By FR. MARVIN DEUTSCH, MM
(Editor’s Note: Fr. Marvin Deutsch, a Maryknoll priest, is a retired missionary who spent many years in Tanzania.)
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During the month of May, I am in my home Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, visiting friends and relatives. The archdiocese is being severely attacked by the local newspapers in both cities, spearheaded by Jeff Anderson, a lawyer who (it seems to me) wants to punish the Catholic Church much more than what justice requires while ignoring other agencies who have had the same problems. He is the brains behind the attack on the Church.
Of course, he claims to have a legitimate cause in defending those who have been abused sexually by Catholic priests. The statute of limitations has been lifted to enable him to probe into history and bring to the fore those who were abused 20, 30, or 40 years ago. Many of the accused have died, but this is of no concern to Anderson. Anderson even wanted the former Pope, Pope Benedict, arrested and brought to The Hague for “crimes against humanity.”
In order to properly address why all this came about, I think it is very important to define our terms. When we talk about sexual abuse, just exactly what are we talking about? When the sexual scandals blew up in 2002, the bishops of the United States met in Dallas to decide what to do. The term homosexual was not used, perhaps for political reasons. The implication was that the problem was pedophilia.
Shortly after this meeting, the bishops commissioned a research on the matter from a professional group. The result was that 80 percent of the abuses were homosexual and 20 percent pedophilia. Adolescent boys and those a bit older were the main victims. I don’t think that adolescent boys should be classified as pedophilia victims. Why is this distinction important? Read on and you will see.
When I was in the seminary in the 1950s, homosexuals were not allowed in the seminary. Perhaps a few undiscovered homosexuals were ordained, but if they were discovered before Ordination, they were immediately dismissed. After the Vatican council which ended in 1965, many priests and sisters left the religious life. Vocations almost disappeared. I was on vocation work at that time and can give firsthand experiences of the difficulties. In the 1970s and 1980s, homosexuals were accepted into the seminaries. The reason for that is not quite clear. It seems that after the council there was a strong emphasis on equality, that homosexuals should not be excluded, and so they entered in droves.
When abuse cases began, it was thought that these men could be cured. They were sent to psychologists and psychiatrists for counseling and therapy. When they were pronounced cured, they reentered ministry, but were sent to a new parish for obvious reasons. The bishops in those days trusted the experts about the change brought about by the professionals, which was a big mistake.
The biggest mistake was allowing these men into the seminary in the first place. Regardless of the shortage of vocations, this was not the answer. For proof of what I am saying, refer to the book, Goodbye, Good Men by Michael Rose. Rose went around the U.S. visiting the seminaries and discovered that most of them were flooded with homosexuals. The title of the book refers to the fact that straight or conservative young men were often not accepted because, in Rose’s words, they were considered too rigid.
With this background, it is not difficult to understand why the scandals multiplied. If homosexuals are curable, history does not support this prognosis. And so in 2002 the bishops came down very hard on the abusers. If anyone was accused (even falsely) of abusing a young person, he was immediately suspended from active ministry. An investigation took place which often lasted months. Those who were innocent suffered greatly. It appeared that a person accused was guilty until proven innocent, instead of the other way around.
At the present time, the number of new abuse cases hardly exists. Every diocese has extremely strict rules to prevent this from happening. The abusers have been defrocked. Yet, the media and certain lawyers, like the one mentioned earlier, do not want the Church to be forgiven or to allow the people in general to think that the problem no longer exists.
Also there is a great deal of money involved, which makes the lawyers very rich and has even bankrupted some dioceses.
And so what is the conclusion to the above catastrophe? Did the Church make a big mistake in inviting the homosexuals into our seminaries? It certainly did. Is the Church paying the price? Yes it is. Have many Catholics left the Church because of scandals and the constant publicity? Yes they have.
However, there is one thing that should be remembered. The Catholic Church dates back to Jesus Christ who established it, and as St. Paul says in Eph. 5:25, Jesus loved the Church and gave up His life for the Church. He also promised to be with His Church all days until the end of time. Therefore, the Catholic Church is a divine institution.
Jesus said in Matt. 16 to Peter, the first Pope, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church [The name Peter means rock]. The gates of hell will not prevail against it.”
The words of Jesus are very strong indeed. Even though the Church is a divine institution, the problem is that it is run by us humans. The Church has been in great trouble before. Consider the time before the Council of Trent — it is certainly comparable to our times. So what should we do? Go back to the source. The Church is still a divine institution. The Lord and the Holy Spirit are still with it as promised. As the Second Vatican Council said in Lumen Gentium: “The Catholic Church is the universal sacrament of salvation.”
Do not be led astray by the media into thinking the Church is no longer relevant and not correcting itself. Salvation is with the Church. Look to the young men now being ordained who are a wonderful example of the turnaround. The Devil must take great pleasure in the numbers who have left. Come back for your own welfare and salvation. Please do not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
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