April 17, 2008
Here I am, sitting in Rome at 3 AM, listening to the Klezmatics and reading the NY Times’ coverage of the pope’s visit to the U.S., and I notice that the paper of record has posted a story that isn’t yet edited: It’s full of repetitions, and editorial shortcuts such as TK (“To Kome”) and CK (“Check”). It reminds me of the fabled magazine photo that went to press with the following caption: “Somebody stick a caption on this thing, already—it’s 11pm and some of us have to get home.” I reproduce the story below in full, with errors in bold, before someone wakes up and fixes it:
WASHINGTON ? Pope Benedict XVI came face to face with a scandal that has left lasting wounds on the American church Thursday, holding a surprise meeting with several victims of sexual abuse by priests in the Boston area. The handful of victims, now adults, gave the pope a notebook listing some 1,000 boys and girls who were abused in the Boston archdiocese alone going back several decades, a Vatican official said.
The pope himself had requested the meeting, said the official, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, which took place at the papal nuncio?s residence. The pope prayed and spoke personally with each of them, in a meeting that lasted about 25 minutes. Some wept, Father Lombardi said.
The victims at the meeting were not immediately available for comment, but three were interviewed on CNN later in the night. ?He congratulated me on my upcoming wedding,? said Faith Johnston, who said that the pope had read a summary of their lives before meeting them. She said she cried during the meeting.
It was absolutely emotional,? Olan Horne, another victim, told CNN.
?It was a moving experience,? said Cardinal Sean P. O?Malley of Boston, who organized and attended the meeting, speaking to reporters afterward. ?It was very positive and very prayerful.?
The meeting made clear that for all the messages that Benedict wished to send during his five-day trip to the United States, his first as pope, the one concerning priestly abuse was most central. He raised the issue first with reporters on his trip from Rome on Tuesday, and did so for a third time Thursday morning during a huge open mass at Nationals Stadium before nearly 50,000 people, his first major encounter with America?s diverse church.
?No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse,? the pope said in his homily. ?It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention.?
The surprise meeting far overshadowed the rest of the pope?s schedule, the third day of his trip to America and a day before he leaves for New York to address the United Nations.
But he also gave a substantial address to Catholic educators, many of whom have been struggling with funding shortages, changing missions and conflicts over whether Catholic schools are Catholic enough. He spoke to about 200 college presidents and the superintendents of Catholic schools in the nation?s 195 dioceses.
At a time when many dioceses are closing down parochial schools for K-12 students, Benedict stressed the importance of keeping them open, especially to serve immigrants and the underprivileged. He also used the occasion to clarify limits, saying that although academic freedom is valuable, it must not be used to ?justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church.?
He had additional healing work to do at his evening encounter with Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Jain religious leaders. On a previous trip, to his German homeland, Benedict had set off a paroxysm of anger with comments that appeared to denigrate Islam. He has also offended Jewish leaders by reinstituting a prayer for the conversion of the Jews in the Latin prayers on Good Friday.
On Thursday, he offered an olive branch to Jewish leaders, and affirmed that all religions should have a common goal of working for peace. But he also issued a challenge, saying that interfaith dialogue that does not deal with existential ?truth? is insufficient. And he talked of the need to protect religious freedom, pointing out that religious minorities in some countries are subject to discrimination and prejudice.
For years, victims of abuse in the United States had beseeched the Vatican for a meeting with the pope, first asking John Paul II, who died in 2005, and finally, six years after the outbreak of the scandal, one was granted. The scandal affected nearly every diocese in America, revealed more than 5,000 abusive priests and more than 13,000 victims and has cost the church more than $2 billion in settlements and legal fees. It also has cost the church trust and respect, both of which the pope is clearly aimed at restoring.
But reaction from victims and their advocates varied, with some praising the meeting as an important step and others saying that still it was not enough.
?This is a small, long-over due step forward on a very long road,? Joelle Casteix, southwestern regional director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said in a statement. ?We?re confident the meeting was meaningful for the participants and we?re grateful that these victims have had the courage to come forward and speak up.
