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| Letter to Bishop Charron: |
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June 24, 2005 Dear Bishop Charron: We write you today hoping you'll come down on the side of openness over secrecy, and the protection of the vulnerable, rather than the protection of the institution. Specifically, we urge you today to show genuine leadership, and take two important steps toward safety and healing. First, we respectfully urge you to do as several of your brother bishops have done, and publicly release the names of all proven, admitted and credibly accused abusive clerics and religious who have worked in your diocese. Second, we respectfully urge you to forbid accused priests from seeking "gag orders" to In our 15 years of experience as an organization, we have become convinced that disclosing the names of every molester is the single quickest, easiest, cheapest and most effective action that any bishop could take that would have an immediate impact on preventing abuse. Your colleagues in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Toledo, Tucson and Fort Worth have done this. In each instance, wounded victims found the courage to come forward, report their abuse, and begin the long, arduous road toward healing only after their perpetrator's name was released publicly. In each instance, we believe, future crimes were averted, as parents learned who these potentially dangerous men are, and resolved to keep their kids away from them. Similarly, these disclosures likely caused day cay centers or schools or Scout groups or athletic programs to remove from service one more known or suspected child molester. In each case, Catholics moved closer to healing from the abuse scandal, because, as the Bible tells us, "The truth shall set you free." In short, disclosing these names helps those already wounded feel better and those at risk be safer, while at the same time, enabling the church to move beyond past hurts toward a healthier future. Regarding gag orders, if we have learned anything from years of horrific scandal in the We understand that there is always the possibility of a false allegation. But we also understand that if we must choose, we must opt to protect the physical, emotional and spiritual well being of perhaps dozens of innocent children and vulnerable adults, over the reputation of one well educated and powerful grown up. We must opt for the time-tested, open, and unbiased American justice system, rather than the new, secretive, and relatively untested internal church abuse complaint system. We must opt for our nation's long-standing commitment to freedom of speech, over efforts to silence those who have suffered in silence too long. Therefore, we were gravely disappointed that you apparently allowed an accused child molester, Fr. Leonard Kenkel to seek a gag order to keep alleged victim John Chambers from publicly discussing his civil molestation lawsuit against Kenkel and your diocese. This move undermines your efforts to convince Catholics that you care and truly want those who have been victimized to come forward. In many cases, when attorneys for accused priests play legal hardball or try to intimidate victims and witnesses into remaining silent, bishops try to distance themselves from such repugnant actions. "The priest is simply exercising his legal rights," bishops claim. But you are the head of the diocese. You are Fr. Kenkel's boss. He has sworn loyalty to you. And you have promised (in the Dallas charter and elsewhere) to respond to victims with compassion and sensitivity. It is therefore your duty, we believe, to forbid priests from defending themselves by silencing their accusers and hiding behind legal technicalities like the arbitrary and archaic statute of limitations. At a minimum, it is your duty to speak out against such legal maneuvers as inherently unfair and intimidating. If Fr. Kenkel is indeed innocent, you should make sure he allows the legal process to proceed, and trust that the truth will emerge in discovery, depositions, and sworn testimony. You can't have your cake and eat it too, Bishop Charron. You can't invite victims to come forward, then allow or enable accused priests to exploit legal loopholes and silence their accusers, while publicly professing to care about victims. Let Father Kenkel fight fair, not fight dirty. Let him defend himself on the merits, not on the technicalities. Let his accuser have his day in court, not be tossed aside because of shrewd and aggressive lawyering. You would not allow Fr. Kenkel to publicly contradict church doctrine, whether on abortion, homosexuality or matters of faith. Likewise, you should not allow him to contradict church sex abuse guidelines by using such harsh tactics in his legal defense. We look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, David Clohessy Steve Theisen Steve Theisen |