CARDINAL SIN – ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive…’

‘criminal abuse,  denial, payoff and coverup that resonates around the world’.  Globe reporters eventually confirmed that 70 ‘out of court’ settlements had  been made previously which barred catholic victims and their families from ever talking. Even more shocking than the abuse by priests was that bishops and cardinals knew and engaged in a sustained cover up. ‘We had letters from parents, letters to and from priests and masses of internal church documents showing abusive priests being repeatedly moved rather than reported to the authorities.‘ 

The case highlighted systemic pedophile abuse within the church, within 2 years Cardinal Law was forced to resign as 150 priests stood accused with more than 500 victims filing abuse claims. During this period more than 450 priests and 4 bishops resigned across the US as the flood gates  opened. Those silenced for years  came forward, revealing a global strategy  of avoiding and denying allegations of sexual abuse by clergy in order to protect the church rather than the victims. Following his resignation Cardinal Law found a haven in Rome  where he retained power and influence for the following 13 years. He was appointed archpriest of the prestigious Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore until retiring at the age of 80 in 2011, his death occurred in 2017. In 2016 the film SPOTLIGHT told the story of the investigation revealed by the Boston journalists and was  nominated for 6 Oscars, winning 2, further encouraging the global disclosures which continue to rock the catholic church.

PHILADELPHIA:  The District Attorney  announced on September 21, 2005,  that Cardinal Krol (left) and his successor Cardinal Bevilacqua (below) had been  involved in a  cover up  of priests accused of the sexual abuse of children throughout the archdiocese.  Bevalaqua had already been forced to step down in 2003 after 15 years as archbishop.  In 2012 a second  Grand Jury trial reported extensive new charges against priests accused of sexual abuse.The grand jury decided “reluctantly” not to press charges against Cardinal Bevilacqua, due to his health problems. Bevalaqua died days before the trial in which Msgr. William Lynn, as Secretary of Clergy for the archdiocese, was found guilty of concealing the crimes of accused priests and of putting them in positions in which they could harm more children. The Rev. Edward Avery, 68, and the Rev. Charles Engelhard, 64, were  found guilty of the rape and indecent assault of a 10-year-old boy in St. Jerome Parish in 1998 and 1999. A  teacher, Bernard Shero, 48, was accused of assaulting the same boy in 2000. The District Attorney report named 63 priests who had abused children over the previous 50 years and surmised a further 100  more had been concealed. Msgr Lynn and his attorney blamed Cardinal Bevilacqua and other superiors for quashing his efforts to address claimants cases. In 1994  Lynn had prepared a list that named 35 accused priests still on duty in the five-county archdioceseBevilacqua who was both a civil and canon lawyer then ordered that the list be shredded, although a copy survived.   A secret archive of church files detailing misconduct by priests, proved the cover up was systemic and prolonged. Thousands of confidential church records, many of which had been locked away ‘under seal’ listed years of abuse complaints against named priests. In 1996 Bishop Joseph R. Cistone had been involved with silencing a nun who tried to alert superiors while Cardinal Rigali staunchly defended the actions of his two predecessors Krol and Bevilacqua. The church hierarchy in America has since  made attempts at greater transparency however resistance remains with  some bishops citing the First Amendment in an effort to keep church documents secret.

AUSTRIACardinal Groër Archbishop of Vienna resigned in 1995 following allegations of child abuse by a number of his students and some monks. The church is alleged to have offered  former pupils compensation in return for agreeing not to repeat their charges against Groër.  When further allegations emerged Groër withdrew from public life but continued to work as a confessor in women’s monasteries, where he received visitors and said Mass. Groër continued to deny the allegations until his death in 2003. Cardinal Schönborn his successor said in 2010 that Cardinal Ratzinger (later pope Benedict XV1) who was serving as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, had attempted to convince Pope John Paul II to initiate the investigation but also stated  that Cardinal Angelo Sodarno had blocked his attempt.  

ITALY: Cardinal Angelo Sodarno  has served as Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2005. He was Cardinal Secretary of State from 1991 to 2006, under popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.  Sodarno protected Msgr Marcel Maciel the disgraced founder of The Legionaries of Christ. Maciel led a double life, fathering at least 6 children, one of whom accused him of rape and serious sexual abuse over a decade.The order was the  most financially successful catholic Order which at its height is believed to have had an annual budget of $650 million (€558.8m) and assets of approximately $1 billion. Maciel was known for using strategic “donations” to senior figures in the Vatican to secure a favoured position there, which he in turn used when targeting rich donors in Mexico and around the world. His Vatican connections are believed to have helped him over the years as he resisted allegations of sexual abuse. Cardinal Sodarno has been accused of taking substantial amounts of money in return for helping the Legion ingratiate itself with the Vatican.  

When ex-Legion victims including respectable academics and former priests filed a case against Maciel  with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1998 the lawsuit claimed the Vatican and the presiding Pope (John Paul ll)  “engaged in a conspiracy to conceal their knowledge of Maciel’s serial delicts, including the repeated sexual abuse of children.” from the 1950’s until 2002. A few days before John Paul II died, cardinal Ratzinger announced his intention of removing “filth” from the Church; many believed he was referring specifically to Msgr Maciel. Cardinal Sodarno pressured Ratzinger, then the congregation’s prefect, to halt the proceedings which then stalled. The following year it was announced that  the Vatican declined to put Maciel on trial, citing his age and failing health. Following the death of John Paul ll, Ratzinger, now pope Benedeict XV1 reopened the investigation in 2006 and Maciel was denounced and requested to withdraw from active ministry.

The case exposed shocking flaws in the Vatican and the papacy providing a rare view of the flow of money in the Roman Curia across the last half century and Cardinal Sodarno’s influence on John Paul’s denial and Benedict’s soft-glove approach to punishment. April 2010: At the papal Easter Sunday Mass Cardinal Sodarno addressed Pope Benedict warmly, saying the Church would not be intimidated by “petty gossip” about sexual abuse of children by priests. When  Benedict resigned it was Sodarno who summoned the cardinals for the Vatican conclave to elect a new pope and Sodarno who presented the Ring of the Fisherman to pope Francis.

AUSTRALIA: Cardinal George Pell, considered the third-ranking official in the Catholic Church, was appointed Vatican treasurer by the newly elected pope Francis in his stated efforts to clean up the corruption scandal in the Vatican bank. The previous head of the Vatican Bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was sacked amid claims of power struggles and corruption within the Holy See which have been linked to the leaking of sensitive documents belonging to Pope Benedict XVI.  In 1917 cardinal Pell was  charged with ‘multiple historical sexual assaults’ which he denies. Pope Francis has  granted leave to allow him to return to Australia for proceedings.  Pell is the most senior member of the Catholic Church to be involved in the global pedophilia scandal involving Catholic clergy, his Vatican office dismissed the charges as an attack on the church and having ‘a more sinister intent‘ issuing the following statement on January 15:  “Those opposed to the reforms and threatened by the progress in establishing transparency and addressing illegalities and malpractice have long used lies, smears and public attacks as diversionary tactics.”  a comment which might accurately describe the church response concerning historical sexual abuse by priests. Cardinal Pell’s Vatican appointment was made after the first allegations of sexual abuse against him in his native Australia. 

Follow this seriesLetters to Priests The purpose  is to raise awareness of institutional clerical sexual abuse and to remember the survivors and the many dedicated, courageous catholic priests who continue to serve their communities.