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Saturday May 16, 2009

From the New York Times

Ex-Archbishop Speaks About Catholic Church and Homosexuality
By Laurie Goodstein

In spring 2002, as the scandal over sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests was escalating, the long career of Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland of Milwaukee, one of the church’s most venerable voices for changes, went up in flames one May morning.

On the ABC program “Good Morning America,” the archbishop watched a man he had fallen in love with 23 years earlier say in an interview that the Milwaukee archdiocese had paid him $450,000 years before to keep quiet about his affair with the archbishop – an affair the man was now calling date rape.

The next day, the Vatican accepted Archbishop Weakland’s retirement.

Archbishop Weakland, who had been the intellectual touchstone for church reformers, has said little publicly since then. But now, in an interview and in a memoir scheduled for release next month, he is speaking out about how internal church politics affected his response to the fallout from his affair; how bishops and he Vatican cared more about the rights of abusive priests than about their victims; and why Catholic teaching on homosexuality is wrong.

“If we say our God is an all-loving God,” he said, “how do you explain that at any given time probably 400 million living on the planet at one time would be gay? Are the religions of the world, as does Catholicism, saying to those hundreds of millions of people, you have to pass your whole life without any physical, genital expression of that love?”

He said he had been aware of his homosexual orientation since he was a teenager and suppressed it until he became archbishop, when he had relationships with several men because of “loneliness that became very strong.”

Archbishop Weakland, 82, said he was probably the first bishop to come out of the closet voluntarily. He said he was doing so not to excuse his actions but to give an honest account of why it happened and to raise questions about the church’s teaching that homosexuality is “objectively disordered.”

“Those are bad words because they are pejorative,” he said.

Archbishop Weakland’s autobiography, “A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church” (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), covers his hardscrabble youth in Pennsylvania, his election as the worldwide leader of the Benedictine Order and his appointment by Pope Paul VI to the archbishop’s seat in Milwaukee, where he served for 25 years.

“He was one of the most gifted leaders in the post-Vatican II church in America,” said the Rev. Jim Martin, a Jesuit priest and associate editor of America, a Catholic magazine, “and certainly beloved by the left, and sadly that gave his critics more ammunition.”

In an interview of the Archbishop Weakland Center, which houses the archdiocesan cathedral offices in downtown Milwaukee, Archbishop Weakland said the church opened itself to change in the 1960s and ‘70s after the Second Vatican Council but became increasingly centralized and doctrinally rigid under Pope John Paul II.

Archbishop Weakland was among those who publicly questioned the need for a male-only celibate priesthood. He also led American bishops in a two-year process of writing a pastoral letter on economic justice, holding hearings on the subject across the country.

A later effort by the American bishops to issue a pastoral letter on women was quashed by the Vatican, he said, because the Vatican did not want to give the national bishops conferences the authority to issue sweeping teaching documents.

The archbishop said it was partly because of his strained relations with Pope John Paul II that he did not tell Vatican officials in 1997 when he was threatened with a lawsuit by Paul J. Marcoux, the man with whom he had a relationship nearly 20 years before and who had appeared on “Good Morning America.”

Mr. Marcoux said then that he had been deprived of income from marketing a project he called “Christodrama” because of Archbishop Weakland’s interference. Archbishop Weakland said he probably should have gone to Rome and explained that he had had a relationship with Mr. Marcoux, that he had ended it by writing an emotional letter that Mr. Marcoux still had and that the archbishop’s lawyers regarded Mr. Marcoux’s threats as blackmail.

But, the archbishop said, a highly placed friend in Rome advised him that church officials preferred that such things be hushed up, which is “The Roman way.”

“I suppose, also, being frank I wouldn’t have wanted to be labeled in Rome at that point as gay,” Archbishop Weakland said. “Rome is a little village.”

Asked if he had regrets about the $450,000 payment to Mr. Marcoux, he said, “I certainly worry about the sum.”

The morning in 2002 that Mr. Marcoux surfaced on national television, Archbishop Weakland said he phoned the pope’s representative, or apostolic nuncio, in Washington – Archbishop Montalvo – who, he said, told him, “Of course you are going to deny it.”

Archbishop Weakland said he told the nuncio that while he could deny emphatically that it was date rape, “I can’t deny that something happened between us.” (Archbishop Montalvo died in 2006.)

Archbishop Weakland is still pained that his scandal, involving a man in his 30s, became intertwined with the larger church scandal over child sexual abuse.

But at the time, many Catholics in Milwaukee said they were angrier about the secret settlement with Mr. Marcoux than with the sexual liaison.

Archbishop Weakland and the Milwaukee archdiocese are also the target of several lawsuits accusing them of failing to remove abusive priests, allowing more minors to be victimized.

