_____Open Letter______________________________________________________________
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 Operation PlainSpeak
An Open Letter to the American Bishops

If readers wish, they may copy this Open Letter, add their signatures and those of their friends, and send it to their diocesan bishop. You will find your bishop's address either in your local phone book or online at (www.rc.net/org/ccita/).

Your Excellencies,

At your June meeting, you will discuss the scandal that has enveloped the Catholic Church in the United States. As faithful Catholics we feel an obligation to raise our voices, to raise this respectful plea for plain speech and bold leadership.

The severity of this crisis should not be underestimated. This scandal has not been created by the mass media; secular reporters have merely exposed the unhappy truth, uncovering a frightening pattern of abuse and corruption within the Church.

The results have been catastrophic. The Church has been exposed to public ridicule. The laity have become increasingly angry, confused, and demoralized. Worst of all, the work of evangelization has been hindered, and the salvation of souls has been jeopardized.

In recent weeks, some aspects of this scandal have been discussed exhaustively: the psychological suffering endured by the victims of priestly sexual abuse; the financial consequences of lawsuits against various dioceses; the prospects for criminal prosecution of some clerics. All of these factors deserve serious attention.

But as successors to the Apostles, you must make the spiritual welfare of the community your paramount concern. How many young people have been led into sinful acts by Catholic priests? How many other clerics have ignored the clear evidence of wrongdoing, and thus given their tacit consent to gravely immoral acts? How many people have been turned away from the Catholic faith by this scandal?

A public scandal calls for a public response. You, as leaders of the Catholic Church in America, must speak and act decisively to repair the grave damage that our Church has suffered.

Recognizing the problem
The problems that we face have been caused, in no small part, by a failure to act forthrightly: to acknowledge inconvenient facts and to deal with unwelcome truths. As you address these problems today you must face the facts squarely, and proclaim the truth boldly—confident in the knowledge that “the truth will set you free.”

Media accounts regularly identify the current scandal as a matter of “priestly pedophilia.” But that description is not accurate, for two reasons.

First, the sexual misbehavior of Catholic priests is only one part of the current crisis. The problem has been compounded, and the scandal has been exacerbated, by the failure of Church leaders to intervene to stop the sexual abuse. The flagrant and widespread abdication of pastoral responsibility has shown a deep corruption within the American hierarchy. In many ways the tepid response to priestly sexual abuse has been more scandalous than the abuse itself.

Second, the sexual misconduct of American priests has not been confined to pedophilia—that is, the abuse of young children. In the vast majority of cases, the priests’ victims have been adolescent boys or young men. Emerging evidence makes it impossible to ignore the widespread toleration of homosexual activity among American priests.

This widespread acceptance of homosexual activity is a grave problem in itself because it causes disdain for Catholic doctrine and fosters a climate of hypocrisy among those who are the official representatives of Church teaching.

We believe that the current scandal is a direct consequence of a failure to uphold and promote the teachings of the Catholic Church regarding sexual morality. When bishops do not accept, understand, and boldly proclaim the necessary link between sexual intimacy and procreation, they cannot expect the faithful of their dioceses to uphold that magisterial teaching.

Once that crucial link between sexual intimacy and procreation has been severed, there is no compelling justification for the restriction of intimacy to marriage, or to partners of the opposite sex. There may be some remaining cultural barriers to sexual activity outside of marriage, but those barriers crumble all too quickly in the face of temptation—especially for individuals who have not accepted the teachings of the Church, and made a determined effort to develop the virtue of chastity.

At a time when our society has been battered by the “sexual revolution” and its aftermath, very few Catholic leaders have been clear and consistent in their proclamation of the truth about human sexuality. Rather than risking public controversy, many bishops and priests have chosen a “pastoral approach,” avoiding any public mention of Church teachings that have become unfashionable. The disastrous results of that “pastoral approach” have been evident for years in the breakdown of American family life. Now it is even more painfully apparent in the scandal of priestly sexual misconduct.

Accepting responsibility
The problem that you must now confront cannot be solved simply by adopting new procedures and guidelines for the handling of troubled priests. Still less can it be solved by setting “boundaries” for clerical behavior, as some commentators have suggested. Guidelines and procedures are useless if they are not enforced; “boundaries” will soon be crossed by clerics who lack the habits of chastity and self-discipline.

The resolution of this crisis will begin, we respectfully suggest, when you, our bishops, firmly insist that the teachings of the Church must be upheld, and the discipline of the Church must be enforced, in the seminaries, parishes, and schools under your authority.

Many Church leaders, in their failure to respond to clerical misconduct, have abdicated their solemn responsibility to the faithful. (We make this charge with regret, but recent public revelations have made the situation painfully clear, and we shall not shrink from the facts.) In some cases, bishops and other diocesan officials have become complicit partners in sexual abuse. Those individuals—regardless of their rank—should resign from their positions, in recognition of their culpability. If they do not voluntarily resign, they must be removed.