?But fundamentally it won?t change things,? she said. ?Kids need action. Catholics deserve action. Action produces reform and reform, real reform, is sorely needed in the church hierarchy.?
But Gary Bergeron, who said he was abused by a priest in Lowell, Mass., said: ?I think we moved the ball down the field this week. The fact that we finally got the pope to actually stand up and put a statement on record, I really think he set the bar this week.?
Mr. Bergeron, author of the book ?Don?t Call Me a Victim,? went to Rome in 2003 and tried to meet with Pope John Paul II, with no success.
?We made some progress this week, and that?s what?s important,? he said.
Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney who represented hundreds of people abused by priests, none of whom attended the meeting with the pope, said he hoped that the pontiff would meet with more victims.
?He certainly will need more than a half hour to understand the pain victims are feeling because of being sexually abused by priests,? he said.
While some abuse survivors were encouraged to hear of the encounter, others said they would not feel comforted until the church calls bishops and those in the hierarchy to account.
While the meeting with victims was historic, and a surprise, it is the address the pope gave to Catholic educators that is likely to receive the most scrutiny.
Benedict praised Catholic schools that have ?helped generations of immigrants to rise from poverty to take their place in mainstream society.? And he encouraged Catholics to continue to contribute generously to Catholic schools ?to ensure that they are accessible to people of all social and economic strata.?
There have been sporadic controversies over what kinds of curriculum, outside speakers, faculty members, campus clubs, drama and art are acceptable at Catholic colleges and universities.
Catholic universities and colleges have come under fire for hosting speakers who favor abortion rights, like Hillary Clinton, Eliot Spitzer and the actor Stanley Tucci, who was dropped from an event at Catholic University. The University of Notre Dame was recently criticized for allowing a campus staging of ?The Vagina Monologues,? a feminist theater piece.
The Pope did not refer explicitly to the controversies. However, he said that church teachings must shape ?all aspects of an institution?s life, both inside and outside the classroom,? in an insistence on adherence to church doctrine that Benedict stresses for Catholics in all parts of their lives, from their personal behavior to what kind of politicians they support.
?Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity, and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual,? the pope said.
For faculty, he said: ?I wish to reaffirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university?s identity and mission.?
The educators in the room were encouraged by the pope?s speech, and applauded his call to keep schools open for poor students.
The Rev. Robert A. Wild, the president of Marquette University, said after the pope?s speech: ?What was most striking to me is what it was not. We were not being told that most Catholic schools are not faithful to our message. It was not a finger-waving exercise. It was mostly to encourage us.?
At the new Nationals Stadium, with a gorgeous view of the Capitol and Potomac, the outdoor mass combined the spiritual with the spectacular: Some 46,000 people waved Vatican flags and shed tears when Pope Benedict arrived in his transparent popemobile, in a ball-field setting complete with sausage and $20 souvenir pope hats.
The mass was the pope?s first real encounter with the American church, and they poured out affection as much as shined a mirror of their diverse self back onto Benedict: conservative and liberal, black, white, Latino and Asian. Although Benedict is avowedly part of the church?s more orthodox wing, some at the mass said he seemed on this American trip eager to address the full church, in all its complexity.
?He is open to things and that gives a feeling of hope to people who have felt left out,? said Barbara Thomas, 51, an administrative assistant from Columbia, Md. In a shift of perception that the Vatican clearly hoped would be common on this trip, Mr. Thomas said she found him ?a little more open, not so stern as what the general impression had been.?
Steve Brown, 55, a doctor from Fairfax, Va., said seeing pope was particularly important to him because he is suffering from terminal cancer. ?Seeing him person gave me a warm feeling of being at peace,? he said. ?Just his aura ? a kind of spirituality that emanated from him. Before I wasn?t as moved with him as I was with John Paul II. Now, seeing him, I feel moved.?
END (THIS isn’t supposed to be printed!)
?I think we moved the ball down the field this week. The fact that we finally got the pope to actually stand up and put a statement on record, I really think he set the bar this week he?s meeting with survivors, making effort and setting the bar. This is what we?ve been asking for 7 years,? he said. Mr. Bergeron went to Rome in 2003 and tried unsuccessfully to meet with Pope John Paul II. ?In 2003 we went and we were unsuccessful. We made some progress, though this week, and that?s what?s important. You have to stop looking back at some point and I decided to do that a long time ago. Its? all about today and tomorrow. We?re opening up a constructive discussion not only in the catholic sense, but in the community sense, and it?s an important issue.?
