press releases

Catholic Sex Abuse Report Faults Church Structure

February 27, 2004

Chicago, February 27, 2004--"It is clear from the Causation Report released by the National Review Board for the Protection of Young People, appointed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, that the current structure of the Roman Catholic Church is fatally flawed, cannot be repaired but must be transformed.", said Linda Pieczynski, spokesperson for Call to Action "This is a system with no checks and balances and without meaningful involvement of the laity. "Fraternal correction" by brother bishops is ineffective. For example, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln Nebraska, who refused to cooperate with the John Jay study released today, threatened a lawsuit against the Review Board and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops if they publicized his noncooperation. (See page 138 of the report)

The National Review Board identified many factors which caused the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church including, in our judgment, the most important one, clericalism, i.e. the pursuit of power by the clergy at the expense of the laity. For too long there has been a common belief in the Church that the priesthood is a better vocation than other callings and a holier way of life. Thus some bishops could ignore the suffering of children and their parents and keep offenders in ministry. Other people’s lives didn’t matter as much as the welfare of priests. This warped view is a byproduct of the structure of the Church where supposedly celibate men are the only ones in positions of authority. They are the only teachers on matters of human sexuality and are accountable to no one but the Pope.

We strongly agree with the Lay Board’s recommendation that the laity must be involved in the selection of bishops. As their report says "the exercise of authority without accountability is not servant-leadership; it is tyranny." Also, until women and married persons hold positions of authority at all levels of church governance, this crisis could happen again.

We are grateful to the hard work performed by the National Review Panel.
The real heroes in this crisis are the courageous victims who came forward to tell their stories, the reporters who wrote about them, the lawyers who sought justice, the judges who dispensed it and the lay people and clergy who supported them with their outrage.

###

Call To Action is a national organization of 25,000 laity, religious, priests and bishops and 40 local chapters. It advocates for reforms in the Catholic Church such as the ordination of women, optional celibacy for priests, more focus on the church’s social justice teaching, Church financial accountability, and consultation with the Catholic people on church decision-making and sexuality issues. Their comprehensive web site is at www.cta-usa.org.

Contact: Linda Pieczynski: 630-399-6924 (c) 630-323-6924 (h)
or Crystal Chan: 773-404-0004 x285

| HOME |

Call To Action
2135 W. Roscoe
Chicago, IL 60618

tel. 773-404-0004 | fax. 773-404-1610 | e-mail. cta@cta-usa.org