The recent comments made by NH GOP leader D.J. Bettencourt describing Bishop John McCormack as "A pedophile pimp" who "should have been led from the statehouse in handcuffs under a raincoat" have been called both offensive and shocking.
I find the only thing offensive and shocking are the people who are coming to the defense of Bishop John McCormack. As two of the hundreds of survivors of clergy sexual abuse whose childhoods would have been dramatically different had it not been for both the actions and inaction of John McCormack, we invite anyone thinking of defending this man to simply look at the countless public documents available about the long history of John McCormack.
To attack a politician who is simply speaking the truth is the only thing offensive and shocking. At the resignation of Cardinal Law in 2003, I spoke the following words " For every damming document we've seen with name Bernard Law, I've seen a hundred with the name Father John McCormack".
The truth is the truth, and the facts are the facts. Like NH GOP Leader D.J. Bettencourt, we too stand by our statement made in 2003. Thank you Mr. Bettencourt, it's about time an elected official had the courage to quote the facts and speak the truth.
It seems as though the eyes of the world, and politicians may finally be openning!
Gary.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Friday, October 22, 2010
A few questions...
Hello Blog. Yes it's been awhile. I'm back...
Yesterday for the first time in decades, I attended mass. My only brother in law David, passed away on Sunday after his third battle with Cancer. It had been a long time since I sat through a mass for something with such a personal meaning. 3 days before David passed, he said that he always wanted to be a Catholic. It struck me that someone like David would have thought about something like this. Not because he was a bad guy, but because David was alway's one of the good guys. He was one of those guys who never said a cross word about anyone, and never had a cross word said about him. One of the truly good guys, which is a rarity in this world. 3 day's ago, surrounded by his extended family,in his home, he was baptized, confirmed, and received communion for the first time. I was struck by how much this meant to him and how proud he was of it.
Yesterday, sitting in that pew, I was in awe by the amount of people who were sitting there with me to share their memories of David. I saw, felt and understood the powerful meaning of the community that I briefly shared with them. The thought that kept coming to my mind was: how could a church, that is capable of showing so much compassion, have caused so much pain to so many people? The only thought that followed that was the question: It's their Church, Why didn't they take it back?
In less than a week, I'll be heading to Rome, for Reformation day. (www.survivorsvoice.org) I doubt that I'll find the answer to my questions there. I think its more important than ever to continue to ask the right questions. Hopefully when people start asking the right questions, the right answers will come. In less than a week, I'm going to be asking a few questions in Rome. The last time I was there asking questions in 2003, there were only 3 of us. Rumor has it that this time, there will be a few more than 3. Wish me luck. G.
Yesterday for the first time in decades, I attended mass. My only brother in law David, passed away on Sunday after his third battle with Cancer. It had been a long time since I sat through a mass for something with such a personal meaning. 3 days before David passed, he said that he always wanted to be a Catholic. It struck me that someone like David would have thought about something like this. Not because he was a bad guy, but because David was alway's one of the good guys. He was one of those guys who never said a cross word about anyone, and never had a cross word said about him. One of the truly good guys, which is a rarity in this world. 3 day's ago, surrounded by his extended family,in his home, he was baptized, confirmed, and received communion for the first time. I was struck by how much this meant to him and how proud he was of it.
Yesterday, sitting in that pew, I was in awe by the amount of people who were sitting there with me to share their memories of David. I saw, felt and understood the powerful meaning of the community that I briefly shared with them. The thought that kept coming to my mind was: how could a church, that is capable of showing so much compassion, have caused so much pain to so many people? The only thought that followed that was the question: It's their Church, Why didn't they take it back?
In less than a week, I'll be heading to Rome, for Reformation day. (www.survivorsvoice.org) I doubt that I'll find the answer to my questions there. I think its more important than ever to continue to ask the right questions. Hopefully when people start asking the right questions, the right answers will come. In less than a week, I'm going to be asking a few questions in Rome. The last time I was there asking questions in 2003, there were only 3 of us. Rumor has it that this time, there will be a few more than 3. Wish me luck. G.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Dialog...
Recently I was involved in a tense discussion with someone. We were on somewhat opposite sides in discussing how to deal with situation. At one point the statement was made “You don’t have a doctorate in psychology so…” While that statement is 100% correct, it had no bearing, no merit & served no purpose in solving the problem we were discussing. The person who said it was going into defense mode and the substance of what we were discussing became lost. The conversation turned personal.
If I actually did have a doctorate in psychology, a person in this kind of situation would simply have said “Just because you have a Doctorate in psychology doesn’t mean…”
More often than not, I’m finding myself asking the question, what happened to open dialog? I see it, watch it & hear it happening daily, intense, important conversations that need to be had, disintegrating into meaningless nothing. It seems like the more important the topic, the more personal the comments become. People become so embroiled in winning at all cost, that they forget what the point of the conversation actually was.
It’s the cause of the political divisiveness our country is in and it has become a part of our culture. We get so caught up in the ‘How’, that we forget about the ‘Why’
I watched it happen almost a decade ago as the clergy abuse crisis evolved in Boston. People couldn’t understand how I could sit in a room with someone who I was total at total opposite ends with. It was insulting to them that I’d even consider it. I see it happening today as the clergy abuse scandal continues to unfold.
I don’t have to agree with a person, to sit and have a discussion with them about what needs to be done. Honestly, I’d rather sit and have an intense discussion with someone I may disagree with, than sit in a room full of people that simply nod their heads. Open dialog about tough topics are the only way that progress can be made. General protests and protestors have their value. Anger has its value. It seems like we’ve forgotten that open direct dialog has a value as well. You don’t have to like a person to sit across a table from them, open up dialog & get something accomplished. Kennedy found that out with Khrushchev, Regan found it out with Gorbachev.
As a survivor, for over a decade I’ve tried to raise the awareness of an ugly subject and bring about positive change. Open, direct, engaging & constructive dialog is the one thing that is going to continue to move this football down the field. I’m choosing to do that, instead of watching from the sidelines or sitting on the bleachers and shouting. It was my choice a decade ago, it’s my choice today.
GMB.
If I actually did have a doctorate in psychology, a person in this kind of situation would simply have said “Just because you have a Doctorate in psychology doesn’t mean…”
More often than not, I’m finding myself asking the question, what happened to open dialog? I see it, watch it & hear it happening daily, intense, important conversations that need to be had, disintegrating into meaningless nothing. It seems like the more important the topic, the more personal the comments become. People become so embroiled in winning at all cost, that they forget what the point of the conversation actually was.
It’s the cause of the political divisiveness our country is in and it has become a part of our culture. We get so caught up in the ‘How’, that we forget about the ‘Why’
I watched it happen almost a decade ago as the clergy abuse crisis evolved in Boston. People couldn’t understand how I could sit in a room with someone who I was total at total opposite ends with. It was insulting to them that I’d even consider it. I see it happening today as the clergy abuse scandal continues to unfold.
I don’t have to agree with a person, to sit and have a discussion with them about what needs to be done. Honestly, I’d rather sit and have an intense discussion with someone I may disagree with, than sit in a room full of people that simply nod their heads. Open dialog about tough topics are the only way that progress can be made. General protests and protestors have their value. Anger has its value. It seems like we’ve forgotten that open direct dialog has a value as well. You don’t have to like a person to sit across a table from them, open up dialog & get something accomplished. Kennedy found that out with Khrushchev, Regan found it out with Gorbachev.
As a survivor, for over a decade I’ve tried to raise the awareness of an ugly subject and bring about positive change. Open, direct, engaging & constructive dialog is the one thing that is going to continue to move this football down the field. I’m choosing to do that, instead of watching from the sidelines or sitting on the bleachers and shouting. It was my choice a decade ago, it’s my choice today.
GMB.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Its Time To Change Direction.
It is time to change the direction of the conversations making the rounds surrounding the childhood clergy abuse scandal that continues to drown Pope Benedict. As a survivor, the conversations today are a vague reminder, almost a déjà vu type feeling, of what it was like in Boston almost a decade ago.
At that time, it seemed like the only thing everyone wanted to know, was “Who knew what, when?”…and the only forward moving train of thought seemed to be “Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law should step down”.
I understood where that anger came from then, just as I understand where the anger comes from now. Anger serves a purpose; It’s an internal rallying cry that can bring people together in a worthwhile cause. Nothing is more worthwhile than the protection of children from the life long struggles that sexual abuse at an early age can bring. If nothing else, that is the one thing I get. I’ve known anger. At many points in my life we were on a first name basis. At times, I know it today.
While anger may get you there, what anger doesn’t do is get you any further. In a lot of ways, anger is like that Chinese food. It tastes great when you’re eating it. You’re full when you’re finished eating. The only problem is that an hour later, you’re usually hungrier than you were before you ate.
When the rallying cry in Boston 10 years ago was for then Archbishop Cardinal Law to step down, yes I was angry. However I no more wanted him to step down then, than I want Pope Benedict to step down now. Cardinal Law stepping down only momentarily defused the tension. Once that was done, the general publics sentiment was “Ok that’s done, nice job, its over”. Or so they thought. Yet here we are, almost a decade later, angry again, and in some cases calling for the resignation of another leader.
As a child, we’re taught that quitting doesn’t solve anything, you don’t get to quit just because it’s hard. Yet as adults more often than not, we advocate leaders in tough situations to quit, we push them out. What that solves, I’m not really sure.
10 years ago I advocated for Cardinal Law “To stay and clean up this mess. Once it’s cleaned up, he can go where he pleases”. Had he not resigned, Cardinal Law would probably still be cleaning up today. Today though, he would have had walked year after year in the shoes of survivors, their families and the damage caused in their lives by childhood sexual abuse by his clergy. My hope was to turn this former civil rights leader, into an advocate for change and protection. Maybe I was actually being what I was called “Hopelessly optimistic”. Or maybe in doing what Catholics use to call penance, after a few years he would have had a better understanding of his failure and it’s results and have a better idea on it’s prevention.
The simple facts are that in recent years, the survivor community has been able to get more accomplished with the current pope, than with any other church leader in the last 50 years. He has met with survivors and has agreed to meet with more. He has made more positive statements for survivors than any other Pope before him. He has used the words crime and criminal. He has issued written apologies to survivors and their families. New policies have been adopted by catholic schools around the country in the United States. Enough? No, not even close. Perfect? No, not even remotely close, but in my life I’ve learned that it’s about “Progress, not perfection”. Simply put, we have made progress. The call for his resignation will only temporarily deflate the situation, not solve it. Calls for him to resign leads to the questions of who will replace him. The only person that may be perfect enough for the current situation who could probably please everyone no longer walks on this earth.
We need to change the direction of the rhetorical conversations that are being played out over and over again. We need to stop asking the question “Who knew what when” It’s become rhetorical. “Who knew what & when did they know it?” was the question that my generation asked. It was answered as survivors like my self started telling our stories.
“What are we now going to do about it?” is the question that I need answered so that I know my son, my grandson won’t have a story like mine to tell.
“Who knew what & when did they know it?” Here’s the simple answer. Too many people of power in the Catholic Church knew too much to deny it today and yet did nothing for far too long.
The conversation now has needs to be “What are we going to do about it”. It needs to be asked over, and over and over again. When that question starts to be asked, the answers will set a benchmark. The defenses used in answering “Who knew what when?” can’t be used once the question of “What are we now going to do about it” starts getting asked and answered.
I have read that Pope Benedicts, as a Cardinal, had a nick name, “The Bulldog”. We need to start asking the bulldog the right question. In answering that question, through his own words, a benchmark will be set. Given the opportunity, I would ask him myself.
