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He estado luchando con la pregunta de qué decir sobre el último conjunto de escándalos de abuso que se publicaron en las últimas semanas. Una de las razones de mi lucha, es que estoy lidiando con mis sentimientos de traición y desilusión, de que cosas así puedan pasar en esta Iglesia que tanto amo. La otra, es que sé que estas continuas revelaciones dañan la confianza que usted ha depositado en todos los líderes de la Iglesia.
El tema del abuso sexual en la Iglesia ha sido como una nube oscura que pende sobre la Iglesia, durante la mayoría de los años en que he sido sacerdote. Durante mis años en el seminario, permanecí inconsciente de que la actuación sexual de cualquier tipo, podía invadir el santuario sagrado de nuestro seminario. En los años posteriores a mi ordenación, me enteré de que un compañero seminarista, Rudy Kos, se convirtió en uno de los abusadores de niños más notorios en su tiempo como sacerdote. En mi Diócesis de Dallas aprendí cómo una postura incrédula y defensiva por parte de los líderes podría permitir que situaciones como estas continuaran. También tuve la oportunidad de conocer a algunas víctimas de abuso. En un caso, tuve el honor de caminar con ella durante muchos años y de buscar con ella una respuesta justa de parte de las autoridades diocesanas. Desde aquel entonces, he orado diariamente y he ayunado semanalmente en beneficio de las víctimas de abuso. El dolor de las víctimas de abuso, especialmente el abuso por alguien que representa a Dios en la Iglesia, me ha conmovido enormemente. Muchos luchan por el resto de sus vidas con sentimientos de no ser amados, como si fueran solo un objeto para ser utilizados. Su dolor nunca desaparece por completo y su dificultad para relacionarse con Dios y confiar en alguien en la Iglesia es una lucha de por vida. Al llegar a El Paso, hace cinco años, descubrí que estábamos tratando o ya habíamos resuelto un número de casos que involucraban depredadores de niños. Ninguno de ellos era reciente y muchos ya no eran elegibles para enjuiciamiento. A medida que se conocieron los casos, buscamos identificar a las víctimas y ofrecerles la asistencia que pudiéramos. Nos aseguramos de que existiera una política de cero tolerancias y de que nadie que haya sido acusado de manera creíble, tuviese permiso para participar nuevamente en el ministerio. En nuestra diócesis, se nos ha ayudado enormemente por el trabajo de nuestra experta Coordinadora de Asistencia a Víctimas, Susan Martínez. Ella trabaja junto con nuestra Junta de Revisión Pastoral como miembro del Comité de Respuesta Pastoral, compuesto principalmente por terapeutas laicos quienes evalúan el reclamo y hacen recomendaciones sobre cómo la diócesis puede ayudar a la víctima, así como qué se debe hacer con el perpetrador. Ella alienta a la víctima para que informe a las autoridades. Si la víctima es menor de edad, ella reporta a las autoridades apropiadas. Susan también ha dispuesto para que me reúna con varias víctimas, cuando lo piden. Esta ha sido una experiencia muy desgarradora y conmovedora para mí. La mayoría de los casos de los que nos enteramos sucedieron hace mucho tiempo, pero siempre buscamos identificar a otras posibles víctimas. Recientemente hubo un caso creíble de abuso por parte de un sacerdote, Miguel Luna, el cual nos llamó mucho la atención. Él había sido removido del ministerio activo algunos años antes, debido a las preocupaciones que teníamos sobre su comportamiento, aunque ninguna víctima se había presentado. Cuando dos valientes mujeres se presentaron, anunciamos en todas nuestras parroquias y también anunciamos lo que aprendimos en los medios. De esta manera, pudimos advertir a cualquier nueva víctima potencial e invitar a otras a presentarse. Como resultado, una tercera víctima se presentó. El estatuto de limitaciones no había pasado para el caso de la tercera víctima, por lo que Miguel Luna actualmente está siendo procesado. Otro paso importante que hemos dado, es nuestro compromiso de crear un programa de capacitación ambiental seguro para llegar a todos los niños, el personal diocesano, parroquial y los voluntarios activos en la Iglesia. Se le conoce como VIRTUS y lleva a cabo verificaciones de antecedentes penales de todos los voluntarios y el personal, además de enseñar a niños y adultos, de una manera apropiada para la edad, cómo reconocer los signos de un posible abusador. En los últimos años, hemos entrenado a miles. Esperamos que proporcionemos las herramientas, no solo para proteger a nuestras parroquias de la presencia de depredadores de niños, sino también crearemos hogares y escuelas más seguros, donde ocurren la mayoría de los abusos. Confío que a nivel nacional, la Iglesia continuará buscando mejores formas de garantizar que ninguna persona, sin importar su rango, esté por encima de la ley. Mientras tanto, aquí en casa, continuaremos haciendo todo lo que esté en nuestro poder para recuperar la confianza que usted tiene derecho a esperar de los líderes en la Iglesia. Bp. Mark
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I have been wrestling with the question of what to say about the latest set of abuse scandals to come out in recent weeks. One of the reasons for my struggle is that I am dealing with my feelings of betrayal and disillusionment that such things could happen in the Church I love. Another is that I know these ongoing revelations damage the trust you have placed in all leaders in the Church.