From Mitchell Garabedian, who represented hundreds of people abused by priests. None of his clients attended the meeting, he said.
?It?s caught everyone by surprise. Hopefully he was educated about the evils of clergy sexual abuse, and will meet with more victims, and that more programs will be set up to prevent children from being sexually abused,? Mr. Garabedian said. ?I hope that he gained a greater understanding about the trauma related to clergy sexual abuse and how painful it is for victims to come forward and discuss the evils of clergy sexual abuse. Hopefully he gained knowledge that he will not forget for the rest of his life and that he will put to good use.?
?This meeting with the victims by the poep should be one of numerous meetings by the pope. He certainly will need more than a half hour to understand the pain victims are feeling because of being sexually abused by priests, he certainly will need more than a half hour to understand what kinds of programs should be put in place to prevent clergy sexual abuse,? Mr. Garabedian said.
Statement by Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach CA, SNAP southwestern regional director (949 322 7434) (I don’t think they MEANT to print her phone number…)
This is a small, long-over due step forward on a very long road. We?re confident the meeting was meaningful for the participants and we?re grateful that these victims have had the courage to come forward and speak up.
But fundamentally it won?t change things. Kids need action. Catholics deserve action. Action produces reform and reform, real reform, is sorely needed in the church hierarchy.
Some talk is OK. A meeting is better. Decisive reform is crucial.
We do vulnerable children a severe disservice if we set extraordinarily low expectations for a brilliant, experienced, powerful global leader like the Pope.
In the Gospel of Luke, we?re told ?To whom much is given, much is expected.? The Pope has been given the reins of a vast, wealthy, powerful global monarchy. He must use those reins to safeguard the vulnerable.
We cannot confuse words – even sincere, eloquent ones – with deeds. The stakes are too high.
More tk (Bring it on, folks!)
Lombardi 4:10 ? the pope listeneidng to their personal accounts and offered them words of hope. ? lasted 25 minutes. ? intor by omalley, prayer by omalle, then sliten prayer, then met one by one ?wit hthem
He pope then offered then affectionate words ? and
OPE18 ? SECOND VERSION ? WILL SEND WRITE-THRU LATER (Hey, could somebody call in a copy-editor—I’m falling asleep over here.)
GOODSTEIN, FISHER, BANERJEE (Random bylines are FUN!)
Pope Benedict XVI went from pastor to teacher to diplomat on his last day in Washington on Thursday. He celebrated Mass with a multicultural crowd in a baseball stadium, instructed Catholic educators on the boundaries of academic freedom, and in the evening reassured interfaith religious leaders of the church?s interest in dialogue.
The event that is likely to have the most lasting repercussions was the afternoon meeting with Catholic educators, many of whom have been struggling with funding shortages, changing missions and conflicts over whether Catholic schools are Catholic enough.
Just when many dioceses are closing down parochial schools for K ? 12 students, Benedict stressed the importance of keeping them open, especially to serve immigrants and the underprivileged. He also used the occasion to clarify limits, saying that although academic freedom is valuable, it must not be used to ?justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church.?
Earlier in the day, he surprised many by speaking bluntly, for the third consecutive day, about the church?s wrenching child sexual abuse scandal. At a celebratory Mass at Nationals Park, basking in sunshine and surrounded by faithful young and old, Benedict said,
As the stadium fell silent, he encouraged each person to ?do what you can to foster healing and reconciliation, and to assist those who have been hurt.? He also asked them to ?love your priests, and to affirm them in the excellent work they do.?
He had healing work of his own at his evening encounter with Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Jain religious leaders. On a previous trip, to his German homeland, Benedict had set off a paroxysm of anger with comments that appeared to denigrate Islam. He has also offended Jewish leaders by reinstituting a prayer for the conversion of the Jews in the Latin prayers on Good Friday.
