Unable to govern itself, the Catholic diocese of Phoenix must
now share governance with the state. To skirt a felony conviction
for obstruction of justice, Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien agreed
this week to farm out some of his governing powers to
state-supervised officials. Could the arrangement be more farcical?
Here we have a bishop Arizona authorities consider a de facto felon
entrusting parts of his office to the state while he trudges off to
Confirmations and other “ceremonial” functions prosecutors deem
safe enough to allow him.
Far better to let Caesar into the office of bishop than for a
bad bishop to exit it, vogue ecclesiastical reasoning apparently
goes. No future Edward Gibbon of church history should neglect this
historic and humiliating episode, which appears to worsen by the
day. O’Brien has added a new scene to the farce by appearing to
break his back-saving deal with prosecutors.
The deal required that he admit the following: “I acknowledge
that I allowed Roman Catholic priests under my supervision to work
with minors after becoming aware of allegations of sexual
misconduct. I further acknowledge that priests who had allegations
of sexual misconduct made against them were transferred to
ministries without full disclosure to their supervisor or to the
community in which they were assigned. I apologize and express
regret for any misconduct, hardship, or harm caused to the victims
of sexual misconduct by Roman Catholic priests assigned to the
Diocese.”
No sooner had O’Brien made this admission than he basically
disavowed it. “To suggest a cover-up is just plain false. I did not
oversee decades of wrongdoing,” O’Brien said after his agreement
with prosecutors was announced. Arizona prosecutor Richard Romley,
who should have known better than to cut a deal with a Clintonian
casuist, is furious at O’Brien. “Is he revising history?” Romley is
quoted as saying. “Did the bishop fail to understand the confession
he was signing? Did he fail to understand that he needed immunity?
If he continues to lie about everything, I’ll have to consider
whether or not that’s a breach of our agreement.”
Romley says he had plenty of evidence to convict O’Brien but
chose the unusual power-sharing immunity agreement because it was
the “only way to ensure real change.” Judging from O’Brien’s
snookering of him, how much change does he expect?
“My primary objective during this entire investigation was to
have the abuse stopped, and to make sure there were adequate
controls in place that it would not happen again,” Romley has said.
So the state no longer considers a bishop and the structure of a
Catholic diocese an adequate control against crime? And church
officials consent to this conclusion? Unbelievable.
Will someone at the Vatican please explain to Catholics — who
respect its authority but are sincerely puzzled by its passivity —
how telling the O’Briens of the American church not to resign
protects its integrity and autonomy? Church officials didn’t want
to cave to undue pressure from the state? Well, that’s now what
they’ve got: the state peering into the office of bishop because
church officials wouldn’t let a bad one leave it.
On Tuesday’s “O’Reilly Factor,” a Catholic professor surmised
that the Vatican wanted O’Brien to clean up his own “mess.” If
that’s true, the reasoning is mind-bogglingly reckless. Did Ken Lay
get to clean up his own mess? How could it be in the interests of
the victims of a mess to let the mess-maker take a crack at
cleaning it up? Having O’Brien clean up his own mess makes about as
much sense as elevating Jayson Blair to ombudsman at the New
York Times.
The church isn’t a corporation, it’s said frequently in defense
of lower standards for bishops. Which is true. It is far more
important than a corporation. And that’s why standards of
accountability should be raised, not lowered, for bishops.
When a bishop makes a financial mess, the Vatican has no problem
asking for his resignation. Why the hesitation about doctrinal and
legal messes?
“A diocesan Bishop who, because of illness or some other grave
reason, has become unsuited for the fulfillment of his office, is
earnestly requested to offer his resignation from office,” say
Canon Law. By not following its own law, the Catholic Church
invites the intrusion of the state’s.
