The following is from a statement by Bishop Robert Vasa of Santa Rosa, regarding steps the Diocese of Santa Rosa is taking to release names of priests accused of sexual abuse:
I have been reviewing files [related to child sexual abuse] for the past month and have established what I believe to be a complete list of all of the accused. Now I must determine if there is some legal reason why I would be prohibited from releasing certain names on that list. There is a strong tendency to use the word ‘cover-up’ in regard to the due diligence which I am trying to exercise. I have no desire to cover up anything.
My desire is to release all of the names but what I want to do and what others may want me to do is not necessarily the same as what should be done or what the law allows me to do. What I can say now is that none of the priests on the list is involved in any active Church ministry. All of them are deceased, laicized or permanently removed from ministry.
It is precisely to help me discern the release of certain records that I have added two additional members to the Diocesan Review Board: Honorable Charlotte Walter Woolard, Retired Judge of the California Superior Court and Honorable Daniel (Mike) Hanlon, Retired Justice of the California Court of Appeal. I have had an initial discussion with them about the priests accused and plan on additional conversations with them. Sometimes the determination that a name can and should be released is easy. Sometimes this is not so easy.
While concern for the healing of a victim can be and is a very strong consideration it is not the only consideration. I want any victim to know that I take their allegation very seriously and yet, at the same time, I want to follow the law. State law regarding the confidentiality of employee records (which includes priests) is very important. I cannot act in a way which, even with very good intentions, violates that law.
Full story at Santa Rosa Catholic.
I’m so sick of all this. Every story, every statement, every revelation is a punch in the gut or the soul.
I have an easy solution for you: don’t watch/read the news, especially if you know it will sicken you. Simple.
No, Beth makes a good point. The bishops and the pope are incompetently dragging this on and on. The faithful want it to be over with. Every month there’s something new and the church is already being dragged back to worse than 2002. They refuse to name homosexuality among the clergy as the cause when everyone knows that’s the cause. Releasing statements and holding listening sessions doesn’t address the problem. It’s just the appearance of doing something while doing nothing effective. We’re all tired of it.
Ignorance is bliss eh. doctor?
Beth,
Please note that Bishop Vasa is a good man who shepherds a diocese that had a very checkered past under Bishop Zieman. The diocese is in very good hands.
Everyone in CA should know about Bishop Zieman. A heterodox Mahony protégé from LA who had a homosexual relationship with a priest in his diocese and resigned in disgrace. More evidence that the problem in the clergy is homosexuality. Not clericalism.
Please note that what Steve Seit says is 100 percent true. Bishop Vasa is a true Bishop. He always has been and continues to be. He brought the Marian Sisters to the Santa Roas Diocese. They started with 2 Sisters and now have 12 Sisters in their congregation. A very Holy and good group of women. We are blessed to have them in our Diocese of Santa Rosa. They have also formed a sodality of young women who are a true inspiration to the whole community of Santa Rosa. God Bless Bishop Vasa. Please keep him in your daily prayers and Rosary.
Amelia is ‘SPOT ON’ as far as Bishop Vasa goes! He is a TRUE SHEPHERD of the Jesus’ Church and is very Pro-Life!!!
I have very little regard for or trust in any of the current American Bishops, conservative or liberal, including Bishop Vasa. There have been many orthodox, pro-life Bishops who have also facilitated this on-going crisis through cover-ups and pay-offs. Sorry…it is going to take a long time for the leadership of the U S church to be worthy of trust.
You have the courage of St. Paul Bishop Vasa doing the right thing when he rebuked St. Peter
How many priests have been falsely accused because of the desire to get rid of any who might not be credibly accused but the press of the best in the bishop’s back and won’t let go. Not every priest accused is guilty, sorry, people might not like this but remember that you could be falsely accused as a layperson of all.sorts of thing. A person these days just has to point a finger.
How many priests have been falsely accused because of the desire to get rid of any who might not be credibly accused but the media out pressure on our generally cowardly bishops? The bishops.give.in and an innocent priest’s life is ruined. Not every priest accused is guilty. Sorry, people might not like this, but remember that you could be falsely accused as a layperson of all sorts of things too. A person these days just has to point a finger.