On Thursday, he offered an olive branch to Jewish leaders, and affirmed that all religions should have a common goal of working for peace. But he also issued a challenge, saying that interfaith dialogue that does not deal with existential ?truth? is insufficient. And he talked of the need to protect religious freedom, pointing out that religious minorities in some countries are subject to discrimination and prejudice.
For many Catholics, the speech likely to receive the most scrutiny was his address to about 200 presidents of Catholic colleges and universities, and the superintendents of Catholic elementary, middle and high schools in the nation?s 195 dioceses. He delivered the address at the Catholic University of America, which is the only papally chartered university in the United States and is overseen by the nation?s bishops.
He praised Catholic schools that have ?helped generations of immigrants to rise from poverty to take their place in mainstream society.? And he encouraged Catholics to continue to contribute generously to Catholic schools ?to ensure that they are accessible to people of all social and economic strata.?
On campuses across the country, the Pope?s address to educators had become a giant blank slate on which Catholics from across the ideological spectrum projected their hopes and fears.
There have been sporadic controversies over what kinds of curriculum, outside speakers, faculty members, campus clubs, drama and art are acceptable at Catholic colleges and universities.
Catholic universities and colleges have come under fire for hosting speakers who favor abortion rights, like Hillary Clinton, Eliot Spitzer and the actor Stanley Tucci, who was dropped from an event at Catholic University. The University of Notre Dame was recently criticized for allowing a campus staging of ?The Vagina Monologues,? an edgy feminist theater piece.
The scholar Luke Timothy Johnson, a theology professor at Emory University, was barred from speaking at a Catholic campus center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (PLS CK NAME) by the bishop of Belleville, Edward K. Braxton, who said the scholar?s work called into question the church?s authentic teachings.
The Pope did not refer explicitly to the controversies. However, he addressed them indirectly when he said that church teachings must shape ?all aspects of an institution?s life, both inside and outside the classroom.
?Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity, and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual,? the pope said.
For faculty, he said, ?I wish to reaffirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university?s identity and mission.?
He also critiqued sex education that reduces sexuality ?to management of ?risk,? bereft of any reference to the beauty of conjugal love.?
In the morning, at the new Nationals Stadium, in view of the Capitol and the Potomac, the outdoor mass combined the spiritual with the spectacular. Some 46,000 people waved Vatican flags and shed tears when Pope Benedict arrived in his transparent popemobile, in a ball-field setting complete with sausage and $20 souvenir pope hats.
But even as he basked in the crowd?s affection, Benedict pointedly acknowledged the pedophile priest scandal, in what seems to be a Vatican strategy of his addressing it repeatedly until most Catholics feel satisfied. He may do so again before he leaves for Rome on Sunday. A range of Catholics said he is right to do so.
?He has to address it head on,? said Rick Sartschev, 45, an engineer from Maryland. ?I don?t know if glad is the word, but it has to be done. It?s a necessity.?
In this homily, the pope weaved the acknowledgement into a wider discourse, suggesting that the American church will revive just as Americans themselves have worked to redeem the darker parts of the nation?s history.
?Your ancestors came to this country with the expectation of finding new freedom and opportunity,? he said.
?To be sure, this promise was not experienced by all the inhabitants of this land. One thinks of the injustices endured by the native American peoples and by those brought here forcibly from Africa as slaves,? he said. ?Yet hope, hope for the future, is very much a part of the American character.?
The mass was the pope?s first real encounter with the American church, and they poured out affection as much as shined a mirror of their diverse self back onto Benedict: conservative and liberal, black, white, Latino and Asian. Although Benedict is avowedly part of the church?s more orthodox wing, some at the mass said he seemed on this American trip eager to address the full church, in all its complexity.
?He is open to things and that gives a feeling of hope to people who have felt left out,? said Barbara Thomas, 51, an administrative assistant from Columbia, Maryland. Mrs. Thomas said she found him ?a little more open, not so stern as what the general impression had been.?
Ian Fisher reported from Washington, and John Sullivan from New York.
And apparently some drunk guy edited the whole thing. Thanks, guys! You make me homesick for journalism work in NYC!
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