Name: Clinton P. Reed, IV School/Class: ENG/2004 E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 617.921.5828 Affiliation with Subject: Faithful Catholic at BU
Title: Do not let bias against Catholic faith cloud judgement
I am writing in response to the 10 September 2003 Staff Edit article entitled, “Big step for church.”
The article criticizes the Catholic Church and the sexual abuse scandal, both directly and indirectly, and although some of these criticisms are appropriate observations, the article merely restates the perspective presented by so many mass media outlets that promote their own agendas. I am disappointed that the author did not offer a fuller picture of the issues discussed.
The author expresses frustration at the apparently unjust nature of a monetary settlement as the solution to the scandal, the lengthy timetable in which the settlement was resolved, and the adjusted case-by-case compensation for each victim.
The author accuses the Church of “[stalling the] progress for far too long” by partaking in “blame games and ‘he said, she said’ exchanges.” It is interesting to note that, while there were innumerable exchanges between the plaintiffs and the Archdiocese, many of the alleged instances of “blame games” that prolonged the settlement occurred as a result of communication between the Church and its insurance agencies. Some of the insurance agencies threatened to refuse financial assistance to the Archdiocese unless it first pursued several other avenues, some legal and some not. The Church had no desire to prolong any settlement; they were forced to approach the matter in such a way.
The article also accuses the Church of solving its problems by paying off the victims: “[B]eing handed a check seems like more of the same: the church, looking to cover itself again, is writing off years of horrible crimes in dollar amounts.” It is severely unfortunate that the author seems to have dismissed the many months of work, communication, and prayer that the Archdiocese has dedicated itself to in order that the victims fully heal from the atrocities that have been committed. Furthermore, it is appalling that the mass media as a whole has ignored this attempt by the Church to foster a spirit of reconciliation and healing.
The author accuses the adjusted case-by-case compensation approach as being unjust. Is there a viable alternative that is better? The real injustice concerning the payment of the settlement concerns the lawyers, who we see regularly on televised, tear-jerking interviews. They present themselves as servers of justice who care about nothing other than the healing of the victims. It would surprise most to discover that they are receiving about 33% of the total settlement, with some lawyers netting upwards of 40% of their specific clients’ settlement. For those that do not have a calculator handy, that is approximately $28 million that the lawyers will receive… justice?
Finally, it seems apparent to me that the vast majority of the American people have their preconceived, media fed notion of what is at the heart of the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal. I encourage the reader to accurately evaluate the true nature of the affair without letting any bias against the Catholic faith cloud one’s judgment.