I can’t speak for everyone else. As for me, I’m not going back for the Chinese food. I’ve had my fill.
GMB.
At that time, it seemed like the only thing everyone wanted to know, was “Who knew what, when?”…and the only forward moving train of thought seemed to be “Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law should step down”.
I understood where that anger came from then, just as I understand where the anger comes from now. Anger serves a purpose; It’s an internal rallying cry that can bring people together in a worthwhile cause. Nothing is more worthwhile than the protection of children from the life long struggles that sexual abuse at an early age can bring. If nothing else, that is the one thing I get. I’ve known anger. At many points in my life we were on a first name basis. At times, I know it today.
While anger may get you there, what anger doesn’t do is get you any further. In a lot of ways, anger is like that Chinese food. It tastes great when you’re eating it. You’re full when you’re finished eating. The only problem is that an hour later, you’re usually hungrier than you were before you ate.
When the rallying cry in Boston 10 years ago was for then Archbishop Cardinal Law to step down, yes I was angry. However I no more wanted him to step down then, than I want Pope Benedict to step down now. Cardinal Law stepping down only momentarily defused the tension. Once that was done, the general publics sentiment was “Ok that’s done, nice job, its over”. Or so they thought. Yet here we are, almost a decade later, angry again, and in some cases calling for the resignation of another leader.
As a child, we’re taught that quitting doesn’t solve anything, you don’t get to quit just because it’s hard. Yet as adults more often than not, we advocate leaders in tough situations to quit, we push them out. What that solves, I’m not really sure.
10 years ago I advocated for Cardinal Law “To stay and clean up this mess. Once it’s cleaned up, he can go where he pleases”. Had he not resigned, Cardinal Law would probably still be cleaning up today. Today though, he would have had walked year after year in the shoes of survivors, their families and the damage caused in their lives by childhood sexual abuse by his clergy. My hope was to turn this former civil rights leader, into an advocate for change and protection. Maybe I was actually being what I was called “Hopelessly optimistic”. Or maybe in doing what Catholics use to call penance, after a few years he would have had a better understanding of his failure and it’s results and have a better idea on it’s prevention.
The simple facts are that in recent years, the survivor community has been able to get more accomplished with the current pope, than with any other church leader in the last 50 years. He has met with survivors and has agreed to meet with more. He has made more positive statements for survivors than any other Pope before him. He has used the words crime and criminal. He has issued written apologies to survivors and their families. New policies have been adopted by catholic schools around the country in the United States. Enough? No, not even close. Perfect? No, not even remotely close, but in my life I’ve learned that it’s about “Progress, not perfection”. Simply put, we have made progress. The call for his resignation will only temporarily deflate the situation, not solve it. Calls for him to resign leads to the questions of who will replace him. The only person that may be perfect enough for the current situation who could probably please everyone no longer walks on this earth.
We need to change the direction of the rhetorical conversations that are being played out over and over again. We need to stop asking the question “Who knew what when” It’s become rhetorical. “Who knew what & when did they know it?” was the question that my generation asked. It was answered as survivors like my self started telling our stories.
“What are we now going to do about it?” is the question that I need answered so that I know my son, my grandson won’t have a story like mine to tell.
“Who knew what & when did they know it?” Here’s the simple answer. Too many people of power in the Catholic Church knew too much to deny it today and yet did nothing for far too long.
The conversation now has needs to be “What are we going to do about it”. It needs to be asked over, and over and over again. When that question starts to be asked, the answers will set a benchmark. The defenses used in answering “Who knew what when?” can’t be used once the question of “What are we now going to do about it” starts getting asked and answered.
I have read that Pope Benedicts, as a Cardinal, had a nick name, “The Bulldog”. We need to start asking the bulldog the right question. In answering that question, through his own words, a benchmark will be set. Given the opportunity, I would ask him myself.
I can’t speak for everyone else. As for me, I’m not going back for the Chinese food. I’ve had my fill.
GMB.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Coming Soon: Finding Peace
Set to pick up where "Don’t Call Me A Victim”, left off, Finding Peace; One Man's Journey is my path to peace, coming to terms with my past and moving on. I have never thought of myself as a crusader and perhaps I am a passive one at best but continuing to address sexual abuse issues within the church and helping others find the same peace I have come to know is and always will be a goal of mine.
Writing has been a journey of healing for me.
Tentative Release Date: October 2010
Don't Call Me a Victim by Gary Bergeron
Don't Call Me a Victim is written by Gary Bergeron and published by Arc Angel Publishing. It is a book about faith, hope and sexual abuse in the catholic church.
From his childhood years as a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of one of Boston's most notorious priest's Rev. Joseph Birmingham, to his emergence as a leading spokesperson, this book details Bergeron's private meetings with church officials and his inside knowledge of the largest lawsuit ever filed against the Catholic Church. This first hand account of an insiders road from victim to survivor is truly inspiring. Don't Call Me A Victim, Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, allows its readers to walk in his shoes.
To purchase a copy of the book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0975899341/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1270494504&sr=8-1&condition=new
Amazon reader comments:
By Fr. Patrick McCafferty "Fr Paddy McCafferty" (Belfast, Ireland)
This review is from: Don't Call Me a Victim (Hardcover)
"Don't Call Me A Victim: Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse In The Catholic Church" is a truly remarkable book. It is a profoundly moving testimony. Reading it was a deeply affecting experience.
One can only be full of deep admiration for Gary Bergeron, his brother, his fellow survivors - Olan Horne, Bernie McDaid - and all the others.
I am a Catholic priest from Belfast in the north of Ireland. I also was sexually abused as a child beginning at age four by a child-minder. It marked me deeply as a child - plunging me into a world of fear and terror. I was also trying to grow up in the midst of the terrible violence that was a feature of daily life in Northern Ireland until quite recently.
To compound the trauma I suffered at such a tender age, I was also sexually assaulted on numerous occasions by a priest when I was a young student for the priesthood. This man used force and psychological manipulation to attack me. I felt helpless and that I was to blame - that I would have been the one in trouble - victims of sexual predators will know the deal and how we are made to feel.
All these accumulated experiences had horrific consequences for me. I couldn't sleep without the most awful nightmares. I couldn't eat without being sick almost immediately afterwards. I was self-harming with knives, etc. I suffered panic attacks and so on. I was eventually diagnosed as suffering from PTSD.
A great depth of thanks to Gary Bergeron for this amazing book, for sharing his courageous journey with us. When I was reading it, so many powerful emotions were surfacing - grief and tears, rage against the institutional Church, deep sorrow and distress at all that Gary and so many other innocents had to endure - I could go on.
Thanks to Gary and all the others for taking such a courageous stand against the powerful institution of the Catholic Church - too much of which has betrayed and abandoned Jesus Christ Himself - in the person of the children who suffered so horrendously at the hands of some of the very people - who were supposed to minister in Jesus' Name.
I too think often of the ones who never made it and who died as a result of the consequences - the injuries inflicted upon their hearts, souls, minds, bodies and spirits.
As a priest, I too have taken a very strong public stand on the issue of sexual abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults by clergy. As Gary Bergeron puts it so well on p.277 of his book: "...you could be on the outside of the Church doors and when they are closed, no one inside hears you. Or you could sit inside, in their home, where they have to look at you, and they can't ignore you".
That what I'm doing - I'm staying in the Church because of Jesus Christ and to do whatever little I can to help heal my fellow human beings who suffered the crime and tragedy of being abused, as well as to heal the Church itself.
I really hope that Gary Bergeron and his friends are now doing well. I wish them much peace and continued healing on their own journey of life. How delightful to hear about the Harley Davidson and I'm sure everyone wishes Gary much joy and safe traveling as he rides around New England with the wind in his face and the sun on his back!
God bless him. His books gives hope. I trust that those who read it - especially those who suffered the horror of sexual abuse when they were children and young people - will be greatly encouraged and strenghthened.
5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Call Me A Victim, October 6, 2004
By Kathleen Sannizzaro (Topsfield, Massachusetts)
This review is from: Don't Call Me a Victim (Hardcover)
I recently read "Don't Call Me A Victim" by Gary Bergeron and I literally could not put it down. Throughout the book I laughed (the author's humor is amazing in light of his situation).. and I cried..and when I was done with the book I told everyone I knew to read it! It is truly a riveting story told with humility and passion....leaving me to believe he truly is not a victim but a survivor and an inspiration.
4.0 out of 5 stars A Real Survivor, January 22, 2005
By Linda K (USA)
This review is from: Don't Call Me a Victim (Hardcover)
This book truly puts a personal face to a global situation. The approach of forgiveness, realistic expectations, accountablility, faith, spirituality and perserverance for what he believes is right was heartwarming. Excellent book. Highly recommended. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Sunday, April 4, 2010
For Working to Put an End to Priest Pedo...
For Working to Put an End to Priest Pedophilia, Gary Bergeron Merits the BuzzFlash Wings of Justice Award
By BuzzFlash
Created 04/04/2010 - 4:17pm
BUZZFLASH WINGS OF JUSTICE AWARD
GARY BERGERON
Don't call Gary Bergeron a victim; te sees himself as a survivor, a survivor of sexual child abuse at the hands of a religious figure: in this case a priest.
His father and brother were similarly violated in the Boston Archdiocese, as the hierarchy of the Catholic Church devoted more time to protecting the priests who abused than the victims.
These past two weeks, new revelations of past massive child abuse at the hands of priests has emerged, most notably in the U.S., Ireland, Germany, Italy and elsewhere. If these felony acts by priests were a disease, the abuse of children while under the care and “moral credibility” of the Church would be an epidemic.
Individual Catholics bear no blame in this monstrous sexual abuse of their children; but the church leadership – who covered up and prolonged sexual abuse – is to blame. There is no assurance that it is still not currently going on.
These past Holy Days leading up to the Resurrection of Christ during Easter were ironically filled with a mean-spirited Vatican public relations offensive to defend the Pope – who let much pedophilia go unpunished and unstopped when he headed the Church's clerical investigation office. At some point, those of the Catholic faith will have to choose between defending the leadership of the Vatican that has condoned child abuse and mollycoddled priests or choose to play Russian Roulette with whether or not their children will be sexually abused in the future.
BuzzFlash spoke to Gary Bergeron, who became known as one of the more fearless spokespersons for the many children who had been abused at the hands of some of the Boston Catholic clergy as the then Cardinal Law tried to dismiss their calls for an investigation. Bergeron told BuzzFlash that he is not looking for retribution nor does he harbor vindictiveness; he wants a solemn promise from Pope Benedict, with details, on how child sexual abuse will be prevented in the Church in the future. To this date, he has heard no such vow.
Bergeron wants the Catholic Church to live up to its Godly ideal, not to become a fraternity that protects its deviants at the expense of the trauma caused to children. He is still disappointedly waiting.
But he still maintains hope that God's emissary in the Catholic faith will finally do what is God's will and protect the children, not the perpetrators of sexual abuse.
For his singular patience, determination, and caring for the children of tomorrow, Gary Bergeron merits the BuzzFlash Wings of Justice Award.
BUZZFLASH WINGS OF JUSTICE AWARD
Technorati Tags: BuzzFlash Honors [1] Pedophilia [2] Pope Benedict [3] Cover-up [4]
BuzzFlash Honors
Unless otherwise noted, all original content and headlines are © BuzzFlash. Contact BuzzFlash for reprint rights.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source URL: http://blog.buzzflash.com/honors/306
By BuzzFlash
Created 04/04/2010 - 4:17pm
BUZZFLASH WINGS OF JUSTICE AWARD
GARY BERGERON
Don't call Gary Bergeron a victim; te sees himself as a survivor, a survivor of sexual child abuse at the hands of a religious figure: in this case a priest.
