WASHINGTON (CNS) — Regarding a Vatican report on its investigation into its knowledge of the sexual improprieties of Theodore McCarrick while a clergyman, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles said the findings mark “another tragic chapter in the Church’s long struggle to confront the crimes of sexual abuse by clergy.”
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also said in a Nov. 10 statement as the report was being released at the Vatican that the findings were being reviewed by U.S. Church leaders, and he expressed gratitude for Pope Francis’ effort to address clergy sexual abuse.
“We are studying these findings,” he said, “and we are grateful to our Holy Father, Pope Francis, for his pastoral concern for the family of God in the United States and his leadership in calling the Church to greater accountability and transparency in addressing issue of abuse and the handling of abuse claims at every level.”
The report summarizes the actions of Church officials, including earlier popes, that led McCarrick to rise through the Church hierarchical structure to become a cardinal despite years of rumors of sexual impropriety.
McCarrick used personal contacts, protestations of his innocence and a lack of Church officials reporting and investigating accusations against him to advance in the hierarchy, according to the Vatican summary of its report on the matter.
In his statement, released in Washington, Archbishop Gomez offered “profound sorrow and deepest apologies” to “McCarrick’s victims and their families and to every victim-survivor of sexual abuse by the clergy.”
He also urged all people who may have been abused by a priest, bishop or someone in the church to report their allegation to law enforcement and to Church authorities.
“This report underscores the need for us to repent and grow in our commitment to serve the people of God,” Archbishop Gomez said. “Let us all continue to pray and strive for the conversion of our hearts, and that we might follow Jesus Christ with integrity and humility.”
Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, vice president of the U.S. bishops conference, said while the report is “profoundly difficult to confront, I am encouraged by the Vatican’s commitment to produce and publicly release the information with which we must grapple if we are to continue the path of reconciliation, reform, and healing in our Church.”
“The length of time invested in fact-finding and the length of the document itself indicates to me there was no fear in reporting the truth. The truth, as the Lord assures us, ‘… will set us free’ (Jn 8:32). The truth shows us the sure path to purification and reform,” Archbishop Vigneron said.
Archbishop Vigneron echoed Archbishop Gomez’s concern for victims, saying their care and healing is the “immediate and most important takeaway” from the report, along with the need for bishops and dioceses to continue bolstering their efforts to protect children and vulnerable adults.
The newly established Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting Service, which was adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops earlier this year to receive allegations of reports of sexual abuse and misconduct against bishops and report them to proper authorities, is one of many steps the U.S. Church hierarchy is taking to combat abuse, Archbishop Vigneron added.
“There is also a valuable lesson for all Church leaders on our responsibility to ensure this is never allowed to happen again,” Archbishop Vigneron said.
“To those harmed by the actions and inaction of Church leaders, on behalf of our local Church, I am sorry that you were neither protected nor heard. I hold you in prayer especially today, as I read this report and firmly recommit myself and the Archdiocese of Detroit to seeking truth, ensuring safety, and facilitating healing.”