Many American bishops have issued public apologies to the faithful for the scandal of sexual abuse. Such apologies are necessary, but not sufficient. Accepting responsibility means not only assuming blame for a problem, but also assuming the moral burden of solving that problem. Again, this scandal calls for decisive moral leadership.

A plan of action
An effective plan to end this scandal, and root out the corruption within the Church in America, must include three essential elements:

1. No one should assume any position of authority in the Church (including admission to Holy Orders or religious vows, appointment as religious superior or director of formation, or employment in any decision-making position within a diocesan chancery) who does not willingly accept and publicly defend all the teachings of the Catholic Church.

A vague or general statement of fealty to the Catholic faith is not an adequate indication of doctrinal reliability. Anyone worthy of leadership in the Church must offer public assent to the more controversial elements of Catholic doctrine—for instance, the following propositions from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

• #1577: “‘Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred orders’ (Codex Juris Canonici, 1024). . . . For this reason the ordination of women is impossible.”

• # 2357: “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered’ (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Persona Humana, 8). . . . Under no circumstances can they be approved.”

• # 2366: “The Church . . . teaches that ‘it is necessary that each and every marriage act remain ordered per se to the procreation of human life.’ (Humanae Vitae, 11)”

2. Everyone who undertakes a position of authority in the Church must resolve to enforce the teaching and discipline of the Church, and demand the same resolve from those who are under his authority.

Moral leadership begins, rather than ends, with the statement of principles. A conscientious leader must assure himself, to the best of his ability, that his subordinates put those principles into action.

The father of a human family is rightly judged irresponsible if he ignores—and thus appears to condone—serious crimes committed by his children. By the same token, a bishop, pastor, or religious superior must be judged seriously negligent if he does not respond to gravely sinful actions committed under the scope of his authority. A shepherd must use his powers, when necessary, to keep the wayward members of his flock from straying and to repel the predators who threaten them.

The willingness to tackle difficult problems, and impose necessary discipline, should be recognized as a sign of the capacity for leadership. Priests who have demonstrated their willingness to endure controversy should be rewarded with greater responsibilities; those who have shrunk from the proper exercise of their own legitimate authority should not be considered for higher offices.

Effective pastoral leadership entails not only addressing moral problems, but also encouraging the practice of virtues. Church leaders should provide steady, concrete, and practical guidance for those under their authority. Thus, for example, bishops should encourage their priests to maintain a properly ordered and disciplined life, which should include:

• the regular use of the sacraments, especially frequent confession;
• a rigorous program of prayer and spiritual direction;
• moderation in the use of alcohol, and prudence in the choice of forms of recreation;
• the maintenance of a regular, disciplined daily work schedule;
• the diligent avoidance of occasions of sin; and
• careful cultivation of a dignified public manner, avoiding even the appearance of impropriety.

3. Church leaders must make a firm commitment to be diligent in investigating any credible evidence of dissent from defined doctrine, or violation of moral norms, within the scope of their authority.

Whenever a Church leader receives evidence that serious offenses have been committed under his jurisdiction —whether it is homosexual activity at a seminary, alcoholic behavior in a rectory, or heterodox teaching at a Catholic college—he has a heavy obligation to investigate the charges promptly and thoroughly.

Anonymous accusations should not be encouraged. But if an individual member of the faithful comes forward with substantive evidence of wrongdoing, he deserves a respectful hearing.

Regrettably, many faithful Catholics in America today have reached the conclusion that their bishops will not address their complaints until they are forced to do so, by adverse publicity. In some cases, bishops and other Church leaders owe apologies to those faithful Catholics who have carefully assembled the evidence of clerical wrongdoing, doing their best to avoid public scandal—only to have their efforts dismissed, and their own integrity questioned, by the officials to whom they addressed their legitimate concerns.

Lay people have the legitimate right to know that their pastors take their concerns seriously. Parents have the right to demand that their children are receiving proper moral formation and adequate protection. Pastors should always recognize that parents are the primary educators of their own children—particularly regarding matters involving sexuality.

Circumstantial evidence of misbehavior should not ordinarily be grounds for disciplinary action; on the other hand, such evidence should not be ignored. A priest whose behavior gives rise to concerns among his parishioners should be required to provide a thorough and convincing explanation for that behavior.

If the evidence of wrongdoing is compelling, the offender must be punished. In order to make a clear moral statement, and avoid the appearance of hypocrisy, Church leaders should make no effort to conceal the true reasons for removal of an official who has been implicated in a public scandal.

We recognize that this program will place new demands on the Catholic faithful, lay and religious, as well as on bishops and priests. We stand ready and willing to undertake the commitments, and make the sacrifices, that we enjoin upon you.

During your June meeting, as you plan your response to this crisis, be assured of our prayerful support for your efforts, and our willingness to follow your decisive leadership in a bold program of spiritual restoration and moral reform.