In the interview, he blamed psychologists for advising bishops that perpetrators could be treated and returned to work, and he blamed the Vatican’s tribunals for spending years debating whether to remove abusers from the priesthood. In one case, he said the Vatican courts took so long deciding whether to defrock a priest who had abused dozens of deaf students that the priest died before a decision was reached.

“The concern was more about the priests than about the victims,” Archbishop Weakland said.

In Milwaukee, Peter Isely, the Midwest director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, aid Archbishop Weakland ultimately failed his people.

Mr. Isely pointed out that while Archbishop Weakland was waiting for the Vatican courts to defrock abusive priests, he allowed them to continue working in ministry without informing parishioners of their past. And he said the $450,000 payment was particularly galling to victims because many received “no compensation whatsoever.”

In June, Archbishop Weakland, who has been living in a Catholic retirement community since his resignation, is moving to St. Mary’s Abbey in Morristown, N.J., where he said he would be closer to his family in Pennsylvania and from old in the care of a community of Benedictine monks.

____________________

NY Times – May 27, 2009
Controversial Archbishop Abandons a Move to New Jersey
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, the former head of the Milwaukee Archdiocese who has stirred up new controversy with his soon-to-be-released memoir about his decades in church leadership, his homosexual orientation and the scandal that forced his retirement, said on Tuesday that he had decided not to retire to St. Mary’s Abbey in Morristown, N.J.

Archbishop Weakland had been the worldwide leader of the Benedictine Order and then archbishop of Milwaukee for 25 years until 2002, when he resigned amid revelations that he had used church money to pay a $450,000 settlement to a man with whom he had had a relationship years earlier.

The archbishop, who is 82 and now living in a retirement community in Milwaukee, had been invited by the monks in Morristown to live out his days in their abbey. But, he said in an interview Tuesday, “they were getting very worried about the situation because of what they thought would be negative publicity. So I withdrew my desire to go there.”

The Benedictine monks at St. Mary’s Abbey administer the adjacent Delbarton School, a Roman Catholic preparatory school for boys, where last year’s tuition was nearly $25,000. Archbishop Weakland said he had been told that the school was in the middle of a fund-raising campaign and that there was concern from lay people on its board about his retiring at the abbey.

The Rev. Giles Hayes, the abbot, said on Tuesday no one at the asked or pressured Archbishop Weakland not to come.

“He’s a real gentleman,” Abbot Hayes said, “and he wouldn’t have wanted to hurt us.”

A trustee, Thomas J. Walsh, said he had heard of no pressure from board members or parents to withdraw the invitation.

The archbishop said he planned to stay in his retirement community but move from a house into an apartment building where he would have “a bit more protection” from the weather and the television cameras.”

_________________

Commentary / Interview with Harvey:

Harvey: Father Lasch, it has been many months since we have spoken about the clergy sexual abuse scandal. Do you feel somewhat vindicated by the publicity surrounding Archbishop Weakland’s revelations and the impending publication of his memoirs?

Fr. Lasch: Indeed, I do. There were no surprises in his revelations. The only thing that surprised me was the fact that his orientation was not more widely known within the American hierarchy and certainly among the priests of his diocese prior to the disclosure by Mr. Marcoux.

Harvey: Do you really think his priests knew?

Fr. Lasch: Don’t be naïve, Harvey. Of course some, perhaps many had to know. Believe me, there is not much the clergy doesn’t know about who’s doing what with whom.

Harvey: How to you feel about his explanation for not coming out sooner, for agreeing to settle with Mr. Marcoux and for keeping silent for so long?

Fr. Lasch: I have very mixed feelings. I have to assume that despite his liberal leanings, Archbishop Weakland was deeply ‘immesched’ in the clerical system and culture. It is possible that his denial was so deep that it blinded him to the moral turpitude into which he had fallen. The clerical culture is like any sub-culture within a society. For example, it is impossible for Americans to understand what motivates the Taliban or Al Quaeda suicide terrorists to blow themselves up in order to murder innocent people.

Harvey: Are you comparing the archbishop to a suicide terrorist?

Fr. Lasch: No, not at all. I had to use an extreme example to explain extreme denial. The point is that Weakland actually convinced himself that he was justified in his actions.

Harvey: Would you say that the apostolic nuncio and other church officials were in a similar denial?

Fr. Lasch: No, not at all. They were complicit in the evil of a cover-up. There is no excuse whatsoever for their complicity.

Harvey: So do you excuse Archbishop Weakland?

Fr. Lasch: No, I can’t excuse him but I do praise him for at least being honest at this late hour in his life. I think his conscience must have troubled him to the extent that if he kept quiet any longer, he would never be able to make his peace with God.

Harvey: Does this explain his own complicity in allowing priests who were accused of sexual abuse to continue in ministry while Rome investigated and processed the allegations?