His father and brother were similarly violated in the Boston Archdiocese, as the hierarchy of the Catholic Church devoted more time to protecting the priests who abused than the victims.
These past two weeks, new revelations of past massive child abuse at the hands of priests has emerged, most notably in the U.S., Ireland, Germany, Italy and elsewhere. If these felony acts by priests were a disease, the abuse of children while under the care and “moral credibility” of the Church would be an epidemic.
Individual Catholics bear no blame in this monstrous sexual abuse of their children; but the church leadership – who covered up and prolonged sexual abuse – is to blame. There is no assurance that it is still not currently going on.
These past Holy Days leading up to the Resurrection of Christ during Easter were ironically filled with a mean-spirited Vatican public relations offensive to defend the Pope – who let much pedophilia go unpunished and unstopped when he headed the Church's clerical investigation office. At some point, those of the Catholic faith will have to choose between defending the leadership of the Vatican that has condoned child abuse and mollycoddled priests or choose to play Russian Roulette with whether or not their children will be sexually abused in the future.
BuzzFlash spoke to Gary Bergeron, who became known as one of the more fearless spokespersons for the many children who had been abused at the hands of some of the Boston Catholic clergy as the then Cardinal Law tried to dismiss their calls for an investigation. Bergeron told BuzzFlash that he is not looking for retribution nor does he harbor vindictiveness; he wants a solemn promise from Pope Benedict, with details, on how child sexual abuse will be prevented in the Church in the future. To this date, he has heard no such vow.
Bergeron wants the Catholic Church to live up to its Godly ideal, not to become a fraternity that protects its deviants at the expense of the trauma caused to children. He is still disappointedly waiting.
But he still maintains hope that God's emissary in the Catholic faith will finally do what is God's will and protect the children, not the perpetrators of sexual abuse.
For his singular patience, determination, and caring for the children of tomorrow, Gary Bergeron merits the BuzzFlash Wings of Justice Award.
BUZZFLASH WINGS OF JUSTICE AWARD
Technorati Tags: BuzzFlash Honors [1] Pedophilia [2] Pope Benedict [3] Cover-up [4]
BuzzFlash Honors
Unless otherwise noted, all original content and headlines are © BuzzFlash. Contact BuzzFlash for reprint rights.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source URL: http://blog.buzzflash.com/honors/306
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Gary Bergeron discusses current Vatican abuse crisis
Title: Priest abuse survivor Gary Bergeron discusses current Vatican abuse crisis
Published: Mon, 29 Mar 2010
Description: Priest abuse survivor Gary Bergeron discusses current Vatican abuse crisis
Watch this at Boston.com: http://necn.platformicstaging.com/pages/landing?blockID=206505
Published: Mon, 29 Mar 2010
Description: Priest abuse survivor Gary Bergeron discusses current Vatican abuse crisis
Watch this at Boston.com: http://necn.platformicstaging.com/pages/landing?blockID=206505
Priest abuse survivor reacts to latest crisis
Priest abuse survivor reacts to latest crisis
Mar 29, 2010 Recommend
Comments(1) Email Print Share RSS
(NECN: Jim Braude) - Gary Bergeron understands the sexual abuse crisis surfacing in Europe over clergy abuse. He lived it. Bergeron is a clergy abuse survivor from the Greater Boston area.
He is the author of "Don't Call Me A Victim, Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church."
Bergeron says he is again surprised at how reticent the Vatican is to acknowledge a problem that is right in front of it."For some reason, the Catholic Church never seems to miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity," Bergeron said.
But Bergeron says that as this abuse crisis grows in Europe, he doesn't want the Pope to step down for the first time in more than 500 years.
He says that the removal of Bernard Cardinal Law from the Boston Archdiocese may have been such a shock wave that it actually slowed reforms here. And he thinks the same could happen in the current case.
"My concern is that it will send a shock wave immediately, but then who is going to step in to replace him?" Bergeron notes, saying that it's difficult to find anyone at the senior level of the Church who lived through the era of abuse that doesn't have some direct or indirect connection to the crisis.
Tags: Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI, Gary Bergeron, abuse crisis
Mar 29, 2010 Recommend
Comments(1) Email Print Share RSS
(NECN: Jim Braude) - Gary Bergeron understands the sexual abuse crisis surfacing in Europe over clergy abuse. He lived it. Bergeron is a clergy abuse survivor from the Greater Boston area.
He is the author of "Don't Call Me A Victim, Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church."
Bergeron says he is again surprised at how reticent the Vatican is to acknowledge a problem that is right in front of it."For some reason, the Catholic Church never seems to miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity," Bergeron said.
But Bergeron says that as this abuse crisis grows in Europe, he doesn't want the Pope to step down for the first time in more than 500 years.
He says that the removal of Bernard Cardinal Law from the Boston Archdiocese may have been such a shock wave that it actually slowed reforms here. And he thinks the same could happen in the current case.
"My concern is that it will send a shock wave immediately, but then who is going to step in to replace him?" Bergeron notes, saying that it's difficult to find anyone at the senior level of the Church who lived through the era of abuse that doesn't have some direct or indirect connection to the crisis.
Tags: Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI, Gary Bergeron, abuse crisis
Friday, March 26, 2010
Pope Benedict XVI faces criticism over abuse cases
(NECN: Greg Wayland) - He won praise for his expressions of remorse over clergy sex abuse. But now Pope Benedict XVI is face to face with the scandal that left lasting wounds on the Catholic Church.
New reports are suggesting he failed to stop abuse here and in Europe.
He is the Pope who once headed up a key Vatican office reviewing sex abuse files, prosecuting abusers, and apologizing to victims.
Pope Benedict XVI: "We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from sacred ministry."
But now, worldwide, the sex abuse crisis has re-ignited over old, but disturbing cases in Ireland, Germany and in the U.S., where the New York Times is reporting that a Wisconsin priest allegedly abused 200 deaf boys over decades.
The allegation is that the pope, as Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, failed to act --
Church defenders are protesting.
Bill Donahue/Catholic League of Religious and Civil Rights: "He is head of the largest church in the world. He could not possibly know about every case of abuse."
But the Times is reporting that, as Archbishop of Munich, Germany, Ratzinger signed a memo allowing a pedophile priest to begin therapy, then quickly return to active ministry, and more abuse.
The Vatican has said the decision was made by a subordinate.
Phil Saviano/Clergy sex abuse survivor: "He should have followed up. It's the natural thing to do."
Boston resident Phil Saviano is among the founders of the survivors network of those abused by priests.
Phil Saviano: You can say that maybe the pope never read the memo. Didn't get that final message. But considering the fact that they were talking about a priest who had a history of molesting a bunch of kids and that he was the head of the committee that had discussed that issue, wouldn't you think that he would have asked his subordinates, what ever happened to this guy?
Gary Bergeron/Clergy abuse survivor: It seems that the catholic church is going back into their duck-and-cover position, which was, he offers an apology, which he did in Ireland, and it's a statement. My question is, what's next?
Massachusetts clergy sex abuse victim-survivor Gary Bergeron wrote a book on the issue. He has a message for the pope.
Gary Bergeron: He has an opportunity to engage long-term dialogue. How can we not only prevent what has happened, but how can we help these people walk forward, and maybe some kind of reconciliation with life, let along with the Catholic Church.
New reports are suggesting he failed to stop abuse here and in Europe.
He is the Pope who once headed up a key Vatican office reviewing sex abuse files, prosecuting abusers, and apologizing to victims.
Pope Benedict XVI: "We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from sacred ministry."
But now, worldwide, the sex abuse crisis has re-ignited over old, but disturbing cases in Ireland, Germany and in the U.S., where the New York Times is reporting that a Wisconsin priest allegedly abused 200 deaf boys over decades.
The allegation is that the pope, as Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, failed to act --
Church defenders are protesting.
Bill Donahue/Catholic League of Religious and Civil Rights: "He is head of the largest church in the world. He could not possibly know about every case of abuse."
But the Times is reporting that, as Archbishop of Munich, Germany, Ratzinger signed a memo allowing a pedophile priest to begin therapy, then quickly return to active ministry, and more abuse.
The Vatican has said the decision was made by a subordinate.
Phil Saviano/Clergy sex abuse survivor: "He should have followed up. It's the natural thing to do."
Boston resident Phil Saviano is among the founders of the survivors network of those abused by priests.
Phil Saviano: You can say that maybe the pope never read the memo. Didn't get that final message. But considering the fact that they were talking about a priest who had a history of molesting a bunch of kids and that he was the head of the committee that had discussed that issue, wouldn't you think that he would have asked his subordinates, what ever happened to this guy?
Gary Bergeron/Clergy abuse survivor: It seems that the catholic church is going back into their duck-and-cover position, which was, he offers an apology, which he did in Ireland, and it's a statement. My question is, what's next?
Massachusetts clergy sex abuse victim-survivor Gary Bergeron wrote a book on the issue. He has a message for the pope.
Gary Bergeron: He has an opportunity to engage long-term dialogue. How can we not only prevent what has happened, but how can we help these people walk forward, and maybe some kind of reconciliation with life, let along with the Catholic Church.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Pope Meets With Victims of Clergy Sex Abuse
Pope meets with victims of clergy sex abuse
Posted 4/17/2008 6:07 PM
By Victor L. Simpson, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — Pope Benedict XVI, after urging bishops, priests and parishioners to heal the wounds caused by the clergy sex abuse scandal, talked and prayed privately with survivors Thursday in what was believed to be a first-ever meeting between a pontiff and abuse victims.
The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a papal spokesman, said that Benedict and Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley met with a group of five or six victims for about 25 minutes in the chapel of the papal embassy, offering them encouragement and hope.
Lombardi said the pope told the survivors he would pray for them, their families and all victims of clergy sex abuse. Each of the victims spent a few minutes with Benedict privately. Some were in tears during the meeting, Lombardi said.
Benedict has spoken repeatedly about the abuse crisis during his first trip to the United States as pope.
He called the crisis a cause of "deep shame," pledged to keep pedophiles out of the priesthood and decried the "enormous pain" that communities have suffered from such "gravely immoral behavior" by priest.
He told the nation's bishops that the crisis was "sometimes very badly handled," and said they must reach out with love and compassion to victims. At an open air Mass on Thursday at Nationals Park, he also urged Catholic parishioners to do what they can to reach out to victims.
Thousands of priests have been accused of molesting minors in the U.S. since 1950 and the church has paid out more than $2 billion, much of it in just the last six years, when the case of a serial molester in Boston gained national attention and prompted many victims to step forward.
Then-Boston Archbishop Bernard Law was forced to step down when it became apparent that he had allowed accused priests to be shuffled from parish-to-parish.
Gary Bergeron, an outspoken survivor of clergy sex abuse from Boston who was not in Thursday's session, failed in his attempt to meet with Pope John Paul II, Benedict's predecessor, when he spent a week at the Vatican a few years ago.
He called Thursday's meeting "a long-sought-for step in the right direction."
"The Catholic Church is partly based on symbolism, and I think the symbolism had he not met with survivors would have been horrendous," the 45-year-old Bergeron said.
In the meeting, O'Malley presented Benedict with a notebook listing the names victims of sexual abuse from the Boston Archdiocese. There were more than 1,000 names.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Posted 4/17/2008 6:07 PM
By Victor L. Simpson, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — Pope Benedict XVI, after urging bishops, priests and parishioners to heal the wounds caused by the clergy sex abuse scandal, talked and prayed privately with survivors Thursday in what was believed to be a first-ever meeting between a pontiff and abuse victims.
