St. Robert Bellarmine Parish - Flushing Michigan

Dear Fellow Parishioners:

After listening to some of you express anger, sorrow and frustration about the sexual-abuse scandal that has touched our parish and the whole church, the St. Robert Bellarmine Education Commission has decided to write to you. As parish representatives, we want to acknowledge the pain, disillusionment and sadness that many in our faith family - and possibly you - are feeling.

"I can't believe this is happening to our Church!"

As everyone is aware, two cases of sexual abuse have been linked to our
parish. Among our membership are friends and acquaintances of victims, as
well as friends and acquaintances of an admitted abuser, all of whom are
experiencing varying degrees of personal betrayal and pain. Additionally,
other St. Robert members have expressed feelings of deep disappointment
and shame, at times coupled with frustration by what appears to be the
bishops' inability to respond in a decisive and just manner to this
crisis. It is a difficult time for all of us as we try to come to terms
with the crimes and sins of some of our members who were called by Christ
to lead and protect us. In our own attempts to deal with this situation,
we think two things can be done to move forward. The first is to
acknowledge that our feelings are legitimate. One way or another, we are
all wounded by recent disclosures of priest sexual abuse. As St. Paul
stated, "If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it. If one part
is honored, all the parts share its joy." (1 Corinthians 12:26) We are
in a time of profound suffering as a church in solidarity with victims of
priest sexual abuse. We are also suffering because of the failure of some
church leaders to prevent the recurrence of abuse. Please know that in
whatever way you are hurting, we share your pain and sincerely desire to
provide constructive outlets for you to express your feelings. However,
we need help to know how best to respond. At the end of this letter, we
will ask for your input. The second thing we can all do is acquire
accurate information. Questions have been raised which the media cannot
be expected to address. With this in mind, we will attempt to answer a
few of these questions in an honest and straightforward manner, and we
will provide resources to assist you in obtaining further information.
We hope this will help correct misconceptions and fill in some
information gaps that you or people you know may have.

"I feel betrayed by someone I trusted."

Our child was baptized (or confirmed or received First Communion) by a
priest who admitted to sexual abuse. Is the baptism valid? Yes! As
painful and scandalous as it is to have sacraments administered by
someone who is now accused of or has admitted to sexual abuse,
sacramental validity is not affected. In sacramental theology, the Church
has long taught "Ex Opere Operato," (by the work done), meaning that
sacraments are effective by means of the sacramental rite itself, not
because of the minister's worthiness. In other words, the sacraments are
still validly administered and accomplish the intended sacramental effect
even though the minister (priest) is in a state of serious sin.

Remember, it is Christ who baptizes, confirms, forgives, anoints, and
accomplishes all sacramental actions through the ministry of flawed, weak
and sinful persons. Knowing this should be a great consolation to us,
considering our own weakness and sin. In situations where the minister is
discovered to have been in serious sin (whether or not at the time of any
particular sacramental encounter), the concern is not sacramental
validity, but scandal to the faithful for whom faith in Christ's Church
and his ministers is diminished. Here we wish to note that causing
scandal to the faithful has long been recognized as a grievous sin. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "Scandal is grave when given by
those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others"
(see CCC # 2284-2285). At the June meeting in Dallas, the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops apologized for their part in causing grave
scandal to the faithful. In the preamble to their newly drafted
document, they said:

"The sexual abuse of children and young people by some priests and
bishops, and the ways in which we bishops addressed these crimes and
sins, have caused enormous pain, anger, and confusion...In the past,
secrecy has created an atmosphere that has inhibited the healing process
and, in some cases, enabled sexually abusive behavior to be repeated. As
bishops, we acknowledge our mistakes and our role in that suffering, and
we apologize and take responsibility for too often failing victims and
our people in the past...From the depths of our hearts, we bishops
express great sorrow and profound regret for what the Catholic people are
enduring."

"I've always trusted priests to care for my kids!"

What kind of policy does the Lansing Diocese have to deal with sex
offenders, and are any additional steps being taken to protect our
children and our youth? The Lansing Diocese has an extensive Sexual
Misconduct Policy covering all sexual misbehaviors, including criminal
sexual abuse of minors. In 1988, policies regarding "pedophilia," "sexual
harassment" and "mistreatment of minors" were developed and included in
the Diocese of Lansing employee handbook. Since then, insight into
dealing with these behaviors has developed in the areas of psychology,
spirituality, and criminal, civil and church law, requiring a revision of
diocesan policy to reflect these developments. In November of 2000,
Bishop Mengeling decreed a new and extensive diocesan policy. This policy
not only applies to priests, deacons and seminarians, but to all
diocesan and parish employees as well as parish volunteers. At the time
of the Bishop's decree, church employees were required to attend meetings
where the policy was presented, and all persons, paid or volunteer, were
instructed to read and sign a copy of the policy. Currently, all staff
and volunteers working with children must submit to criminal record
checks, including mandatory fingerprinting.

