In Spirit and Truth Reading Roundup - July Edition
Welcome to the second edition of the new In Spirit and Truth Reading Roundup! (If you missed the first one, including my intro to this feature, you can find that here.)
There’s a lot to cover this month, so let’s jump right in!
(Don’t forget to sign up here if you want to catch next week’s Survivors’ Voices post, or choose a paid subscription if you want to support my work.)
The Big Stories
Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill resigned from his position as general secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, prompted by “impending media reports alleging possible improper behavior.” The Pillar de-anonymized data correlated to Burrill’s cell phone - which showed regular use of the hookup app Grindr - and contacted the USCCB with their findings. Catholic media has been buzzing with conversation about sexual misconduct, privacy concerns, journalistic ethics, and the precedent set by this situation. It’s a complicated issue and I have a LOT of thoughts, but I would encourage you to read a few perspectives and decide for yourself: Exposé that brought down USCCB official likely to have lasting fallout; Tabloids, scandal and spying: The U.S. Catholic Church has hit a new, dangerous low point; Some ethical questions about The Pillar’s Grindr exposé.
The Catholic Church in Poland announced that it has received 368 allegations of clerical abuse between July 2018 and December 2020. Poland, historically one of the most Catholic countries in the world, has been rocked by continuing revelations about abuse and cover up among prominent clerics.
An ongoing trial has unveiled the dark underside of the youth seminary in Vatican City, where a man who is now a priest is accused of using his position within the seminary to coerce and abuse a 13 year old boy while they were both students. Catholic media has been following the trial for a while, but the Washington Post released a new story this month that digs deeper into the complicated story - and the secrecy and scandal it reveals within the walls of the Vatican.
Robert McWilliams, a young priest of the Diocese of Cleveland, pled guilty to several sex crimes against minors, which involved soliciting sexually explicit images of children from his parish, engaging in sexual acts with minors, and using these photos and information to threaten minors with exposure. It’s an ugly, twisted story that raises questions about the changing face of child sexual abuse and exploitation in our online world.
Other Notable News
As terrible revelations from Canadian residential schools continue to make headlines, experts recognize that sexual abuse was often a part of the maltreatment at these facilities run by the Catholic Church throughout North America. Awake discussed this issue in a blog post back in March.
I don’t usually share news about local priests being accused or found guilty of abuse that happened before 2002. The sad reality is that I come across stories like this almost daily, and these individual stories hardly feel note-worthy anymore. However, I don’t want anyone to get the impression that these revelations have somehow ceased, so here’s a sampling of just a few from the past month: allegations against former bishop Edward Grosz of Buffalo; an announcement that accusations against the late bishop James Sullivan of Fargo, North Dakota were found credible; the addition of four priests’ names to the credibly-accused list in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia and 40 names to the list in Springfield, Massachusetts; charges of sexual assault brought against a priest of Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
More unusual is an allegation against a sitting bishop, in this case Bishop Peter Libasci of the Diocese of Manchester. I’m sure we’ll hear more about this case as the lawsuit unfolds.
A second installment of The Pillar’s reporting on app data has led to an investigation by the Archdiocese of Newark, where The Pillar is asking questions about the use of both heterosexual and homosexual hookup apps at more than 10 parish rectories.
A new nationwide survey offered an overview of how Catholics in the United States Catholics understand and have been impacted by the clergy abuse crisis. The results make clear that we still have a long way to go.
Going Deeper
In A Widow’s Hunt for the Priest Who Preyed on Her Husband, Jenny Grosvenor offers a poignant reflection on her journey to uncover information about her late husband’s abuse, in the years after he died by suicide. A long read, but highly recommended.
This reflection on abuse scandals in Protestant churches offers helpful insight that Catholics should consider as well - “It’s past time for the church to not just recognize human frailty in setting policies to prevent sexual misconduct, but also in setting policies to respond to abuse. [New policies should] put a fence around the human temptation to cover up abuse, enable abusers, and rationalize cowardice.”
This story about abuse survivor and devout Catholic Michael Vanderburgh was published in 2017, but it’s so in-depth and inspiring that I thought it was worth sharing here. (Note that Michael no longer works for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati; he now serves as the Executive Director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Dayton, Ohio.)
I know many Catholic abuse survivors who struggle with the way Saint Maria Goretti’s story is often used as a lesson on sexual purity. Mary Pezzulo has written on this topic several times, and her perspective is worth considering: For Those Who Hurt on This Miserable Feast; Purity, Victim-Blaming and Martyrs: What If We Told the Truth? (strong trigger warning on these pieces).
Worthwhile Videos
Anne Barret Doyle of Bishop Accountability offered a really excellent summary of national and global developments in the abuse crisis since 2018, as part of a conference at Notre Dame University. (Begin at 5:00 for her portion of the panel.)
Sr. Nuala Kenny explored of the dimensions of “Healing in a Wounded Church” with the wisdom and insight gained by decades of reflection on this topic, as well as her expertise as a medical doctor.
The Catholic Project provided a really valuable webinar called “Vos Estis: Two Years Later” with analysis of the application of the new church laws regarding sexual abuse which Pope Francis put in place in 2019. Worth a watch.
Thank you for reading. See you next time!
~ Sara