The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a papal spokesman, said that Benedict and Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley met with a group of five or six victims for about 25 minutes in the chapel of the papal embassy, offering them encouragement and hope.
Lombardi said the pope told the survivors he would pray for them, their families and all victims of clergy sex abuse. Each of the victims spent a few minutes with Benedict privately. Some were in tears during the meeting, Lombardi said.
Benedict has spoken repeatedly about the abuse crisis during his first trip to the United States as pope.
He called the crisis a cause of "deep shame," pledged to keep pedophiles out of the priesthood and decried the "enormous pain" that communities have suffered from such "gravely immoral behavior" by priest.
He told the nation's bishops that the crisis was "sometimes very badly handled," and said they must reach out with love and compassion to victims. At an open air Mass on Thursday at Nationals Park, he also urged Catholic parishioners to do what they can to reach out to victims.
Thousands of priests have been accused of molesting minors in the U.S. since 1950 and the church has paid out more than $2 billion, much of it in just the last six years, when the case of a serial molester in Boston gained national attention and prompted many victims to step forward.
Then-Boston Archbishop Bernard Law was forced to step down when it became apparent that he had allowed accused priests to be shuffled from parish-to-parish.
Gary Bergeron, an outspoken survivor of clergy sex abuse from Boston who was not in Thursday's session, failed in his attempt to meet with Pope John Paul II, Benedict's predecessor, when he spent a week at the Vatican a few years ago.
He called Thursday's meeting "a long-sought-for step in the right direction."
"The Catholic Church is partly based on symbolism, and I think the symbolism had he not met with survivors would have been horrendous," the 45-year-old Bergeron said.
In the meeting, O'Malley presented Benedict with a notebook listing the names victims of sexual abuse from the Boston Archdiocese. There were more than 1,000 names.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Pope’s Comments on Sex Abuse ‘Not Enough’
Gary Bergeron
CBS ‘Early Show’: Pope’s Comments on Sex Abuse ‘Not Enough’
By Kyle Drennen | Wed, 04/16/2008 - 14:15
On Wednesday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Maggie Rodriguez talked to liberal priest, Fr. Thomas Reese, who also appeared on Monday’s show, and asked about the sex abuse scandals in the American Catholic Church as well as the comments of Pope Benedict XVI regarding the issue: "We heard from some victims' families that a mea culpa is not enough. That merely saying you're "deeply ashamed" is not enough. Do you think anything more will come of this?"
This question followed a report by correspondent Jeff Glor, who began by declaring:
It's believed the Pope could address the issue even further on his visit, either here in Washington or in New York, but some are wondering, why not Boston? For Gary Bergeron, the Pope not going to Boston on this trip is like saying the Pope's not Catholic. It just doesn't make sense... Bergeron was abused and still lives in New England, the epicenter of the scandal.
Glor also played clips of Bergeron, who said of the Pope: "I think it's an opportunity he missed...I would hold out my hand to him so that he could shake it, understand that I'm not the demon here." Of course, the Pope has not "demonized" any victims of abuse, but Glor still decided to use the quote for his report. Despite Rodriguez’s claim that "not enough" had been done, Bergeron actually helped win an $85 million dollar lawsuit for church abuse victims and met personally with Vatican officials.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/people/gary-bergeron#ixzz0kFZGyS8l
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/people/gary-bergeron#ixzz0kFZH1TRe
CBS ‘Early Show’: Pope’s Comments on Sex Abuse ‘Not Enough’
By Kyle Drennen | Wed, 04/16/2008 - 14:15
On Wednesday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Maggie Rodriguez talked to liberal priest, Fr. Thomas Reese, who also appeared on Monday’s show, and asked about the sex abuse scandals in the American Catholic Church as well as the comments of Pope Benedict XVI regarding the issue: "We heard from some victims' families that a mea culpa is not enough. That merely saying you're "deeply ashamed" is not enough. Do you think anything more will come of this?"
This question followed a report by correspondent Jeff Glor, who began by declaring:
It's believed the Pope could address the issue even further on his visit, either here in Washington or in New York, but some are wondering, why not Boston? For Gary Bergeron, the Pope not going to Boston on this trip is like saying the Pope's not Catholic. It just doesn't make sense... Bergeron was abused and still lives in New England, the epicenter of the scandal.
Glor also played clips of Bergeron, who said of the Pope: "I think it's an opportunity he missed...I would hold out my hand to him so that he could shake it, understand that I'm not the demon here." Of course, the Pope has not "demonized" any victims of abuse, but Glor still decided to use the quote for his report. Despite Rodriguez’s claim that "not enough" had been done, Bergeron actually helped win an $85 million dollar lawsuit for church abuse victims and met personally with Vatican officials.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/people/gary-bergeron#ixzz0kFZGyS8l
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/people/gary-bergeron#ixzz0kFZH1TRe
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pope: I Am "Deeply Ashamed" Over Clergy Sex Abuse
Pope: I Am "Deeply Ashamed" Over Clergy Sex Abuse
VICTOR L. SIMPSON | 04/15/08 11:08 PM |
Pope And Church Sex Abuse Scandal, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope In America, Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal, Politics News
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. — Pope Benedict XVI stepped onto U.S. soil for the time as pontiff Tuesday, arriving to a presidential handshake and wild cheering only hours after he admitted that he is "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sex abuse scandal that has devastated the American church.
Benedict gave hundreds of spectators a two-handed wave as he stepped off a special Alitalia airliner that brought him from Rome. Students from a local Catholic school screamed ecstatically when they saw the pope, who shook hands warmly with President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughter Jenna on the tarmac.
Hundreds of onlookers, some from local Roman Catholic parishes, clapped and shouted as they watched the scene from nearby bleachers.
Benedict tackled the most painful issue facing the U.S. Catholic Church _ clergy sex abuse _ on his flight to America. The U.S. church has paid out $2 billion in abuse costs since 1950, most of that in just the last six years.
Seemingly in a nod to his American flock, the pope spoke in English as he answered questions submitted in advance by reporters.
"It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," Benedict said. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children."
"I am deeply ashamed, and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future," the pope said.
Benedict pledged that pedophiles would not be priests in the Catholic Church.
Story continues below
"I do not wish to talk at this moment about homosexuality, but about pedophilia, which is another thing," he said.
"We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry. It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound."
Gary Bergeron, who was molested by a priest in the 1970s in Lowell, Mass., called the comments a "step I've been looking for." Bergeron said he was disappointed that Benedict did not plan to visit the Archdiocese of Boston, the scene of a case that sparked the greater scandal, but urged the pontiff to meet with victims this week.
The pope's promise failed to mollify other advocates for abuse victims, however. They said the problem is not just molester priests, but bishops and other church authorities who have let errant clergymen continue to serve even after repeated allegations.
"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves," said Peter Isely, a board member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem _ complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy."
Benedict's pilgrimage is the first trip by a pontiff to the United States since the Boston case in 2002 triggered a crisis that spread throughout the United States and beyond. Hundreds of new charges _ many dating back decades _ have surfaced each year since. There were 691 new accusations in 2007 alone, according to an annual report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
As head of the Vatican agency that enforces adherence to Catholic doctrine, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was heavily involved in gaining Vatican approval for the reforms U.S. bishops proposed for the American church. The bishops have since released several reports analyzing the scandal and have pledged that all credibly accused priests will be pulled from public ministry.
Benedict described his pilgrimage as a journey to meet a "great people and a great church." He spoke about the American model of religious values within a system of separation of church and state.
President Bush made the unusual gesture of greeting Benedict at Andrews Air Force Base _ the first time he has welcomed a foreign leader there. The two will meet again Wednesday, when a crowd of 9,000 or more is expected at the White House to greet Benedict on his 81st birthday.
Aides say he is in good health and the pope seemed spry as he stepped energetically off the plane Tuesday.
Benedict said he will discuss immigration with Bush, including the difficulties of families who are separated by immigration.
While the pope and Bush differ on such major issues on the Iraq war, capital punishment and the U.S. embargo against Cuba, they do find common ground in opposing abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem cell research.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said she wouldn't rule out the sex abuse being discussed between the pope and the president, but added that it's not necessarily one of Bush's top priorities in his meeting with Benedict.
Perino said the two leaders would likely discuss human rights, religious tolerance and the fight against violent extremism. She downplayed their differences over Iraq.
Benedict "will hear from the president that America and the world need to hear his message, that God is love, that human life is sacred, that we all must be guided by common moral law, and that we have responsibilities to care for our brothers and sisters in need, at home and across the world," Perino said.
After making little headway in his efforts to rekindle the faith in his native Europe, the German-born Benedict is visiting a country where many of the 65 million Catholics are eager to hear what he says and get to know him. A poll released Sunday by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found eight in 10 Catholics are somewhat or very satisfied with his leadership.
Benedict is scheduled to visit U.N. headquarters on Friday to meet with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and to address the General Assembly.
Ban said he is looking forward to a wide-ranging discussion with the pontiff on issues ranging from climate change and fighting poverty to disarmament and promoting cultural dialogue.
"We are now facing many challenges these days," Ban told reporters. "We need really strong spiritual support from the pope."
The pope's visit will be the fourth by a leader of the Roman Catholic church to the United Nations: Paul VI came in 1965 when the U.N. celebrated its 20th anniversary; John Paul II came in 1979 at the start of his pontificate and again in 1995 for the U.N.'s 50th anniversary.
___
Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
VICTOR L. SIMPSON | 04/15/08 11:08 PM |
Pope And Church Sex Abuse Scandal, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope In America, Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal, Politics News
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. — Pope Benedict XVI stepped onto U.S. soil for the time as pontiff Tuesday, arriving to a presidential handshake and wild cheering only hours after he admitted that he is "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sex abuse scandal that has devastated the American church.
Benedict gave hundreds of spectators a two-handed wave as he stepped off a special Alitalia airliner that brought him from Rome. Students from a local Catholic school screamed ecstatically when they saw the pope, who shook hands warmly with President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughter Jenna on the tarmac.
Hundreds of onlookers, some from local Roman Catholic parishes, clapped and shouted as they watched the scene from nearby bleachers.
Benedict tackled the most painful issue facing the U.S. Catholic Church _ clergy sex abuse _ on his flight to America. The U.S. church has paid out $2 billion in abuse costs since 1950, most of that in just the last six years.
Seemingly in a nod to his American flock, the pope spoke in English as he answered questions submitted in advance by reporters.
"It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," Benedict said. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children."
"I am deeply ashamed, and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future," the pope said.
Benedict pledged that pedophiles would not be priests in the Catholic Church.
Story continues below
"I do not wish to talk at this moment about homosexuality, but about pedophilia, which is another thing," he said.
"We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry. It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound."
Gary Bergeron, who was molested by a priest in the 1970s in Lowell, Mass., called the comments a "step I've been looking for." Bergeron said he was disappointed that Benedict did not plan to visit the Archdiocese of Boston, the scene of a case that sparked the greater scandal, but urged the pontiff to meet with victims this week.
The pope's promise failed to mollify other advocates for abuse victims, however. They said the problem is not just molester priests, but bishops and other church authorities who have let errant clergymen continue to serve even after repeated allegations.
"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves," said Peter Isely, a board member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem _ complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy."