The issue of sexual abuse in the Church has been like a dark cloud hanging over the Church during most of the years I have been a priest. During my seminary years I remained unaware that sexual acting out of any kind could invade the holy sanctuary of our seminary. In years following my Ordination I would learn that a fellow seminarian, Rudy Kos, became one of the most notorious child abusers in his time as a priest. In my Diocese of Dallas I learned how a disbelieving and defensive posture on the part of leaders could allow situations such as these to continue. I also had the opportunity to know some victims of abuse. In one case I had the honor of walking with her through many years and to seek with her a just response from diocesan authorities. Since that time I have prayed daily and fasted weekly for victims of abuse. The pain of victims of abuse, especially abuse by someone who represents God in the Church, has moved me greatly. Many struggle for the rest of their lives with feelings of being unlovable, as though they are just an object to be used. Their pain never completely goes away and their difficulty in relating to God and trusting anyone in the Church is a lifetime struggle. Arriving in El Paso five years ago I found that we were dealing with or had already resolved a number cases involving child predators. None of them were recent and many no longer were eligible for prosecution. As cases became known we sought to identify victims and offer them any assistance we could. We made sure that a zero tolerance policy was in place and that no one who had been credibly accused would ever have permission to be involved in ministry again. In our diocese we have been greatly assisted by the expert work of our Victims’ Assistance Coordinator, Susan Martinez. She works alongside our Pastoral Review Board as a member of the Pastoral Response Committee, which is made up primarily of lay therapists who evaluate the claim and make recommendations regarding how the diocese can assist the victim, as well as what should be done with the perpetrator. She will encourage the victim to report to authorities. If the victim is a minor, she will report to the appropriate authorities. Susan has also arranged for me to meet with several victims when they requested. It has been a very heart-wrenching and moving experience for me. Most of the cases of which we become aware happened long ago, but we always seek to identify other possible victims. Recently there was a credible case of abuse by a priest, Miguel Luna, which came to our attention. He had been removed from active ministry some years earlier due to concerns we had about his behavior although no victim had come forward. When two courageous women came forward we had announcements made in all our parishes and also announced what we had learned in the media. In this way we could warn any new potential victims and invite any others to come forward. As a result, a third victim came forward. The statute of limitations had not passed for the third victim’s case, so Miguel Luna is presently being prosecuted. Another important step we have taken is our commitment to create a program of safe environment training to reach out to all children, diocesan and parish personnel, and volunteers active in the Church. VIRTUS, as it is known, conducts criminal background checks on all volunteers and personnel and teaches children and adults, in an age appropriate way, how to recognize the signs of a potential abuser. In just the last few years we have trained thousands. Our hope is that we will provide the tools not only to protect our parishes from the presence of child predators, but that we will also create safer homes and schools, which are the places where most abuse takes place. I am confident that on a national level the Church will continue to seek better ways to assure that no person, no matter their rank, will be above the law. Meanwhile, here at home, we will continue to do all in our power to regain the trust that you have a right to expect from leaders in the Church. Bp. Mark De vez en cuando alguien me comenta después de Misa con un suspiro de alivio, "Esa Misa fue de mucha paz. ¡No escuché ni un solo bebé llorando!" Cuando escucho un comentario como ese, suelo pensar: "¡Qué triste, ni un solo bebé llorando!" Obviamente, hay un momento en que un bebé que llora necesita ser llevado temporalmente al atrio, pero la iglesia que no tiene bebés llorando, es la iglesia que está a punto de morir.
