Bill Donohue, Secular Sabotage: How Liberals Are Destroying Religion and Culture in America, New York: Faith Words, 2009.

  Matthew Fox, The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved, New York: Sterling Ethos, 2011.

  David France, Our Fathers: The Secret Life of the Catholic Church in an Age of Scandal, New York: Broadway Books, 2004.

  Eric Frattini and Dick Clusterpp, The Entity: Five Centuries of Secret Vatican Espionage, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2008.

  Jennifer J. Freyd, Betrayal Trauma: The Logic of Forgetting Childhood Abuse, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1996.

  Andrew M. Greeley, The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1990.

  Marci A. Hamilton, God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

  Robert Kee, Ireland: A History, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1980.

  Thomas Keneally, The Great Shame, New York: Doubleday, 1998.

  Eugene Kennedy, This Man Bernardin, Chicago, IL: Loyola Press, 1996.

  Timothy D. Lytton, Holding Bishops Accountable: How Lawsuits Helped the Catholic Church Confront Clergy Sexual Abuse, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008.

  William Lobdell, Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America—and Found Unexpected Peace, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2009.

  Philip F. Lawler, The Faithful Departed: The Collapse of Boston’s Catholic Culture, New York: Encounter Books, 2008.

  Andrew Madden, Altar Boy: A Story of Life After Abuse, Ireland: Penguin, 2003.

  Peggy Noonan, John Paul The Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father, New York: Penguin Books, 2005.

  John Julius Norwich, Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy, New York: Random House, 2011.

  Colm O’Gorman, Beyond Belief, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2010.

  Leon J. Podles, Sacrilege: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, Baltimore, MD: Crossland Press, 2008.

  David Price, Altar Boy Altered Life: A True Story of Sexual Abuse, Indianapolis, IN: Dog Ear Publishing, 2008.

  Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger with Vittorio Messori, The Ratzinger Report, San Francisco: Ignatius, 1985.

  Thomas J. Reese, Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.

  Joe Rigert, An Irish Tragedy: How Sex Abuse by Irish Priests Helped Cripple the Catholic Church, Baltimore, MD: Crossland Press, 2008.

  Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2008.

  Geoffrey Robertson QC, The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights Abuse, London: Penguin Books, 2010.

  Peter Seewald, Benedict XVI Light of the World: The Pope, the Church, and the Signs of the Times, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010.

  Anson Shupe, Wolves in the Fold: Religious Leadership and Abuses of Power, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1998.

  A. W. Richard Sipe, A Secret World: Sexuality and the Search for Celibacy, New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1990.

  A. W. Richard Sipe, Thomas P. Doyle, & Patrick J. Wall, Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church’s 2,000-Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse, Los Angeles: Volt Press, 2006.

  A. W. Richard Sipe, The Serpent and the Dove: Celibacy in Literature and Life, Westport, CT: Praeger, 2007

  Hilary Stiles, Assault on Innocence: For the First Time … The Untold Story of Pedophilia, Albuquerque, NM: B & K Publishers, Inc., 1987.

  Rembert G. Weakland, OSB, A Pilgrim in Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop, Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 2009.

  George Weigel, God’s Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church, New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2005.

  George Weigel, The Courage to Be Catholic: Crisis, Reform, and the Future of the Church, New York: Basic Books, 2002.

  George Weigel, Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II, New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1999.

  Garry Wills, Papal Sins: Structures of Deceit, New York: Doubleday, 2000.

  David Yallop, The Power and the Glory: Inside the Dark Heart of John Paul II’s Vatican, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2007.

  David Yonke, Sin, Shame, & Secrets: The Murder of a Nun, the Conviction of a Priest, and Cover-up in the Catholic Church, New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd, 2006.

  DOCUMENTARY FILMS

  Amy Berg, Deliver Us From Evil, 2006

  Jason Berry, Vows of Silence, 2008

  Mary Healy-Jamiel, Holy Water-Gate: Abuse Cover-up in the Catholic Church, 2005

 
Mary Raftery, States of Fear, 1999

  SELECTED CHAPTER NOTES

  INTRODUCTION

  For the events surrounding the Italian conquest of Rome see:

  • “Rome and Italy,” New York Times, September 23, 1870, 1.

  • “Rome is Now Completely Occupied by the Italian Troops,” New York Times, September 24, 1870, 1.

  • “Italian Unity,” New York Times, October 4, 1870, 5.

  • “War Letters,” New York Times, October 5, 1870, 1.

  For the creation of the modern Vatican state see:

  • Arnaldo Cortesi, “Pope Becomes Ruler of a State Again,” New York Times, June 8, 1929, 1.

  • Arnaldo Cortesi, “Mussolini Explains New Vatican Status,” New York Times, May 14, 1929, 1.

