Rep. Thomas Murt
427 Irvis Office Building
Post Office Box 202152
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Dear Representative Murt,
When I first read Child sex abuse: When Concern for Institutional Risk Trumps the Truth and learned that you had "taught at Archbishop Ryan High School" and were "a life-long Catholic"and "a religious education instructor," I confess to an initial "uh oh" feeling. My thought was, "Here comes the Catholic bashing" from one of our own. After a little research, I quickly realized that you are a public official who takes authentic Catholic Social Teaching very seriously:
- Thank you for your December 12th vote for HB 1977. As per the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, this would "remove abortion funding from the state health care exchanges that will be created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)."
- Thank you for your December 13th vote for SB 732. As per the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, "The new law addresses concerns that stemmed from a tragedy that occurred in the Philadelphia abortion clinic of Dr. Kermit Gosnell....The measure holds abortion facilities to the same fire and safety standards, personnel and equipment requirements, and quality assurance procedures as other freestanding ambulatory surgical facilities."
- Thank you for being one of the co-sponsors of HB 1077. As per the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, this would require "that a woman be given the option to see her ultrasound and see/hear her unborn child’s heartbeat."
Especially in light of your excellent track record, I pray that our hierachy will take your call with with utmost seriousness: "We need to open the window and allow the light of truth to shine into this dark place." Amen. Be that said, it should also go without saying that the light must shine brightly and widely, because "Sexual Abuse [Is] Not an Exclusive Specialty of Catholic Priests" or Penn State coaches.
With regard to institutional reactions, it does indeed appear that some bishops previously responded by sweeping accusations "under the rug." Yet at this point, it seems that the knee jerk reaction may be shifting to simply throwing the accused "under the bus." With regard to the latter, I would like to call your attention to two articles:
- Abuse allegations: true, false and truthy (Richard Fitzgibbons, MD & Peter Kleponis, Ph.D., MercatorNet, 4/12/11)
- Priest cleared of sexual assault allegations, six years later, still struggling to shed stigma (Erin Duffy, Time of Trenton, 1/3/12)
I am certain that you agree that "Justice delayed is justice denied." If a priest - or anyone for that matter - is accused, he deserves confidentiality, as well as a fair and speedy resolution. If an accussation becomes public but is subsequently determined to be unfounded, exhaustive efforts must be made to restore the priest's good name. That does not seem to be the case with regard to the previously cleared priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia or the incident cited in the Diocese of Trenton.
We have begun to see cases, where it appears that (arch)dioceses are failing to do everything to restore a priest's good name, even when the priest has not been charged or has been cleared by civil authorities. In December, our new archbishop told us that "Since arriving in September, I have pressed for a rapid resolution of the cases of those priests placed on administrative leave earlier this year." With danger of sounding flip, I would have liked to see him act as quickly in these matters, as he has acted with regard to our schools.
Again, thank God that you and others are shining the "light of truth" on these matters. While ensuring that this light shines brightly and widely, may I inquire as to your thoughts on how Catholics might ensure that the civil and canonical rights of accused priests are safeguarded? I am disturbed that many seem to be losing sight of what the Church teaches about social justice and offenses to our brothers' good names.
Sincerely,
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