Give to Caesar what is Caeser's

by Kathryn Casey

Easter weekend, I wrote a letter to Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese after the Houston Chronicle ran excerpts from the Cardinal's letter supporting Pope Benedict XVI, basically dismissing as untrue allegations about the pope's actions regarding priests and the sexual abuse of children. I've decided to make this an open letter.

Dear Cardinal DiNardo:

This is a difficult time in the history of the Catholic Church, and a disturbing time for those of us who are Catholics. Current events have many of us questioning our dedication to a church that ignores its own ethics and edicts. As of late, the church appears less committed to justice, accountability, and protecting the innocent than to hiding its own sins.

While I love my faith, it is difficult to overemphasize the magnitude of my disgust at the actions of some of those who have ruled the Catholic Church. My anger has been building for quite some time, dating back to the first revelations of sexual abuse by priests, and examples of church leaders covering up rather than weeding out the offenders. We now know that this cancer which began in Rome metastasized, through not just the U.S., but Ireland, across Europe and perhaps the world.

My husband and I grew up Catholic, and we raised our children as Catholics. We sent our son to a Jesuit high school. We donate to our local parish. We attend mass. We look to church leaders to be strong and wise, fair and just.

There are many questions, however, about what happened while Pope Benedict XVI was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. The allegations include that he turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children, and that he protected offending priests instead of their innocent victims. And now we have what appears to be evidence that this is not merely speculation but may be true: documents that allegedly implicate the pope in the case of Rev. Michael Teta of Tucson, AZ., a priest a church tribunal found repeatedly molested children, even abusing two boys, a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old, in the confessional, as they prepared for their first communions. It’s charged that although the cardinal/future pope had the authority to act, the man now known as Pope Benedict XVI did nothing to stop Teta for a dozen years.

There are also documents raising questions in a Wisconsin case, where 200 boys were allegedly abused at a school for the deaf. There it's been charged that the cardinal/future pope halted an investigation into an accused priest.

This is wrong on so many levels, but perhaps the most basic one is that it was never the then-cardinal/now-pope’s decision to make. These priests were accused of criminal acts, illegal activities that fell under the authority of civil law enforcement. In Luke 20:25, Jesus says, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Although the quote refers to money, it works here as well. These acts didn't take place on Vatican soil, but in Tucson, Boston, Dublin, Rome and cities across the globe. Despite what it may tell itself, the church has never had the right to deprive civil law enforcement of fulfilling its duty to investigate and prosecute dangerous sexual predators.

The church would not be in the crisis it’s in today if it simply acknowledged its obligation to immediately turn criminal allegations over to civil authorities. In all such cases, the church hierarchy needs to refer criminal complaints to local law enforcement, instead of continuing the course church leaders have adhered to in the past: systematically aiding and abetting dangerous criminals, hiding their crimes and moving them to new locations where they claimed more victims.

Cardinal DiNardo (photo right), you are the spiritual leader of Catholics in my part of the world. Today in the Houston Chronicle, I read excerpts from your letter supporting the pope. You wrote: “recent headlines insinuating inaction or culpability by Pope Benedict XVI regarding the crisis are unfair or inaccurate. Any innuendo that he has not tried to tackle cases of sexual abuse by clergy is misleading and harmful to the church.”

Catholics disgusted with this situation are less concerned with preserving the status quo at the church than with holding those responsible accountable and preventing future abuses. Instead of asking Catholics to blindly accept that the pope is innocent of the allegations, why not call for an open investigation into what the pope knew when, and what actions he did and didn't take?

As Catholics, we deserve a church we can be proud of, one that does the right things, even in the most difficult situations. We deserve a church that lives what it preaches, including justice and compassion for the most vulnerable, our children.

Update: I'd recommend taking a look at this op/ed piece from the NYTimes: Maureen Dowd.