Church leaders must do more to fight abuse

The Venerable Cardinal John Henry Newman once observed that conscience has rights because it has duties. There is no greater example of the duty to follow conscience than that of Newman’s fellow Englishman, St. Thomas More. Thomas More lost his head when he refused to take an oath of allegiance pursuant to the Act of Succession passed by Parliament, which required every adult male in England to declare that King Henry VIII’s first marriage to Catherine of Aragon was void and that his second marriage to Anne Boleyn was valid. Failing to take the oath was an act of treason and More would not yield to the coercion of secular power: “... I shall neither be foresworn nor swear against my conscience.”

Thomas More was no ordinary Englishman. At the time the Act of Succession was passed by Parliament, and the Treason Act, which asserted the King’s supremacy over the Roman Catholic Church, More was the retired Lord Chancellor of England, the equivalent of the U.S. Attorney General. Indeed he was the first layman to hold this office, having succeeded Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who was ousted because of his pursuit of personal profit, his failure to reform abuses in the church, and most notably for failing to gain an annulment for Henry VIII from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Cardinal Wolsey should also be noted for taking a concubine, Joan Larke, and for fathering two children with her. Sadly, one might say that Cardinal Wolsey was, at times, off on a Larke.

With the recent release of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s grand jury report on clergy abuse, and the revelations about ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s abuse of a minor and violations of his vow of celibacy, there are renewed efforts in the Pennsylvania Legislature to revise the statute of limitations to allow victims of clergy abuse to have their day in court. The church hierarchy in Pennsylvania, and their insurers, have vigorously resisted efforts to toll the statute of limitations. There is certainly legal support for that position, especially a provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution that proscribes such ex post facto legislation.

However, there are many lay Catholics sitting in the pews who are questioning the collective moral conscience of the Pennsylvania bishops. The late 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge John T. Noonan, who was not only a Harvard-educated lawyer, but also held a doctoral degree from The Catholic University of America and was a prolific author on the interaction of Catholic moral doctrine and the law, stated that he was careful to judge actions and not to judge people, which really is an incorporation of Christ’s admonishment to hate the sin but love the sinner. But one might not be so sure when it comes to judging clergy. Despite the admonitions of Pope Francis to the contrary, we are judging. Many of us in the pews are concerned that the revelations concerning Theodore McCarrick are merely the tip of a very big iceberg. Is there more to come? Justice Louis Brandeis said that “sunlight is the best of disinfectants.” We need to see a lot of disinfectant, or else there will be a continuous exodus from the pews.

It is no small irony that Thomas More rejected the secular law while Pennsylvania’s hierarchy is hiding behind a law that unjustly protects it. The bishops and clergy in the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania would be wise to re-examine the example of Thomas More. Instead of fighting efforts to toll the statute of limitations, shouldn’t they be asking themselves “what would Christ do?” Shouldn’t they be unconcerned about protecting assets and rather be more concerned about trying to make the victims of sexual abuse whole? Shouldn’t they voluntarily lift the statute of limitations, with In this 2015 file photo, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick speaks during a memorial service in South Bend, Ind. McCarrick finds himself at the heart of new concerns about the leaders of the church and abuse allegations swirling around it.

or without their insurers?

So what if the church is bankrupted? The perception from the pews is that the hierarchy and clergy are morally bankrupt. The new evidence, from the grand jury and regarding Theodore McCarrick, is tragic and repulsive There are, to be sure, many good bishops and clergy. They need to stand up. Do the right thing. They need to demonstrate to Pennsylvania, and the world, that there is a higher law in play here. We are tired of the Wolseys. We simply demand More.

John Bateman is an attorney in Philadelphia. He resides in Media.