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Beyond Myths and Denial
Jodi Zierhut, a parole and probation agent for the Department of Corrections in Milwaukee, Wis., escorts a client out of her office. She has a caseload of about 40 sex offenders. Another agent comes up to her and whispers, I can’t believe he’s a sex offender. Even people trained to think
Are Gay Priests Living a Lie?
"Gay priests are living a lie", declares Garry Wills in his book Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit (Doubleday, 2000). As a priest-psychotherapist who has spent 25 years conducting workshops, support groups and retreats for gay priests and religious men and women, this statement and those who
Letters
Letters

Our Own Penance

To add to the tragedy of pedophile priests (Signs of the Times, 3/18), there have been no words of sorrow, no admissions of complicity, no words of compassion from the pope or his Vatican officials addressed directly to the victims (and their families) of sexual abuse by priests. The victims have been stonewalled and ignored. The only thing we hear about is damage to the church.

Pope John Paul II has repeatedly exhorted us that there is no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness. In order to make just amends, we must begin by doing our own penance at the highest level in the church. Anything less only adds to this continuing injustice that eats away at any credibility we may yet have.

(Rev.) Charles E. Irvin

Psychological Treatment of Priest Sex Offenders
The painful news of priest sex offenders is back, emerging with the familiar tale of suffering, shame and sorrow. Even though most of these stories are about events that took place over a decade ago, they have the effect of re-wounding. The pressing questions: How frequent are cases of priest-offend
The Present Scandal: A Personal View
It began one Sunday in September when we noticed an unfamiliar priest celebrating Mass. The monsignor, who introduced himself as the director of priest personnel for the diocese, had bad news. A family in the parish had filed a lawsuit against our pastor, charging inappropriate behavior toward their
News
Signs of the Times
Cardinal Law Hears Concerns of Boston Catholics On the verge of tears, a sorrowful Boston Cardinal Bernard F. Law told more than 2,500 area Catholics who gathered March 9 to discuss clergy sex abuse of minors, "In my most horrible nightmares I would never have imagined that we would have come to th
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
A few months ago I received a phone call from a parishioner at St. Leo’s Church, in Stamford, Conn. It was something of a surprise: the last time I had set foot in that church was almost 14 years ago. During our conversation, I mentioned how important the parish had been in my life, and that I
News
Signs of the Times
Bishop O’Connell Admits Abuse; Pope Accepts ResignationAfter admitting that he had sexually abused a high school seminarian more than 25 years ago, Bishop Anthony J. O’Connell of Palm Beach submitted his resignation to Pope John Paul II, and it was accepted. He said his misconduct has ha
Letters
Letters

Vision

Thank you for the insightful article by the Rev. Robert Kress on the priest-pastor (3/11). I have found the model of the overseer to be a useful tool for encouraging pastors to delegate responsibilities to qualified members of the parish. This frees the pastor to be about the equally important work of articulating and maintaining a vision in both pastoral and liturgical contexts.

(Rev.) Joseph C. Doyle

Militant Madness
As the six-month mark passed since the World Trade Center and Pentagon atrocities, the president of the United States was greeted with heart-warming news. A Washington Post-ABC News poll, entitled America at War, informed us that 88 percent of us support the way the president is handling the campaig