  • Arnaldo Cortesi, “Mussolini Reveals New Treaty Details,” New York Times, March 15, 1929, 3.

  • Arnoldo Cortesi, “4,000 Fascisti Cheer Mussolini’s Praise of Vatican Accord,” New York Times, March 11, 1929, 1.

  For a thorough account of the Church’s transition from a state power into a moral one see: Garry Wills, Papal Sins: Structures of Deceit (New York: Doubleday). Wills illuminates the story of the church from Pius IX through the current sexual abuse scandal with a fine sense of how the hierarchy interpreted history, theology, and modernity to build an unsustainable structure.

  For Humanae Vitae see the original document at www.vatican.va

  John Paul II’s involvement with Eastern European freedom movements is documented throughout Carl Bernstein and Marco Politi’s book His Holiness (New York: Penguin, 1997).

  Figures on the cost of the sex abuse scandal as well as the number of priests prosecuted and imprisoned are based on running totals and author’s accounting from Bishop-accountability.org, a comprehensive archive of the scandal. See also: Robert Marquand, “Catholic Sexual Abuse Scandal Sharpens Rift Over What a Priest Should Be,” Christian Science Monitor; online posted May 2, 2010.

  For 1,400 Church closings, see: Stephanie Salter, “The Unfortunate Bottom Line … St. Ann’s will Close” (Terre-Haute) Tribune-Star, September 4, 2011.

  For Bishop Babini’s comments see:

  • Tom Kingston, “Bishop ‘Blames Jews’ for Criticism of Catholic Church Record on Abuse,” The Guardian April 11, 2011.

  • Judy Mandelbaum, “Bishop Blames Jews for Child Molestation Scandal,” Salon.com, April 12, 2010.

  “Santo subito” reported in Ian Fisher and Laurie Goodstein, “Pope Names U.S. Archbishop to Oversee Church Doctrine,” New York Times, May 14, 2005, 1.

  For Hans Hermann Groer, see:

  • Katrin Bennhold, “Future Pope’s Complex Role in Abuse Case In Austria,” New York Times, April 27, 2010, 4.

  • Rachel Donadio, “In Rare, Revealing Memo, Vatican Rebukes Cardinal,” New York Times, June 29 2010, 4.

  • Ross Douthat, “The Better Pope,” New York Times, April 12, 2010, 25.

  For the Pope’s acknowledgement of the scandal and its effects, see:

  • Rachel Donadio, “Pope Issues Forceful Statement on Sexual Abuse Crisis,” New York Times, May 12, 2010, 4.

  • Elisabetta Povoledo, “Before Crowd in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Vows to Act in Abuse Crisis,” New York Times, April 22, 2010. 7.

  • Rachel Donadio, “From St. Peter’s Square, Pope Pleads for Forgiveness Over Abuse and Vows Action,” New York Times, June 12, 2010, 6.

  • John F. Burns and Rachel Donadio, “Facing Protests in London, Pope Expresses Sorrow Over Child Abuse,” New York Times, September 19, 2010, 18.

  For the fallout from the abuse crisis in polls and in Europe see:

  • “Pope Benedict Favorable Rating Drops to 40 Percent in U.S. Gallup Poll,” March 31, 2010.

  • Dalia Sussman, “Poll: Catholic Church’s Image at New Low,” posted at ABC News.com, December 16, 2010.

  • Robert Marquand, “Catholic Sex Abuse Scandal Raising Doubts for Young German Catholics,” Christian Science Monitor; online posted April 26, 2010.

  • “Critical Austrian Catholics Emboldened by Sex Abuse Scandal in Quest of Church Reform,” Associated Press; posted online June 23, 2010.

  • Juno McEnroe, “8,575 Log on to Renounce Religion Irish Examiner,” Wednesday, March 31, 2010. http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/kfkfojsnaucw/rss2/#ixzz1LaFS7UDQ

  • “Thou Shalt Not Defect: Baptism Is Forever,” The Irish Times online, Saturday, October 16, 2010.

  Megan Peterson’s experience of clergy abuse was recounted by her in an interview with the author.

  1. CLERICAL CULTURE

  Pio Laghi’s administration and personality, as well as conversations, drawn from interviews with Thomas Doyle. His personality, background and actions are also described throughout Jason Berry, Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children (New York: Doubleday, 1992). See also: Eric Frattini and Dick Clusterpp, The Entity: Five Centuries of Secret Vatican Espionage (St. Martin’s Press, 2008), 328–331. Also see: Laghi’s obituary: Rachel Donadio, “Pio Laghi, Papal Envoy, Dies at 86,” New York Times, January 14, 2000, B9.