Día a día me encuentro con personas en esos almacenes humanos que llamamos asilos de ancianos, totalmente solos, esperando su momento hasta que mueren. No tienen a nadie que los visite, en algunos casos, porque en su intento de crear un mundo exitoso para ellos y de darles el mundo entero a sus 2.5 hijos, crearon un mundo que era realmente estéril. Los pocos niños a quienes dieron vida pensaron que el mundo giraba en torno a ellos. En nuestros esfuerzos muy "bien informados" para controlar nuestra fertilidad, las personas del llamado mundo "desarrollado", desde hace algún tiempo han adoptado una tasa de natalidad que está muy por debajo de los niveles de reemplazo. Muchas economías de todo el mundo, como Japón, ya están sintiendo el dolor de una población que envejece y que ya no puede apoyar a los jubilados y los que no pueden trabajar. En los Estados Unidos, las estadísticas muestran que la inmigración es lo único que ha impedido el día del ajuste de cuentas. Nuestra Iglesia Católica ha recibido de Dios una hermosa enseñanza, la cual nos ayuda a reconocer cada matrimonio como una oportunidad para revelar el amor fiel de Dios en el mundo y en cada vida humana como una expresión del poder creativo de ese amor. Esta enseñanza fue bellamente reiterada por el Papa Juan Pablo VI, en su carta titulada "Humanae Vitae", que se traduce "De la vida humana". Esta carta encíclica marcó su 50 aniversario a finales de julio. Esta enseñanza basada en la Biblia revela el privilegio otorgado a los esposos y esposas para compartir el trabajo más grande de Dios. Estamos invitados a vernos a nosotros mismos como cooperadores en el trabajo de Dios, en lugar de manipuladores de Él. Una pareja casada es llamada a la oración y valientemente a ponerse a disposición del plan de Dios para sus vidas. Ciertamente deberían buscar usar los mismos ciclos de fertilidad que Dios ha puesto en la naturaleza para espaciar su procreación (Planificación Familiar Natural), pero esto siempre debe ser con un espíritu de apertura y confianza de que lo que Dios envía, también lo proveerá. Descubrimos cada vez más que cuando los seres humanos nos vemos a nosotros mismos como controladores, en lugar de cooperadores, dueños del mundo en el que vivimos, en lugar de administradores de él, tendemos a dejar nada más que destrucción a nuestro paso. En nombre de la libertad y la liberación, hemos vendido anticonceptivos artificiales a las mujeres, que ahora son reconocidos por la Organización Mundial de la Salud como carcinógenos y que causan muchos otros problemas de salud. En lugar de liberar a las mujeres, la anticoncepción las ha convertido en objetos de lujuria más que nunca antes. Separar la posibilidad de que la vida pueda resultar de un encuentro sexual, ha llevado a hombres y mujeres a reducir el sexo a poco más que una forma de recreación. En estos años, se suponía que la anticoncepción debía liberar a las mujeres, en cambio, hemos visto explotar pornografía y embarazos imprevistos y el rompimiento del matrimonio. ¿Qué clase de avance es esto para la mujer? Oro para que nosotros, especialmente nosotros los católicos, veamos pronto el error de nuestros caminos y reconozcamos el maravilloso regalo y la gran alegría que se produce cuando las parejas casadas generosamente entregan sus vidas a Dios y a su plan providencial. Los niños son verdaderamente nuestro mayor tesoro y una bendición más allá de toda medida para una familia y para nuestra comunidad cristiana. ¡Que Dios nos conceda todo un coro de bebés llorando! + Obispo Mark From time to time someone will comment to me after Mass with a sigh of relief, "That Mass was so peaceful. I didn't hear a single crying baby!" When I hear a comment like that I usually think to myself, "How sad. Not a single crying baby!" Obviously there is a time when a crying baby needs to be taken temporarily out to the atrium, but the church that has no crying babies in its midst is the church that is about to die.
