June 26, 2006
TO: Bishop Daniel Walsh and the Santa Rosa Diocesan Council
FROM: North Bay Voice of the Faithful
RE: The recent sexual abuse incident and the response of our Diocese
We the undersigned are either members of Voice of the Faithful or other
concerned Catholics who endorse this letter.
Voice of the Faithful, an international organization of Catholics, was
formed after the sexual abuse crisis in the Boston Archdiocese became
a very public scandal for our church. Many of us joined VOTF because
the official church was silent about the victims (the survivors) and,
instead, defended the church authorities who seemed to have orchestrated
a deliberate cover up. As ordinary parishioners of the Catholic Church
we came together to share our grief. It was out of this anguish that
VOTF was born. VOTF offers a vehicle for Catholic laity and clergy to
share their concern for the way our church has responded and continues
to respond to the sexual abuse of our children and to work for constructive
reform so that such a crisis will never happen again. It is in this light
that we offer this letter.
The latest news from St. Francis Solano Parish about Father Xavier Ochoa
is distressing and sadly demonstrates what many of us suspect - the sexual
abuse crisis is still very much with our church. It will take years of
resolute vigilance and compassion to heal our community. But it also
requires a commitment to reform a clerical structure so deeply entrenched
in secrecy and denial that a bishop could justify in his own mind protecting
a predator instead of a child. This recent incident in Sonoma illustrates
the need for all Catholics, clergy and laity alike, to embrace the main
goals of VOTF: 1) The support of survivors of sexual abuse, 2) The support
of priests of integrity, and 3) The need to seek structural change within
the church making certain the destructive pattern of sexual abuse and
cover up is stopped.
A letter from Bishop Daniel Walsh was distributed to the Diocese of
Santa Rosa. In the letter he clearly states his purpose, “I feel
I must set the record straight to reassure you about the manner in which
this was handled.” He affirms his commitment to the “zero
tolerance policy for child sexual abuse” set by the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops and he promises to continue cooperating
with the authorities. We trust that he will do what he says. We are encouraged
by his willingness to communicate to the people of the diocese, and we
accept that ultimately the legal authorities will decide whether or not
the diocese acted within the law. Nevertheless, we have concerns about
the incident and the response.
The timeline at the end of the bishop’s letter was not reassuring.
One is left with the impression there was no sense of urgency. Why wasn’t
there at least an attempt to consult the authorities, the Sonoma County
Sheriff or Child Protective Services, on Friday, April 28?
The Bishop explains that he did place Father Ochoa on administrative
leave and removed his faculties to function as a priest but how does
that protect the community and possibly the victim or the victim’s
family? Were they apprised of the situation? There is no indication that
the family was contacted. The most obvious question is why wasn’t
Father Ochoa at least supervised after the meeting? According to the
letter, he admitted to the sexual abuse and even “revealed 2 prior
incidents in Napa and Mexico.” These were not unproven allegations;
these were admissions of guilt. These were crimes.
On April 28th Bishop Walsh met with Father Ochoa, Fr. Epperson and
Msgr. Pulskamp. Why wasn’t Julie Sparacio, the Victim’s Assistance
Coordinator for the diocese, at the meeting? She is the diocesan expert
on the reporting of sexual abuse incidents. Her input would have been
invaluable. We cannot help but notice that only priests were present.
VOTF advocates a greater role for the laity and this is a perfect example
where qualified lay people should have been included, i.e. men and women
who directly experience the joy and grief of parenting or understand
the development of the child or have other professional expertise beyond
the clerical view.
And why did the diocesan lawyer make the police report? It strikes us
as a cautious legal maneuver returning us to a “business as usual” approach
when a diocese hides behind its legal counsel. In this case, it appears
that our lawyer did not act in the best interest of the victim or the
diocese. It is obvious to us that you can report a crime at anytime,
you need not wait for Monday morning. Some of us attended the workshops
offered by the diocese on the education and the prevention of child sexual
abuse. Representatives of the Diocese made it clear to us that if we
suspected child abuse we were to report it to the legal authorities immediately,
and that is especially true if it was an admission of guilt.
We agree with Bishop Walsh that “each new situation…presents
us with new lessons and new opportunities to improve our policy.” We
would like to make the following suggestions to the diocese:
- Expand the role of the Victims’ Assistance Coordinator.
She should to be a more central figure in the process of consultation.
- Assign someone from the diocese, other than the diocesan lawyer,
to report incidents of abuse. This should be done by telephone,
directly
to the proper authorities, immediately, within hours, not days.
- Recommit yourself to a lay review board dedicated to the prevention
of sexual abuse and to the review of possible allegations. We
recommend that a survivor of sexual abuse be a member of the board.
It is our hope that the Diocesan Pastoral Council will put these matters
on their agenda. We see a real need to develop viable ways to expand
the role of the laity in our diocese. We do not believe silence and timidity
are the answer. Let us be forthright about our call for greater accountability
from all members of our community including our leaders.
Finally, let us pray for one another and act justly for all.
Respectfully,
National Officers:
Mary Pat Fox, President, New York, N.Y.
Sally Vance Trembath, V.P., San Francisco,CA
Mary Freeman, Treasurer, Providence R.I.
Gaile Pohlhaus, Secretary, Philadelphia, PA
National Representatives:
Hugh O’Regan, NRC, San Francisco,CA
Ray Joyce, Executive Director
Diocese of Santa Rosa:
Cynthia Vrooman
Claudine Sweeters
Daniel Vrooman
Laverne Mau Dicker
Joseph Shea
Bob and Nancy McFarland
James McFadden
Mary Jane Barber
JoAnn Consiglieri
William P. Barber
David Carlson
Alison Clark
Tim Sweeters
Joan Huguenard
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