Benedict's pilgrimage is the first trip by a pontiff to the United States since the Boston case in 2002 triggered a crisis that spread throughout the United States and beyond. Hundreds of new charges _ many dating back decades _ have surfaced each year since. There were 691 new accusations in 2007 alone, according to an annual report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
As head of the Vatican agency that enforces adherence to Catholic doctrine, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was heavily involved in gaining Vatican approval for the reforms U.S. bishops proposed for the American church. The bishops have since released several reports analyzing the scandal and have pledged that all credibly accused priests will be pulled from public ministry.
Benedict described his pilgrimage as a journey to meet a "great people and a great church." He spoke about the American model of religious values within a system of separation of church and state.
President Bush made the unusual gesture of greeting Benedict at Andrews Air Force Base _ the first time he has welcomed a foreign leader there. The two will meet again Wednesday, when a crowd of 9,000 or more is expected at the White House to greet Benedict on his 81st birthday.
Aides say he is in good health and the pope seemed spry as he stepped energetically off the plane Tuesday.
Benedict said he will discuss immigration with Bush, including the difficulties of families who are separated by immigration.
While the pope and Bush differ on such major issues on the Iraq war, capital punishment and the U.S. embargo against Cuba, they do find common ground in opposing abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem cell research.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said she wouldn't rule out the sex abuse being discussed between the pope and the president, but added that it's not necessarily one of Bush's top priorities in his meeting with Benedict.
Perino said the two leaders would likely discuss human rights, religious tolerance and the fight against violent extremism. She downplayed their differences over Iraq.
Benedict "will hear from the president that America and the world need to hear his message, that God is love, that human life is sacred, that we all must be guided by common moral law, and that we have responsibilities to care for our brothers and sisters in need, at home and across the world," Perino said.
After making little headway in his efforts to rekindle the faith in his native Europe, the German-born Benedict is visiting a country where many of the 65 million Catholics are eager to hear what he says and get to know him. A poll released Sunday by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found eight in 10 Catholics are somewhat or very satisfied with his leadership.
Benedict is scheduled to visit U.N. headquarters on Friday to meet with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and to address the General Assembly.
Ban said he is looking forward to a wide-ranging discussion with the pontiff on issues ranging from climate change and fighting poverty to disarmament and promoting cultural dialogue.
"We are now facing many challenges these days," Ban told reporters. "We need really strong spiritual support from the pope."
The pope's visit will be the fourth by a leader of the Roman Catholic church to the United Nations: Paul VI came in 1965 when the U.N. celebrated its 20th anniversary; John Paul II came in 1979 at the start of his pontificate and again in 1995 for the U.N.'s 50th anniversary.
___
Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
An Opportunity Missed
Decades ago, Rev. Martin Luther King spoke these words. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” Rev. King, did not speak from the safe distances of beaches of Malibu. Rev, King spoke from the steps of Washington DC, and he also spoke from the jails of Alabama, and from the streets of Detroit. As a leader he didn’t choose to speak from a safe distance, he chose to speak words that mattered, in places that needed it. Rev. King did not take the easy path. He took the path that made a difference.
An opportunity missed.
The decision by Pope Benedict to bypass Boston during his impending visit is an opportunity missed.
Over the past six years, more than 5,000 priests have been accused -- and some convicted -- of sexual abuse. Thousands of victims have come forward; hundreds of thousands of documents have been released; arrests have been made; sentences have been handed down and over $2 billion dollars has been paid out in settlements. There is no longer a question of “Did it happen?”
It happened.
Pope Benedict’s decision not to come to Boston simply reminds some of us of what some church officials said over 6 years ago, “It never really happened”.
As the moral leader of a faith I once called mine, Pope Benedict has not only an obligation but a genuine responsibility. He is not only the leader of the good Catholics, he is the leader of every catholic. He cannot afford the liberty of choosing to lead only the most willing of followers in the easiest of times.
As a moral leader, he needs to accept the responsibility of addressing challenges the church has faced in the past and in the present. He cannot afford the liberty of facing only the easy issues. He must be willing to lead on the tough issues. He must accept the fact that while some of us no longer consider ourselves Catholics, we still have the need to believe in something good, something true and something real. While the Catholic Church may never again be that for many of us, some of us still have the strong desire and longing to believe in something more.
I am not looking for someone to erase the memories, restore my innocence or restore my faith. A visit by Pope Benedict to Boston would accomplish none of that. The Pope's visit might, however, lend to aid my faith in humanity if he were willing to acknowledge that the church is taking a headstrong, life long approach to protecting generations to come.
As a survivor, as the brother of a survivor & as the son of a survivor, I came forward to make sure that I would never have to say "I am the father of a survivor of clergy abuse".
What I am looking for today, is the same thing I was looking for when I first came forward over 6 years ago, to protect tomorrow generation by having direct and constructive dialog with today’s generation by breaking the cycle of silence. A visit by Pope Benedict to Boston, could have certainly helped to accomplish that.
Years ago, survivors began speaking these words in Boston “I was a victim of Clergy abuse”. Words that I know well. I am not proud of that statement, however I am no longer ashamed of it. Those words have enabled survivors to pry open a door which had been closed for decades. As the moral leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict can not look at that door from a distance, nor can he simply stand on the threshold. He must walk through it.
This weekend, as it has been for the past 6 years, the door to Boston remains open. I welcome Pope Benedict to walk through it.
Contact :
Gary M. Bergeron
garymbergeron@gmail.com
Gary Bergeron, an outspoken survivor of clergy abuse, is the author of “Don't Call Me A Victim, Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church”
An opportunity missed.
The decision by Pope Benedict to bypass Boston during his impending visit is an opportunity missed.
Over the past six years, more than 5,000 priests have been accused -- and some convicted -- of sexual abuse. Thousands of victims have come forward; hundreds of thousands of documents have been released; arrests have been made; sentences have been handed down and over $2 billion dollars has been paid out in settlements. There is no longer a question of “Did it happen?”
It happened.
Pope Benedict’s decision not to come to Boston simply reminds some of us of what some church officials said over 6 years ago, “It never really happened”.
As the moral leader of a faith I once called mine, Pope Benedict has not only an obligation but a genuine responsibility. He is not only the leader of the good Catholics, he is the leader of every catholic. He cannot afford the liberty of choosing to lead only the most willing of followers in the easiest of times.
As a moral leader, he needs to accept the responsibility of addressing challenges the church has faced in the past and in the present. He cannot afford the liberty of facing only the easy issues. He must be willing to lead on the tough issues. He must accept the fact that while some of us no longer consider ourselves Catholics, we still have the need to believe in something good, something true and something real. While the Catholic Church may never again be that for many of us, some of us still have the strong desire and longing to believe in something more.
I am not looking for someone to erase the memories, restore my innocence or restore my faith. A visit by Pope Benedict to Boston would accomplish none of that. The Pope's visit might, however, lend to aid my faith in humanity if he were willing to acknowledge that the church is taking a headstrong, life long approach to protecting generations to come.
As a survivor, as the brother of a survivor & as the son of a survivor, I came forward to make sure that I would never have to say "I am the father of a survivor of clergy abuse".
What I am looking for today, is the same thing I was looking for when I first came forward over 6 years ago, to protect tomorrow generation by having direct and constructive dialog with today’s generation by breaking the cycle of silence. A visit by Pope Benedict to Boston, could have certainly helped to accomplish that.
Years ago, survivors began speaking these words in Boston “I was a victim of Clergy abuse”. Words that I know well. I am not proud of that statement, however I am no longer ashamed of it. Those words have enabled survivors to pry open a door which had been closed for decades. As the moral leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict can not look at that door from a distance, nor can he simply stand on the threshold. He must walk through it.
This weekend, as it has been for the past 6 years, the door to Boston remains open. I welcome Pope Benedict to walk through it.
Contact :
Gary M. Bergeron
garymbergeron@gmail.com
Gary Bergeron, an outspoken survivor of clergy abuse, is the author of “Don't Call Me A Victim, Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church”
Friday, April 8, 2005
Trip to the Vatican
New England reflections
He was the pope who traveled the world, reached out to other faiths, inspired the young and the old. He led the Catholic Church during the fall of communism and the clergy sex abuse scandal. Pope John Paul II touched thousands of lives, many of them directly. Here are some New Englanders' stories.
By Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff | April 8, 2005
Andrew Demaio
A gentle touch from someone 'genuinely holy'
His palms were uncalloused, so soft that ''it felt like he was wearing a velvet glove." The cross around his neck was bright, pure gold. The blue eyes were soft and direct.
But mostly, Andrew DeMaio remembers the hand: the way it rested gently on the right side of his head, as Pope John Paul II offered a quiet blessing, for healing.
It was 1998, and DeMaio, then 32, had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. A doctor in Virginia had told him he had a year to live.
The trip to Rome came up by happenstance: A neighbor of DeMaio's sister worked for the Flying Hospital, an airplane outfitted with an operating room, then owned by evangelist Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network. The hospital's patrons were headed to Rome on a fund-raising trip, and invited DeMaio and his sister. Sometime before the pope's public audience that week, someone had sent word to the Vatican that DeMaio could use a blessing.
So DeMaio and his sister gathered, with nearly 1,000 others at a huge auditorium at the Vatican. They marveled at the people who had come from across the world, the electricity that rippled through the room when the pope appeared.
''I don't know if everybody's jaws just dropped like mine did," DeMaio said.
And when, after waiting in a long, long line, he finally reached the holy man, the pope, without a word, pressed his palm on one side of DeMaio's head. The tumor was right there. And that brief blur of a moment, DeMaio says, left him with a lasting thought: This man was ''genuinely holy, something that I have not experienced from meeting any person other than him before."
DeMaio returned to the United States, where his health improved. In 2003 he moved to Boston, where he works as a docent at the Old North Church. The tumor is still there; he receives treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. But he said he feels good.
''I don't discount the power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit," he said. ''I don't discount any of that. I like to believe that the pope had something to do with the fact that I'm still here today. It certainly didn't hurt, going to see Pope John Paul II."
Gary Bergeron
'Incredible man' though paths never converged
He never managed to meet the pope, though he got close. Gary Bergeron spent the better part of a week inside the halls of the Vatican, meeting with administrators, waiting in well-appointed chairs, asking for an audience, and asking again.
It was March 2003, and Bergeron, then 40, wanted Pope John Paul II to understand. Bergeron says he is a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, a victim for years of the Rev. Joseph Birmingham at St. Michael Church in Lowell. Since the scandal had broken, Bergeron had met with accusations and cold responses from the Archdiocese of Boston. The Vatican seemed no different.
But Bergeron knew this pope's life story, the way he had fought communism and sought reconciliation with the Jewish and Orthodox communities. And he believed that if he sat with survivors face to face, if he heard their stories, John Paul II would understand, and would respond.
So Bergeron went to Rome uninvited, along with Bernie McDaid of Salem, another man who says Birmingham abused him, and Bergeron's father, Joseph ''Eddie" Bergeron, who said he had also been abused by a priest. For days, they went to the Vatican and knocked on doors. They went to church officials' homes. The Swiss Guards at the Vatican said they had made bets on how far the trio would progress. The staff at the cafe across the street from their hotel took messages when the hotel phones failed.
The evening before the Bergerons and McDaid were scheduled to return to the United States, the Vatican sent two officials to Bergeron's hotel suite. The group spoke for more than two hours. The next morning, a package arrived at the hotel: a note from the Holy Father, wishing for safe passage, and offering a gift of rosary beads.
It was something, but not enough.
''I would have liked to have given him the opportunity to know who we were and what we were about, and it was an opportunity missed," Gary Bergeron said. ''However, I judge a man by the sum of his life, and not by one deed. I still think of him as a pretty incredible man."