  For the assassination attempt on the Pope, see: George Weigel, Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1999), especially chapter twelve, “In the Eye of the Storm” and pages 423–425.

  Doyle’s experiences at the embassy and in the Lafayette case are from multiple sources, including author interviews and Berry’s Lead Us Not Into Temptation.

  Sources for the Gauthe case include Berry, Lead Us Not Into Temptation; interviews with Berry, Doyle, and attorney F. Raymond Mouton. See also:

  • Berry’s original reporting in the (Lafayette) Times of Acadiana, including: Jason Berry, “The Tragedy of Gilbert Gauthe,” Times of Acadiana, May 30, 1985; “Fallen Priests,” Times of Acadiana, June 13, 1985; and “Anatomy of a Cover-up,” Times of Acadiana, January 30, 1986. Berry’s reporting on Gauthe also appeared in the National Catholic Reporter.

  • United Press International reported on Gauthe in “Jury awards $1.25 million in boy’s molestation by priest,” distributed by the wire service on February 7, 1986.

  • The Gauthe case is also covered in Leon J. Podles, Sacrilege: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church (Baltimore, MD: Crossland Press, 2008), 80–88.

  Michael Peterson’s involvement in the early investigation of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is recounted in Berry, Lead Us Not Into Temptation and in interviews that Berry, Doyle, and Mouton granted author.

  For Michael Peterson’s perspective on pedophilia and its cure see: Thomas C. Fox, “What They Knew in 1985: 17 Years Ago, a Report on Clergy Sex Abuse Warned U.S. Bishops of Trouble Ahead,” National Catholic Reporter, May 17, 2002.

  For Pope Paul VI’s consultation with Anna Terruwe, see her official biography at the Web site of Radboud University: http://www.ru.nl/snuf/english/facilities/dr-anna-terruwe/biography.

  For Baars’s address to American bishops, see: Conrad Baars, M.D. and Anna Terruwe, M.D., “The Role of the Church in the Causation, Treatment and Prevention of the Crisis in the Priesthood,” November 1971, which is held at the online archive www.richardsipe.com.

  The medical text that downplayed recurrence of pedophilia is J. W. Mohr, R. E. Turner, M. B. Jerry, Pedophilia and Exhibitionism, A Handbook (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1964).

  For Humane Society report, see: “Child Abuse Potential is Present in All Segments of Society,” Salinas (Ca.) Journal, October 10, 1971, 13.

  David Finklehor, Sexually Victimized Children (New York: Free Press, 1979).

  President Reagan’s 1984 state of the union speech is available at: http://reagan2020.us/speeches/state_of_the_union_1984.asp. See also: Steven Weisman, “President, Viewing State of the Union, Says ’We Cannot Turn Back’; Reagan Asks 2-Party Drive To Cut Deficits $100 Billion,” New York Times, January 26, 1984, A1.

  For McMartin case, see:

  • Edgar W. Butler, Anatomy of the McMartin Child Molestation C
ase (Latham, MD: University Press of America, 2001).

  • Professor Douglas Linder of the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law maintains an archive of McMartin preschool case documents at: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mcmartin/mcmartin.html

  2. THE CHURCH KNOWS

  Raymond Mouton’s biography, his involvement in the church abuse scandal, and his work with Doyle and Peterson are based on author interviews with Mouton, Doyle, and Jason Berry, as well as on Berry’s Lead Us Not Into Temptation; Michael Powell, “A Fall From Grace,” Washington Post, August 4, 2002; Eamonn O’Neill, “What the Catholic Bishop Knew,” The Guardian, April 3, 2010.

  In 1961 the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for Religious banned from the priesthood “Those affected by the perverse inclination to homosexuality or pederasty…” in a document titled Careful Selection and Training of Candidates for the States of Perfection and Sacred Ordination.

  Although widely discussed within the Church, the issue of gay men in the priesthood also received occasional public attention, as in:

  • Michael Stephen, “On Homosexual Priests,” New York Times, August 18, 1980, A23.

  • Joseph Berger, “Religions Confront Issue of Homosexuality,” New York Times, March 2, 1987, 1.

  • A.W. Richard Sipe, A Secret World: Sexuality and the Search for Celibacy (New York: Brunner/Mazel Publishers, 1990), 105–108.

  • See also: “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,” October 1, 1986: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19861001_homosexual-persons_en.html

  For information on organizations promoting pedophilia, see:

  • Bernard Frits, Paedophilia: A Factual Report (Rotterdam: Enclave, 1985).

  • “Dutch Priest Belonged to Pedophile Club,” Boston Globe, May 20, 2011.

  3. SEXUAL INTELLECTUALS

  Jason Berry’s childhood and personal life are based on interviews with author.