Day by day I encounter people in those human warehouses we call nursing homes totally alone, just biding their time until they die. They have no one to visit them in some cases because, in their attempt to create a successful world for themselves and to give the world to their 2.5 children, they created a world that was barren. The few children to whom they did give life thought the world revolved around them. In our 'enlightened' efforts to control our fertility people of the so-called 'developed' world for some time now have espoused a birthrate that is well below replacement levels. Many economies around the world such as Japan are already feeling the pain of an aging population that can no longer support those retired and those unable to work. In the United States statistics show that immigration is the one thing that has held off the day of reckoning. Our Catholic Church has received from God a beautiful teaching that helps us to recognize every marriage as an opportunity to reveal God's faithful love in the world and every human life as an expression of the creative power of that love. This teaching was beautifully reiterated by the soon to be Canonized, Pope Paul VI in his letter entitled "Humanae Vitae", which translates, "Of Human Life'. This Encyclical letter marked its 50th Anniversary at the end of July. This biblically based teaching reveals the privilege given to husbands and wives to share in God's greatest work. We are invited to see ourselves as cooperators in God's work rather than the manipulators of it. A married couple is called to prayerfully and courageously place themselves at the disposition of God's plan for their lives. They should certainly seek to use the very cycles of fertility God has placed into nature to space their childbearing (Natural Family Planning), but this should always be with a spirit of openness and trust that what God sends He will also provide for. More and more we discover that when we human beings see ourselves as controllers, rather than cooperators, masters of the world in which we live, rather than stewards of it, we tend to leave nothing but destruction in our wake. In the name of freedom and liberation we have sold women artificial contraceptives, which are now recognized by the World Health Organization to be carcinogens and which cause numerous other health problems. Rather than freeing women contraception has rendered them objects of lust more than ever before. Separating out the possibility that life could result from a sexual encounter has led men and women to reduce sex to little more than a form of recreation. In these years that contraception was supposed to be liberating women, instead we have seen pornography and unanticipated pregnancies explode and marriage implode. What advance for womankind is this? I pray that we, especially we Catholics, will soon see the error of our ways and recognize the awesome gift and great joy that comes when married couples generously give their lives to God and His Providential plan. Children are truly our greatest treasure and a blessing beyond measure to a family and to our Christian Community. May God grant us a whole chorus of crying babies! +Bishop Mark Is your parish a private club or a place of welcome for all?