And he has spent the past week reflecting on two paths that -- despite his fiercest efforts -- never converged.
''Many people think the journey that, as a survivor, I've taken has been about vengeance," Bergeron said. ''You know what? This has really been a journey of peace for me, making peace with my past and finding the inner peace that I've never had in my entire life. This man was able to die in peace. My journey continues."
Thaddeus Buczko
He ate lobster at Jimmy's - and gave a lesson
Cardinal Karol Wojtyla had never eaten lobster.
He may have been a scholar, a skier, a poet. But when Wojtyla, then archbishop of Krakow, arrived in Boston in 1969, on one leg of his good-will tour of Polish-American communities, he had a hole in his culinary repertoire -- before Thaddeus Buczko got involved.
At the time, Buczko was state auditor and a friend of Monsignor Stanislaus Sypek, the Polish pastor of St. Adalbert's Church in Hyde Park. Sypek was guiding the cardinal through Boston, and asked Buczko to arrange for a luncheon with local leaders.
It was a fitting choice; like the cardinal, Buczko had managed to maintain a Polish identity in a firmly non-Polish milieu. The American-born son of Polish peasants, he had won a City Council seat in an Irish-Catholic district in Salem, served as state representative and, in 1964, was elected auditor statewide. He knew how to work the system.
But this was a new political problem: where to have lunch with a cardinal?
Buczko asked his administrative assistant, Jane Kelly, who suggested Jimmy's Harborside.
Two weeks later, Wojtyla, in dark cassock, joined politicians and local clergy in an upstairs room at the waterfront restaurant. He had two entree choices: beef or baked stuffed lobster. He chose the lobster. And as he sat beside Buczko, speaking in Polish with English interspersed, he offered a gentle lesson.
Buczko told him that his mother had always referred to lobsters as ''raki." Wojtyla explained that it was the word for crayfish or crab. Lobster, in Polish, was ''homar." From Latin, he said. Quite close to the word in French.
It was a gracious explanation, Buczko recalled -- almost as gracious as the speech Wojtyla gave, thanking Buczko for the gathering and making a cheerful prediction. Someday, he said, the state auditor might become governor, or senator, or even president of the United States.
When Buczko rose for his closing remarks, he had to return the compliment. ''Someday," he announced, ''Cardinal Wojtyla may actually become pope."
At the time, ''it was all in good fun," said Buczko, now 79. Everyone smiled, applauded, and laughed, certain it would never really happen.
Leonard P. Zakim
Papal blessing came with sneeze, knightly honor
Among the things Leonard P. Zakim wanted to experience before he died was a visit, in Vatican City, with Pope John Paul II.
Zakim had spent his tenure as New England director of the Anti-Defamation League working to improve interfaith relations. He and the pontiff shared a desire for reconciliation and cross-cultural understanding.
They also shared the need to be strong in the face of illness.
By November 1999, when the Catholic-Jewish pilgrimage -- which Zakim had helped to organize with his friend, Cardinal Bernard Law -- was scheduled to leave Boston for 10 days in Israel and Rome, Zakim's bone marrow cancer had worsened. He skipped the Israel leg of the trip and met the group in Italy. He wore a neck brace and brought a friend to help with medication. But his spirits were high, recalls Christy Jackowitz, the league's acting director.
And on a bright-hot Monday, he went with the group to St. Peter's Square. They sat beneath an open-air tent as the pope -- who stayed seated, his head bowed -- addressed the teeming crowd in 16 languages.
Then they drew close to receive a papal blessing.
Zakim brought the pope a book, ''And I Still See Their Faces: Images of Polish Jews." The pope laid a hand on Zakim's head and prayed for his health. The pontiff sneezed. Zakim said, ''Gesundheit." Both of them smiled.
Afterward, the group was led to a private room inside the Vatican, where an official described, for them, the highest lay honor the church bestows: the Knight of St. Gregory. In front of the group, Jackowitz said, the official pinned a medal on Zakim's lapel and made him a knight.
''This is a kid from Wayne, New Jersey, who tried to play football," said Zakim's friend, Harold W. Schwartz. ''It's mind-boggling. No one's blowing this up bigger than it was."
Zakim sat behind Schwartz on the plane ride home. ''He was thrilled and proud," Schwartz said. ''He was beaming. But you could see that he was tired."
Zakim died a month later, at 46. His funeral, at Temple Emanuel in Newton, was attended by 1,800 people from various faiths.
The girls of Our Lady of Nazareth Academy
Young singers won't forget his 'peacefulness'
Patricia Tamagini saw the ad in a Catholic magazine, in 1994. It was a contest, seeking high school groups to sing original contemporary Christian music. At the Vatican.
This was a perfect opportunity, thought Tamagini, the director of performing arts and theology at Our Lady of Nazareth Academy in Wakefield. Her daughter Lora, a teacher at the school, had written contemporary Christian songs. The chamber singer choir had recorded a compact disc. Tamagini sent it along with her application.
Patricia Tamagini received an invitation to Rome. And 44 girls from Wakefield started furiously raising money, so they could sing for the pope in St. Peter's Square.
''It was never an option not to go. We had to go," said Jennifer Fontana, a sophomore at the time, now 24. ''I mean, Italy. To see the pope. My God."
They held concerts and bake sales and collected sponsorships. They planned a singing tour at churches in Rome, Florence, Sienna, and Assisi. On the flight to Rome, the crew asked them to sing from their seats.
And on April 16, 1996, they put on their school uniforms -- sweaters, plaid polyester skirts -- and headed to St. Peter's Square. They stood at the foot of the basilica steps, with groups of young singers from Poland, Spain, Austria, and France. The pope, still healthy and vibrant, stood at the top of the stairs, listening to the music. When the singing was over, the girls climbed up to him, and he walked over to thank them.
In English, he praised their voices, recalls Patricia Tamagini, now 66. He thanked Lora Tamagini for her beautiful songs. ''God bless you," she told him. ''No," he said. ''God bless you."
For a teenage girl -- Catholic or not -- he left a firm impression.
''He had amazing presence, just this feeling of kindness," said Laura White, a Congregationalist, now 24.
''He had this fantastic peacefulness about him," Fontana said.
But what struck Patricia Tamagini most was that this elevated man, the leader of his faith, had taken the time to linger with a group of girls.
''He was so gentle and down to earth. Just really down to earth," Tamagini said. ''Holding our hands and talking with us eye to eye."
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
He was the pope who traveled the world, reached out to other faiths, inspired the young and the old. He led the Catholic Church during the fall of communism and the clergy sex abuse scandal. Pope John Paul II touched thousands of lives, many of them directly. Here are some New Englanders' stories.
By Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff | April 8, 2005
Andrew Demaio
A gentle touch from someone 'genuinely holy'
His palms were uncalloused, so soft that ''it felt like he was wearing a velvet glove." The cross around his neck was bright, pure gold. The blue eyes were soft and direct.
But mostly, Andrew DeMaio remembers the hand: the way it rested gently on the right side of his head, as Pope John Paul II offered a quiet blessing, for healing.
It was 1998, and DeMaio, then 32, had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. A doctor in Virginia had told him he had a year to live.
The trip to Rome came up by happenstance: A neighbor of DeMaio's sister worked for the Flying Hospital, an airplane outfitted with an operating room, then owned by evangelist Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network. The hospital's patrons were headed to Rome on a fund-raising trip, and invited DeMaio and his sister. Sometime before the pope's public audience that week, someone had sent word to the Vatican that DeMaio could use a blessing.
So DeMaio and his sister gathered, with nearly 1,000 others at a huge auditorium at the Vatican. They marveled at the people who had come from across the world, the electricity that rippled through the room when the pope appeared.
''I don't know if everybody's jaws just dropped like mine did," DeMaio said.
And when, after waiting in a long, long line, he finally reached the holy man, the pope, without a word, pressed his palm on one side of DeMaio's head. The tumor was right there. And that brief blur of a moment, DeMaio says, left him with a lasting thought: This man was ''genuinely holy, something that I have not experienced from meeting any person other than him before."
DeMaio returned to the United States, where his health improved. In 2003 he moved to Boston, where he works as a docent at the Old North Church. The tumor is still there; he receives treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. But he said he feels good.
''I don't discount the power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit," he said. ''I don't discount any of that. I like to believe that the pope had something to do with the fact that I'm still here today. It certainly didn't hurt, going to see Pope John Paul II."
Gary Bergeron
'Incredible man' though paths never converged
He never managed to meet the pope, though he got close. Gary Bergeron spent the better part of a week inside the halls of the Vatican, meeting with administrators, waiting in well-appointed chairs, asking for an audience, and asking again.
It was March 2003, and Bergeron, then 40, wanted Pope John Paul II to understand. Bergeron says he is a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, a victim for years of the Rev. Joseph Birmingham at St. Michael Church in Lowell. Since the scandal had broken, Bergeron had met with accusations and cold responses from the Archdiocese of Boston. The Vatican seemed no different.
But Bergeron knew this pope's life story, the way he had fought communism and sought reconciliation with the Jewish and Orthodox communities. And he believed that if he sat with survivors face to face, if he heard their stories, John Paul II would understand, and would respond.
So Bergeron went to Rome uninvited, along with Bernie McDaid of Salem, another man who says Birmingham abused him, and Bergeron's father, Joseph ''Eddie" Bergeron, who said he had also been abused by a priest. For days, they went to the Vatican and knocked on doors. They went to church officials' homes. The Swiss Guards at the Vatican said they had made bets on how far the trio would progress. The staff at the cafe across the street from their hotel took messages when the hotel phones failed.
The evening before the Bergerons and McDaid were scheduled to return to the United States, the Vatican sent two officials to Bergeron's hotel suite. The group spoke for more than two hours. The next morning, a package arrived at the hotel: a note from the Holy Father, wishing for safe passage, and offering a gift of rosary beads.
It was something, but not enough.
''I would have liked to have given him the opportunity to know who we were and what we were about, and it was an opportunity missed," Gary Bergeron said. ''However, I judge a man by the sum of his life, and not by one deed. I still think of him as a pretty incredible man."
And he has spent the past week reflecting on two paths that -- despite his fiercest efforts -- never converged.
''Many people think the journey that, as a survivor, I've taken has been about vengeance," Bergeron said. ''You know what? This has really been a journey of peace for me, making peace with my past and finding the inner peace that I've never had in my entire life. This man was able to die in peace. My journey continues."
Thaddeus Buczko
He ate lobster at Jimmy's - and gave a lesson
Cardinal Karol Wojtyla had never eaten lobster.
He may have been a scholar, a skier, a poet. But when Wojtyla, then archbishop of Krakow, arrived in Boston in 1969, on one leg of his good-will tour of Polish-American communities, he had a hole in his culinary repertoire -- before Thaddeus Buczko got involved.
At the time, Buczko was state auditor and a friend of Monsignor Stanislaus Sypek, the Polish pastor of St. Adalbert's Church in Hyde Park. Sypek was guiding the cardinal through Boston, and asked Buczko to arrange for a luncheon with local leaders.
It was a fitting choice; like the cardinal, Buczko had managed to maintain a Polish identity in a firmly non-Polish milieu. The American-born son of Polish peasants, he had won a City Council seat in an Irish-Catholic district in Salem, served as state representative and, in 1964, was elected auditor statewide. He knew how to work the system.
But this was a new political problem: where to have lunch with a cardinal?
Buczko asked his administrative assistant, Jane Kelly, who suggested Jimmy's Harborside.