Fr. Lasch: It explains it but does not justify it. As if you didn’t already know this, but the Vatican abides by its own law, not by the law of the land of any other sovereign nation. Notwithstanding the Dallas Charter and Procedural Norms, church law favors clerical perpetrators. I am involved in a case that has been pending for over six years while the victim languishes in no man’s land.

Harvey: Didn’t the Holy Father’s words during his visit to the USA promise that things would be different?

Fr. Lasch: The words of the Holy Father were empty and even if they were not, the power of the curia is still stronger than the Pope’s promises. Believe me. I have written numerous times to the present Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, in Washington, and to Cardinal Re, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Clergy in Rome, and through the courtesy of a personal contact, hand delivered a package to Cardinal Levada, successor to Pope Benedict as the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and never received the courtesy of a reply.

Harvey: So, where do we go from here?

Fr. Lasch: As I have stated on numerous occasions, nothing more will be done until Catholics in the pew shed their own denial about clergy abuse and the sexual abuse of vulnerable adults by certain dysfunctional clergy.

Harvey: By the way, have you ever met Archbishop Weakland?

Fr. Lasch: Yes. Several years ago while he was on sabbatical and residing at St. Mary’s Abbey in Morristown, a parishioner from St. Joseph in Mendham, whose sister was one of Weakland’s secretaries in Milwaukee, invited me to join them for dinner at Pierre’s Restaurant. The secretary insisted that Weakland make himself available for dinner with her sister and her husband. They invited me because they thought I might welcome the invitation to dine with this then forward looking, post Vatican II archbishop.

Harvey: How did it go?

Fr. Lasch: It was not a particularly memorable evening. The archbishop seemed to be fulfilling an obligation and to be honest, I felt a bit uncomfortable.

Harvey: Do you have any other comments?

Fr. Lasch: Well, I’d like to think that the archbishop’s memoirs will go into more detail about his life and the reasons for his letting his people down. And perhaps it will open the eyes of Catholics to the truth of what has gone on behind closed doors for years and demand greater accountability from the bishops of this country.

In a recent conversation with a colleague, the point was made that the number of baptisms are down as are the number of church weddings and funerals. What does that say? One statistic indicates that, notwithstanding the increasing number of Latinos in the United States, the number of people leaving the Catholic Church is on the rise and comes close to a net decline in the Catholic population.

As Father Tom Riesel, SJ, former editor of American magazine stated in a recent memo, the bishops are not listening.

Our tradition is rich and still holds the key to a fulfilling life in Christ but the church must come to grips with the issues of the day not the least of which are optional celibacy for clergy, the ordination of women and homosexuality.

In my homily for this Sunday (6th Sunday of Easter) I made reference to the adaptability of the Church of the Acts of the Apostles. In the words of St. Augustine, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; in all things, charity.”

Amen. Let it be so!

_________________

And this from a ‘friendly’ visitor to my website:

And this from a friendly visitor to my website:

Interesting article and comments. This was a very unfortunate event as a ‘moment’ of indiscretion and weakness overcame him as it does to so many people in life. As usual, the bad news overshadows the good and gracious news about his life’s work. Sex stories are easy and interesting.
I had read at the time that he reimbursed the diocese for the settlement by transferring book royalties as payment, but this was not reported in recent articles.

Gays are the new lepers of our age. When I was a child, we used to call the homeless and street alcoholics, ‘bums’ Divorced were ostracized and rejected at the altar. Nuns and priests who left their vocations were disgraced and whispered about like my sister was after 20 years of faithful service. Homosexuals were just aberrations, but today there are acting out their perversions and need spiritual rehabilitation. But Jesus and Mom never said it would be easy.

Benedict XVI has empowered the conservatives in our church and the consequences are more evident all the time. This was at the foundation of the insulting treatment of the President at Notre Dame and the weeks prior. I find most to be Republican conservatives (a history of Catholic Church hierarchy), so assailing a Democrat who is black and disrespected is easy.

They are becoming more vocal, without compromise or even willingness for dialogue. But so is our culture as evidenced by Rush and the cable news shows. Incivility has become the norm. ‘Our way or the highway’ is their creed. In a recent homily at a local church, the priest extolled the congregation to “just listen and do what the church tells you to do, and God will do the rest”. Their response was “Amen”. They equate Church tradition and fundamentalism with salvation and the Gospel.

The local diocesan newspaper published an article rejecting woman’s ordination saying that while Jesus defended and supported woman, He had the courage to resist including them as apostles and at the last supper (they were cooking and serving) for the specific reason of denying ordination. It went on to say that the Apostles and early leaders had to eradicate this problem of woman celebrating the Eucharist. No wonder the doors are slamming behind them.

Where did the second great commandment go? We have our own Taliban, they just happen to be Roman.

A friendly visitor

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