We all have seen it in the world at large and close to home in our parish ministry: the tendency — no, the proclivity — for groups to fight to maintain the status quo. We become so comfortable with the way things are, with the people we know, that we build our fences and close our doors to those who were not part of our original group. Country Parish Experience I once had the good fortune to serve in a parish that was in transition from its many years as a quaint little country parish into a suburban one. The parish staff was growing to meet the needs, and a retired priest was assigned to assist me with the demands. In our little church and one mission, we were celebrating nine Masses on a weekend — and even this number of Masses soon would not be enough. People often were left to stand outside the doors. That little 1950s-era building that seated about 300 people (if the choir loft was full) needed to be replaced. I went to the people with this urgent need, which, from my point of view, was self-evident, but the response I received surprised me. Some were supportive, but many said: “We love this church the way it is. We don’t want a new one!” I explained about the growth and asked, “What if you come to Mass one day and there is no room?” Their response was, “We’ll just come earlier.” After years of effort we built a hall instead where Sunday Mass had to be celebrated for many years. Suburban Parish Experience I remember another parish at which I noted a number of parish organizations were dying. The parish had been founded about 30 years earlier. The founding community had great energy and had engendered an effective evangelical outreach when the parish was founded, canvassing the surrounding neighborhoods to invite their neighbors to take part in the life of the new parish community. The neighborhood was made up of people from all over the United States who had been transferred to that area and who were hungry to find a place where they could belong. This took shape as a full-service parish in which organizations were created to serve children, young adults, married couples and seniors. Besides the many spiritual and educational offerings, there were dinner clubs and bowling teams and bridge clubs, and the list could go on. By the time I served as pastor, much of the original evangelical outreach had been lost in some measure. We organized ministry fairs as a way to introduce new parishioners to the various organizations. But to our surprise, some organizations chose not to take part. I was shocked! “Clearly,” I thought, “they can see that most of their members are in their 70s and 80s. If they don’t do something to rejuvenate their organization, it will die out.” When I asked them about this, their response was clear. They were comfortable with their group and didn’t want to invite any strangers in to break those familiar bonds. An -Ism of Parish Life This is a common experience in parish life, unfolding in both conscious and unconscious ways. It is little wonder that when people in the world want to speak of a situation that is closed in upon itself, walled off from any intruding people or ideas, it is called “parochial.” Our temptation is to model a parish community on our image of a club. Membership is seen as exclusive. It brings together people who fulfill certain requirements to belong to the parish family. In this context, perhaps it should not surprise us when we see among parish members a strong resistance to opening their doors and welcoming people of other cultures, who speak other languages, and particularly recent immigrants. These newcomers threaten the loss of the familiar homogeneity. They bring with them different ways of thinking and acting, different styles of practicing their faith. They are difficult to understand. They break that comfortable sameness that we have come to expect when we go to church. This parochialism is one of the greatest challenges we face in the life of the Church in our country and throughout the world. Jesus himself had to fight this tendency in his first disciples. Remember how Jesus himself resisted the temptation to stay in one place, but said he must move on to the other towns and villages to bring the Good News? Remember how Jesus sent out his own disciples two by two? And recall how before he returned to his Father’s side he gave them his last will and testament saying, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19)? Private Club? In recent times, especially since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has tried to recover the awareness that this missionary thrust of the Church is not just the work of a few chosen, but the work of all the baptized. In fact, as Pope Francis has reminded us untiringly, the Church does not have a mission; the Church is mission. Mission is the reason for the Church’s being. If it were to cease reaching out and inviting others to communion in the family of God, it would cease to be. Shutterstock I served for more than 30 years in priestly ministry for the Diocese of Dallas, one of the early destinations for immigrants from Latin America arriving in our country. In every parish I served, to one degree or another, I witnessed a disconnect between the established community and the more recent immigrants. Those who were established felt threatened, and those who more recently arrived felt alienated. This divide was illustrated for me with striking clarity when, one day, I was called by a funeral director from across town. He asked if I could assist with the burial of a baby, the first child of immigrants from Mexico, who had died shortly after birth. I readily agreed to assist, but at one point I wondered aloud why he called me instead of the parish nearby? He said that he had noticed the parents’ home address was only blocks from my church. After the funeral I invited the couple to come to our recently established Spanish Mass at the parish. They asked where the church was. When I told them, they responded, “Oh, we thought that was a private church.” “Private,” I thought, “That must be how we appear!” A Challenge from God Given these ways of thinking that create such separation and alienation in our parishes, it is not hard for me to understand why Catholics in the pews are not always on board with what the pope, bishops and other leaders of the Church are saying when it comes to attitudes toward national borders and those who cross them without documents. Clearly, in the minds of many, recent immigrants have not completed the necessary requirements for membership. Could it be that in these days God is challenging the deadly comfortability of our parish life? Today we do not necessarily have to go out to all the world; in a certain manner the world is coming to us, filled with many gifts and talents and abundant faith. Recent immigrants are ready to enrich us and to assist us on our journey. If we welcome them now, I trust they will be the ones who welcome us one day into the kingdom of God. BISHOP MARK J. SEITZ is bishop of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas. |
AuthorMost Rev. Mark J. Seitz Archives
May 2020
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