We wish to note that most of the measures proposed by the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops in the newly drafted "Charter for
the Protection of Children and Young People" are already in place at
this time in our diocese. In the few instances where discrepancies
exist, we have been assured that the necessary changes will be made so our
policy will be in complete conformity with the USCCB document. Currently,
all diocesan personnel are required by law to report all suspected
cases of sexual abuse of a minor. (It is important to state that church law forbids priests to disclose what is heard in the sacrament of confession, nor does civil law require it.) Page 5 of the diocesan policy clearly states, "Any cleric, employee, seminarian, volunteer or student of the Diocese of Lansing who knows, or has reason to believe, that an incident of sexual abuse of a minor has occurred,
shall comply with state reporting requirements, specifically Child
Protection Law (Act 238 of 1975)." Bishop Mengeling has repeatedly said,
"Sexual misconduct of any kind is an assault on the dignity of the human
person. Such conduct is not condoned, nor will it be tolerated by the
Diocese of Lansing" (see resource page).

I do not want my money going to pay legal fees and settlements for priest
sex offenders! Is money from weekly parish collections or the annual
Diocesan Services Appeal used to pay settlements? No! Weekly parish
collections (with the exception of a 3.5% Diocesan tax on parish
offerings), are strictly for parish use. Monies collected from the 3.5%
tax are combined with money donated to the DSA to support specific
diocesan operations and activities. The DSA is a restricted fund and can
only be used for purposes stated in the DSA brochure (see resource page).
If money were needed for legal fees and settlements, it would come from
the Bishop's Discretionary Fund, which consists of directed donations
specifically set aside for the Bishop to use at his discretion. Another
option would be to use interest earned from Diocesan investments.

"I don't know if I can go to church again."

More than anything, I've lost confidence in church leadership and I've
thought about leaving the Catholic Church. Why should I stay? You are
not alone in your feelings of disappointment with church leadership; many
others feel let down by those we have trusted to guide and protect us.
It is important to bear in mind, however, that the sins of a few, no
matter how grievous and no matter what position of authority they hold,
do not represent who we are or what we are about as followers of Christ.
Nothing that anyone in the church will ever do takes away our dignity as
children of God. In Matthew's parable of the weeds among the wheat
(13:24-30), Jesus tells listeners about the master's instructions to his
servant. "If you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat along with
them. Let them grow together until harvest." Why are we surprised, then,
when we see weeds of sin in our membership? Jesus also referred to the
hypocrisy of some religious leaders of his day, instructing the people to
"do as they say, not as they do." (Matthew 23:3) Consider, too, that
Jesus - God himself - selected a follower who would eventually betray
him. The church is not perfect (not even its leaders!) because it is made
up of sinners; but it is holy because Christ is its head, and that is
reason enough to remain faithful, especially in times of great trial.
If anything, this scandal provides us with an opportunity to take a close
look at what it means to be Catholic and whether we ourselves are living
lives that reflect the Gospel of Christ and the teachings of the faith we
profess. As in all painful times, this is an opportunity for growth, if
we seize it. When we study church history, we discover that the greatest
renewals followed periods of profound trial. There is reason to hope that
we are on the brink of another renewal in the church - "a springtime of
faith" as our Holy Father calls it. Our prayers and sufferings to that
end can make a difference in bringing it about.

In closing, we ask for input about ways we can provide answers to
questions and help you work through feelings resulting from the sexual
abuse scandal. We invite you to contact any parish pastoral staff member
with suggestions or to talk about your own personal struggles concerning
this issue (contact names and resources for further information are on
the back page). We urge you to continue to pray for victims, abusers, and
all members of our church, especially the bishops who must lead us beyond
this crisis and the many good priests, including Fr. Steve and Fr.
Robert, who daily remain faithful to their priestly vocation.

Faithfully in Christ, we are,

St. Robert Bellarmine Education Commission

	SAINT ROBERT BELLARMINE PARISH