Two weeks later, Wojtyla, in dark cassock, joined politicians and local clergy in an upstairs room at the waterfront restaurant. He had two entree choices: beef or baked stuffed lobster. He chose the lobster. And as he sat beside Buczko, speaking in Polish with English interspersed, he offered a gentle lesson.
Buczko told him that his mother had always referred to lobsters as ''raki." Wojtyla explained that it was the word for crayfish or crab. Lobster, in Polish, was ''homar." From Latin, he said. Quite close to the word in French.
It was a gracious explanation, Buczko recalled -- almost as gracious as the speech Wojtyla gave, thanking Buczko for the gathering and making a cheerful prediction. Someday, he said, the state auditor might become governor, or senator, or even president of the United States.
When Buczko rose for his closing remarks, he had to return the compliment. ''Someday," he announced, ''Cardinal Wojtyla may actually become pope."
At the time, ''it was all in good fun," said Buczko, now 79. Everyone smiled, applauded, and laughed, certain it would never really happen.
Leonard P. Zakim
Papal blessing came with sneeze, knightly honor
Among the things Leonard P. Zakim wanted to experience before he died was a visit, in Vatican City, with Pope John Paul II.
Zakim had spent his tenure as New England director of the Anti-Defamation League working to improve interfaith relations. He and the pontiff shared a desire for reconciliation and cross-cultural understanding.
They also shared the need to be strong in the face of illness.
By November 1999, when the Catholic-Jewish pilgrimage -- which Zakim had helped to organize with his friend, Cardinal Bernard Law -- was scheduled to leave Boston for 10 days in Israel and Rome, Zakim's bone marrow cancer had worsened. He skipped the Israel leg of the trip and met the group in Italy. He wore a neck brace and brought a friend to help with medication. But his spirits were high, recalls Christy Jackowitz, the league's acting director.
And on a bright-hot Monday, he went with the group to St. Peter's Square. They sat beneath an open-air tent as the pope -- who stayed seated, his head bowed -- addressed the teeming crowd in 16 languages.
Then they drew close to receive a papal blessing.
Zakim brought the pope a book, ''And I Still See Their Faces: Images of Polish Jews." The pope laid a hand on Zakim's head and prayed for his health. The pontiff sneezed. Zakim said, ''Gesundheit." Both of them smiled.
Afterward, the group was led to a private room inside the Vatican, where an official described, for them, the highest lay honor the church bestows: the Knight of St. Gregory. In front of the group, Jackowitz said, the official pinned a medal on Zakim's lapel and made him a knight.
''This is a kid from Wayne, New Jersey, who tried to play football," said Zakim's friend, Harold W. Schwartz. ''It's mind-boggling. No one's blowing this up bigger than it was."
Zakim sat behind Schwartz on the plane ride home. ''He was thrilled and proud," Schwartz said. ''He was beaming. But you could see that he was tired."
Zakim died a month later, at 46. His funeral, at Temple Emanuel in Newton, was attended by 1,800 people from various faiths.
The girls of Our Lady of Nazareth Academy
Young singers won't forget his 'peacefulness'
Patricia Tamagini saw the ad in a Catholic magazine, in 1994. It was a contest, seeking high school groups to sing original contemporary Christian music. At the Vatican.
This was a perfect opportunity, thought Tamagini, the director of performing arts and theology at Our Lady of Nazareth Academy in Wakefield. Her daughter Lora, a teacher at the school, had written contemporary Christian songs. The chamber singer choir had recorded a compact disc. Tamagini sent it along with her application.
Patricia Tamagini received an invitation to Rome. And 44 girls from Wakefield started furiously raising money, so they could sing for the pope in St. Peter's Square.
''It was never an option not to go. We had to go," said Jennifer Fontana, a sophomore at the time, now 24. ''I mean, Italy. To see the pope. My God."
They held concerts and bake sales and collected sponsorships. They planned a singing tour at churches in Rome, Florence, Sienna, and Assisi. On the flight to Rome, the crew asked them to sing from their seats.
And on April 16, 1996, they put on their school uniforms -- sweaters, plaid polyester skirts -- and headed to St. Peter's Square. They stood at the foot of the basilica steps, with groups of young singers from Poland, Spain, Austria, and France. The pope, still healthy and vibrant, stood at the top of the stairs, listening to the music. When the singing was over, the girls climbed up to him, and he walked over to thank them.
In English, he praised their voices, recalls Patricia Tamagini, now 66. He thanked Lora Tamagini for her beautiful songs. ''God bless you," she told him. ''No," he said. ''God bless you."
For a teenage girl -- Catholic or not -- he left a firm impression.
''He had amazing presence, just this feeling of kindness," said Laura White, a Congregationalist, now 24.
''He had this fantastic peacefulness about him," Fontana said.
But what struck Patricia Tamagini most was that this elevated man, the leader of his faith, had taken the time to linger with a group of girls.
''He was so gentle and down to earth. Just really down to earth," Tamagini said. ''Holding our hands and talking with us eye to eye."
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
Saturday, April 2, 2005
Debate continues over pope's reaction to sex-abuse scandal
Debate continues over pope's reaction to sex-abuse scandal
Alan Cooperman - Washington Post
Apr. 2, 2005
During his long reign, Pope John Paul II apologized to Muslims for the Crusades, to Jews for anti-Semitism, to Orthodox Christians for the sacking of Constantinople, to Italians for the Vatican's associations with the Mafia and to scientists for the persecution of Galileo.
He apologized so often, in fact, that an Italian journalist compiled a book of more than 90 papal statements of contrition.
Yet the pope never apologized for the most shocking behavior that came to light on his watch: sexual abuse of children by priests and the church's attempts to hush it up. To some alleged victims, that is a puzzling omission and a deep stain on his legacy.
"I would hate to see all the good works this pope has done over his lifetime be overshadowed by this scandal. But that's what may happen," said Gary M. Bergeron, of Lowell, Mass., who says he was molested in the 1970s by Rev. Joseph Birmingham, a priest accused of abusing more than a dozen altar boys. Birmingham has since died.
John Paul's defenders contend that sexual misconduct by priests is a worldwide problem that began before he became pope in 1978. They say once it came to light, he reacted decisively. Summoning America's cardinals to the Vatican in April 2002, he declared that "there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young."
Those words became the basis for the "zero tolerance" policy adopted two months later by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Over the following year, hundreds of priests resigned, retired or were suspended as the bishops pledged to remove any clergyman who had ever abused a minor.
But victims' advocates argue that John Paul could have done more, and they hope his successor will set a new tone, beginning with a straightforward apology to victims.
Bergeron and other Boston-area survivors of clergy abuse traveled to Rome in 2003 to try to persuade the pope to meet with victims, issue an apology and condemn coverups. The small delegation included Bergeron's father, Joseph, who said that he, too, was abused as an altar boy but kept silent until he discovered many years later that the same thing had happened to two of his sons.
For five days that March, the Bergerons literally knocked on Vatican doors. Eventually they saw an official from the papal secretary of state's office. John Paul never met with them or any other known victims.
Still churchgoing Catholics, the Bergerons said they believe the pope was kept in the dark by his aides. "It's almost like a movie star complex where they don't let them read the bad press," Gary Bergeron said.
Others are more harsh in their judgments.
"I would say there's a significant amount of responsibility in the lap of the papacy for the sexual abuse crisis, not only in the United States but around the world," said Rev. Thomas Doyle, a former Air Force chaplain who has counseled many victims and advised them on lawsuits against the church. "Given that the Vatican insists on hierarchical authority and micromanagement, I think they have to take responsibility."
As a young canon lawyer in the mid-1980s, Doyle worked at the Vatican's embassy in Washington during the first major sexual abuse scandal in the U.S. church, which centered on a Louisiana priest, Gilbert Gauthe.
"Reports went over there, detailed reports," Doyle said. "I can tell you for certain that it reached the Vatican early in 1985, because I was working at the Vatican Embassy and I know that communications about the Gauthe case were sent to the Vatican - and they were seen by the pope."
But John Paul did not speak publicly about sexual abuse by priests until eight years later, after a furor over another pedophile priest, James Porter, who had more than 100 alleged victims in Fall River, Mass.
Addressing a group of visiting U.S. bishops in Rome in 1993, the pope said he shared their "sadness and disappointment when those entrusted with the ministry fail in their commitment, becoming a cause of public scandal." Much of his message, however, was an attack on "sensationalism" in the news media, leaving the strong impression that he believed the sex abuse problem was exaggerated in America.
"Woe to societies where scandal becomes an everyday event," he said.
Nevertheless, at the request of U.S. bishops, the pope in 1994 changed church law in the United States to lengthen the statute of limitations on accusations of sexual abuse to 10 years from the victim's 18th birthday. Previously, it had been five years from the date of the offense.
In 2002, a fresh scandal erupted when a Boston judge released church documents showing that Cardinal Bernard Law and his assistant bishops had secretly shuffled abusers from parish to parish. In response, John Paul amended canon law again by accepting the bishops' zero tolerance policy, though only after Vatican officials insisted on changes to protect the due process rights of accused priests. Law later resigned under pressure.
In recent years the pontiff also condemned sexual abuse more directly and forcefully. In his address to U.S. cardinals in April 2002, he said it was "rightly considered a crime by society" as well as "an appalling sin in the eyes of God."
"To the victims and their families, wherever they may be, I express my profound sense of solidarity and concern," he added. It was the closest he came to an apology.
To many victims and their families, however, the pope's actions fell short. Under John Paul, they contend, the Vatican was more aggressive about stamping out dissent within the priesthood over birth control than it was about protecting children.
"Everyone blames the bishops, but the pope's the one who picks them," Doyle said.
Papal biographer George Weigel argues that the critics' portrayal of an uncaring John Paul is wrong. He said John Paul was "deeply, deeply grieved" by the unholy actions of supposedly holy men.
Other Vatican officials have echoed the papal denunciations. As recently as March 25, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the church's theological watchdog and one of John Paul's closest aides, made an apparent reference to clerical sex abuse in the meditations he provided for Good Friday observances in Rome. In a Vatican translation, Ratzinger assailed "how much filth there is in the church ... even among ... the priesthood...."
Like many traditionalist Catholics, Weigel contends that the origins of the scandal lie in the 1960s, under previous popes who tolerated dissent and allowed a gay subculture to develop in the priesthood. The solution, in his view, is to continue down the path set by John Paul: strict fidelity to church teachings that support celibacy for priests and condemn homosexual activity.
In his 2002 book, "The Courage to Be Catholic," however, Weigel acknowledged that the Vatican was slow to recognize the crisis in the U.S. church, tending to view the scandal as a creation of the secular news media, opportunistic lawyers and the church's enemies.
Debate over the pope's degree of responsibility for the scandal appears likely to continue for years.
Richard R. Gaillardetz, a professor of Catholic studies at the University of Toledo who has written several books on authority in the church, said that neither John Paul nor any church leader "consciously encouraged" clerical sex abuse.
But Gaillardetz said he would assign the pope some indirect responsibility for the hierarchy's attempts to hide the problem.
"He encouraged an ecclesiastical culture that emphasizes vertical accountability - priest to bishop, bishop to the pope - and very little horizontal accountability" of bishops to one another and to the laity, Gaillardetz said.
"In general that is going to be one of the most serious criticisms leveled against this papacy, that he turned away from the direction many people saw in Vatican II, which is the principle of subsidiarity or decentralized control," Gaillardetz added, referring to the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65. "That is a disturbing pattern, a larger pattern of this pontificate."
David Gibson, author of "The Coming Catholic Church," a 2003 book about long-term change in the church, also attributes the coverup partly to John Paul's insistence on central control.
