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They want answers.
Monday night they went looking for Cardinal Rigali. They found him at Villanova University, at a previously scheduled speech on Catholic higher education.
The cardinal spoke for 90 minutes, often touching on "human dignity." But some of those who attended had other lessons in mind. And they turned the cardinal’s own words against him.
One woman indicated the cardinal mentioning human dignity "put me over the edge" in the wake of the report that detailed hundreds of cases of child sexual abuse at the hands of priests, and overwhelming evidence that archdiocesan leaders covered up the situation, in some instances actually enabling it through a policy of removing problem priests and relocating them to other parishes.
The grand jury report points an accusing finger at both the late Cardinal John Krol, and retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, saying they orchestrated policies to question those who came forward with accusations, not to report instances to police, and practice what amounted to a merry-go-round of removing priests believed to be problems, only to place them in unsuspecting communities. The grand jury plainly labels their actions an "immoral cover-up," with the actions of archdiocesan officials being at least as damnable as the acts themselves.
It was only through the vagaries of state law and the long-elapsed statute of limitations that neither the abuser priests nor church leaders find themselves under criminal indictment.
All of the egregious acts of sexual abuse occurred before Cardinal Rigali’s watch. But the grand jury report did not. It exploded into headlines last week. And it was up to Rigali to formulate a response.
The cardinal offered an apology to all the victims of sexual abuse at the hands of priests, and carefully spelled out the changes instituted by the archdiocese to ensure such horrendous circumstances are never repeated. So far, so good. Unfortunately, the cardinal was not done.
Rigali also offered a spirited defense of both Krol and Bevilacqua, denying there was a cover-up, and sitting by as an archdiocesan lawyer skewered the grand jury report as a "vile, mean-spirited diatribe," at times coming very close to labeling District Attorney Lynne Abraham and the members of the grand jury as "anti-Catholic."
It was an insulting response given the care and effort put forth by the grand jury, the painstaking - and, frankly, revolting - detail contained in the report, and overwhelming preponderance of the evidence.
Rigali compounded the problem in a letter distributed at Masses throughout the archdiocese last Sunday.
The faithful aren’t buying. They remain outraged, both at the priests who strayed so egregiously, and the officials who failed to rein them in. But they’re also upset at Rigali and the archdiocese’s response. Apparently they’re not the only ones.
On Tuesday Rigali met with 300 priests from across the archdiocese. Many of them expressed disappointment with the way the archdiocese has handled the situation since the grand jury issued their report, including Rigali’s defense of his predecessors.
Good for them.
One of the priests who attended said the focus of the meeting centered on "spiritual healing."
That also is a good thing. First and foremost, for the children who lost their innocence at the hands of predator priests. And for the clergy involved, that they may get the help and forgiveness they need. For churchgoers, that they not lose their faith.
And for church leaders, who must continue to meet the problem of sexual abuse in their midst head-on.
A good start would be to stop the campaign against the grand jury and its findings, and instead talk plainly to all involved about how things were allowed to go so wrong, for so long, and at such a devastating cost. In both the body and spirit.
The faithful, whether bishop, priest or lay person, deserve no less.