"The bottom line is: Cardinal Law was the pope's favorite son in America, and Cardinal Law's sense of a corporate church that he ran, with everybody else on a need-to-know basis, was very much an attitude that came from Rome. Rome did not want scandals. Rome under this papacy was focused on exalting the iconic image of the priest," Gibson said.
Rightly or wrongly, Gibson contends, the sexual abuse scandal and John Paul will be inextricably linked.
"After so many years as pope, people have almost begun to forget what a heroic figure he was and how close he came to being martyred on St. Peter's Square," he said. "The scandal is not going to define his legacy, but it does mean that every obituary, every discussion of his legacy, will have to say, 'But ...' "
Alan Cooperman - Washington Post
Apr. 2, 2005
During his long reign, Pope John Paul II apologized to Muslims for the Crusades, to Jews for anti-Semitism, to Orthodox Christians for the sacking of Constantinople, to Italians for the Vatican's associations with the Mafia and to scientists for the persecution of Galileo.
He apologized so often, in fact, that an Italian journalist compiled a book of more than 90 papal statements of contrition.
Yet the pope never apologized for the most shocking behavior that came to light on his watch: sexual abuse of children by priests and the church's attempts to hush it up. To some alleged victims, that is a puzzling omission and a deep stain on his legacy.
"I would hate to see all the good works this pope has done over his lifetime be overshadowed by this scandal. But that's what may happen," said Gary M. Bergeron, of Lowell, Mass., who says he was molested in the 1970s by Rev. Joseph Birmingham, a priest accused of abusing more than a dozen altar boys. Birmingham has since died.
John Paul's defenders contend that sexual misconduct by priests is a worldwide problem that began before he became pope in 1978. They say once it came to light, he reacted decisively. Summoning America's cardinals to the Vatican in April 2002, he declared that "there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young."
Those words became the basis for the "zero tolerance" policy adopted two months later by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Over the following year, hundreds of priests resigned, retired or were suspended as the bishops pledged to remove any clergyman who had ever abused a minor.
But victims' advocates argue that John Paul could have done more, and they hope his successor will set a new tone, beginning with a straightforward apology to victims.
Bergeron and other Boston-area survivors of clergy abuse traveled to Rome in 2003 to try to persuade the pope to meet with victims, issue an apology and condemn coverups. The small delegation included Bergeron's father, Joseph, who said that he, too, was abused as an altar boy but kept silent until he discovered many years later that the same thing had happened to two of his sons.
For five days that March, the Bergerons literally knocked on Vatican doors. Eventually they saw an official from the papal secretary of state's office. John Paul never met with them or any other known victims.
Still churchgoing Catholics, the Bergerons said they believe the pope was kept in the dark by his aides. "It's almost like a movie star complex where they don't let them read the bad press," Gary Bergeron said.
Others are more harsh in their judgments.
"I would say there's a significant amount of responsibility in the lap of the papacy for the sexual abuse crisis, not only in the United States but around the world," said Rev. Thomas Doyle, a former Air Force chaplain who has counseled many victims and advised them on lawsuits against the church. "Given that the Vatican insists on hierarchical authority and micromanagement, I think they have to take responsibility."
As a young canon lawyer in the mid-1980s, Doyle worked at the Vatican's embassy in Washington during the first major sexual abuse scandal in the U.S. church, which centered on a Louisiana priest, Gilbert Gauthe.
"Reports went over there, detailed reports," Doyle said. "I can tell you for certain that it reached the Vatican early in 1985, because I was working at the Vatican Embassy and I know that communications about the Gauthe case were sent to the Vatican - and they were seen by the pope."
But John Paul did not speak publicly about sexual abuse by priests until eight years later, after a furor over another pedophile priest, James Porter, who had more than 100 alleged victims in Fall River, Mass.
Addressing a group of visiting U.S. bishops in Rome in 1993, the pope said he shared their "sadness and disappointment when those entrusted with the ministry fail in their commitment, becoming a cause of public scandal." Much of his message, however, was an attack on "sensationalism" in the news media, leaving the strong impression that he believed the sex abuse problem was exaggerated in America.
"Woe to societies where scandal becomes an everyday event," he said.
Nevertheless, at the request of U.S. bishops, the pope in 1994 changed church law in the United States to lengthen the statute of limitations on accusations of sexual abuse to 10 years from the victim's 18th birthday. Previously, it had been five years from the date of the offense.
In 2002, a fresh scandal erupted when a Boston judge released church documents showing that Cardinal Bernard Law and his assistant bishops had secretly shuffled abusers from parish to parish. In response, John Paul amended canon law again by accepting the bishops' zero tolerance policy, though only after Vatican officials insisted on changes to protect the due process rights of accused priests. Law later resigned under pressure.
In recent years the pontiff also condemned sexual abuse more directly and forcefully. In his address to U.S. cardinals in April 2002, he said it was "rightly considered a crime by society" as well as "an appalling sin in the eyes of God."
"To the victims and their families, wherever they may be, I express my profound sense of solidarity and concern," he added. It was the closest he came to an apology.
To many victims and their families, however, the pope's actions fell short. Under John Paul, they contend, the Vatican was more aggressive about stamping out dissent within the priesthood over birth control than it was about protecting children.
"Everyone blames the bishops, but the pope's the one who picks them," Doyle said.
Papal biographer George Weigel argues that the critics' portrayal of an uncaring John Paul is wrong. He said John Paul was "deeply, deeply grieved" by the unholy actions of supposedly holy men.
Other Vatican officials have echoed the papal denunciations. As recently as March 25, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the church's theological watchdog and one of John Paul's closest aides, made an apparent reference to clerical sex abuse in the meditations he provided for Good Friday observances in Rome. In a Vatican translation, Ratzinger assailed "how much filth there is in the church ... even among ... the priesthood...."
Like many traditionalist Catholics, Weigel contends that the origins of the scandal lie in the 1960s, under previous popes who tolerated dissent and allowed a gay subculture to develop in the priesthood. The solution, in his view, is to continue down the path set by John Paul: strict fidelity to church teachings that support celibacy for priests and condemn homosexual activity.
In his 2002 book, "The Courage to Be Catholic," however, Weigel acknowledged that the Vatican was slow to recognize the crisis in the U.S. church, tending to view the scandal as a creation of the secular news media, opportunistic lawyers and the church's enemies.
Debate over the pope's degree of responsibility for the scandal appears likely to continue for years.
Richard R. Gaillardetz, a professor of Catholic studies at the University of Toledo who has written several books on authority in the church, said that neither John Paul nor any church leader "consciously encouraged" clerical sex abuse.
But Gaillardetz said he would assign the pope some indirect responsibility for the hierarchy's attempts to hide the problem.
"He encouraged an ecclesiastical culture that emphasizes vertical accountability - priest to bishop, bishop to the pope - and very little horizontal accountability" of bishops to one another and to the laity, Gaillardetz said.
"In general that is going to be one of the most serious criticisms leveled against this papacy, that he turned away from the direction many people saw in Vatican II, which is the principle of subsidiarity or decentralized control," Gaillardetz added, referring to the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65. "That is a disturbing pattern, a larger pattern of this pontificate."
David Gibson, author of "The Coming Catholic Church," a 2003 book about long-term change in the church, also attributes the coverup partly to John Paul's insistence on central control.
"The bottom line is: Cardinal Law was the pope's favorite son in America, and Cardinal Law's sense of a corporate church that he ran, with everybody else on a need-to-know basis, was very much an attitude that came from Rome. Rome did not want scandals. Rome under this papacy was focused on exalting the iconic image of the priest," Gibson said.
Rightly or wrongly, Gibson contends, the sexual abuse scandal and John Paul will be inextricably linked.
"After so many years as pope, people have almost begun to forget what a heroic figure he was and how close he came to being martyred on St. Peter's Square," he said. "The scandal is not going to define his legacy, but it does mean that every obituary, every discussion of his legacy, will have to say, 'But ...' "
Monday, February 7, 2005
CLERGY ABUSE SURVIVOR RESPONDS TO THE CONVICTION OF REV. PAUL SHANLEY
CLERGY ABUSE SURVIVOR RESPONDS TO THE CONVICTION OF REV. PAUL SHANLEY.
The conviction of Rev. Paul Shanley on all counts today in Boston should serve as notice that no person, regardless of his position or the institution he represents is immune to prosecution for abusing a child.
The painful door which survivors of childhood sexual abuse have opened has allowed society to begin to shed light on the horrific abuse which children have endured for decades. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse continue to hope that society will have the courage to walk through that door.
I take this opportunity to ask judicial leaders throughout the United States to strengthen the existing child endangerment laws and to make the necessary changes in the statute of limitations laws. This change would allow all victims of childhood sexual abuse an opportunity to find justice.
Today’s conviction should also stand as a reminder to society that no person or organization is more powerful than one person having the courage to stand up and tell the truth.
Gary M. Bergeron
Boston MA
garymbergeron@gmail.com
Gary Bergeron, a survivor of clergy abuse from the Boston area, is also the author of “Don’t Call Me a Victim, Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in The Catholic Church”.
The conviction of Rev. Paul Shanley on all counts today in Boston should serve as notice that no person, regardless of his position or the institution he represents is immune to prosecution for abusing a child.
The painful door which survivors of childhood sexual abuse have opened has allowed society to begin to shed light on the horrific abuse which children have endured for decades. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse continue to hope that society will have the courage to walk through that door.
I take this opportunity to ask judicial leaders throughout the United States to strengthen the existing child endangerment laws and to make the necessary changes in the statute of limitations laws. This change would allow all victims of childhood sexual abuse an opportunity to find justice.
Today’s conviction should also stand as a reminder to society that no person or organization is more powerful than one person having the courage to stand up and tell the truth.
Gary M. Bergeron
Boston MA
garymbergeron@gmail.com
Gary Bergeron, a survivor of clergy abuse from the Boston area, is also the author of “Don’t Call Me a Victim, Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in The Catholic Church”.
Saturday, February 5, 2005
Clergy Abuse Survivor Responds
Clergy Abuse Survivor Responds to the Conviction of Rev. Paul Shanley
Market Wire, February, 2005
The conviction of Rev. Paul Shanley on all counts today in Boston should serve as notice that no person, regardless of his position or the institution he represents, is immune to prosecution for abusing a child.
The painful door which survivors of childhood sexual abuse have opened has allowed society to begin to shed light on the horrific abuse which children have endured for decades. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse continue to hope that society will have the courage to walk through that door.
I take this opportunity to ask judicial leaders throughout the United States to strengthen the existing child endangerment laws and to make the necessary changes in the statute of limitations laws. This change would allow all victims of childhood sexual abuse an opportunity to find justice.
Gary Bergeron, a survivor of clergy abuse from the Boston area is also the author of "Don't Call Me a Victim, Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in The Catholic Church."
Gary M. Bergeron
Market Wire, February, 2005
The conviction of Rev. Paul Shanley on all counts today in Boston should serve as notice that no person, regardless of his position or the institution he represents, is immune to prosecution for abusing a child.
The painful door which survivors of childhood sexual abuse have opened has allowed society to begin to shed light on the horrific abuse which children have endured for decades. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse continue to hope that society will have the courage to walk through that door.
I take this opportunity to ask judicial leaders throughout the United States to strengthen the existing child endangerment laws and to make the necessary changes in the statute of limitations laws. This change would allow all victims of childhood sexual abuse an opportunity to find justice.
Gary Bergeron, a survivor of clergy abuse from the Boston area is also the author of "Don't Call Me a Victim, Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in The Catholic Church."
Gary M. Bergeron
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