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The following are two St. Cloud Visitor reports about the first in a series of four open "listening sessions" on the topic of clergy sexual misconduct which Bishop John F. Kinney held around the Diocese of Saint Cloud beginning Tuesday evening, May 21, 2002: Feelings, ideas shared at first listening session by Irene Voth WADENA -- Marcella Linn said she hadn't known there was such "depth of pain" in the church. "The betrayal, the high expectations -- when there's a fall, it's hard to accept. We expect more," she added. A member of St. William Parish in Parkers Prairie, Linn said the listening session on clergy sexual misconduct, held May 21 at the parish center of St. Ann Church in Wadena, was a "learning experience" and the "first place" where people could voice their feelings and find out that they are "not alone." Linn was one of about 100 people who participated in "Time of Crisis, Time of Faith," the first in a series of four public sessions being held across the St. Cloud Diocese in which Bishop John Kinney and a team of "listeners" will hear people's feelings, concerns and experiences regarding sexual misconduct by church personnel and how it has been addressed by church authorities. The Wadena gathering was closed to the media, but listening session organizers provided an outline of how the sessions work. Participants first spoke in small groups in which facilitators acted as recorders to summarize the five "most discussed" items from each group. Those were then shared with all participants in the large group. John Miller, a member of St. Joseph Parish in Clarissa, said the clergy sex abuse scandal has been "heartbreaking" and that as a convert to Catholicism, he "sees things a little differently. "I'm looking for a way to heaven," he said, explaining that he became Catholic 50 years ago, and for the most part has felt "safe and secure" in the religion in which he finally "found a loving God." But the recent sex abuse scandal has given him reason to think such thoughts as "Can these people (Catholic priests) really lead me to heaven?" he said. Regarding the listening session, which he described as "very good," Miller said, "The people have been hurt. Some are angry. We have heard their voice." Ardelle Feda, also a member of St. Joseph in Clarissa, said she found it interesting to hear how everyone was feeling. "We all have deep concerns -- especially for the victims," she said. Linn said the evening's discussion reminded her of other people she knows who have suffered sexual abuse in their lifetimes and of how deep their pain must be as well. Later in the session, participants were again invited to form small groups and suggest ways "the church, the people of God, can respond to the concerns that were expressed." "There wasn't a group here that didn't bring up prayer -- that we had to pray," Linn said. Feda said other ideas brought forward were to encourage and support "our good priests," to continue to encourage vocations, and to allow women to become more involved in the church. Dennis Feda, Ardelle's husband, said much was said about the need to become educated about sexual abuse and abusers in order to "take better care of our children." Nancy Fandel, a member of St. John the Baptist Parish in Collegeville and one of the diocesan sexual abuse victim advocates, said she thought the listening process worked well. "The facilitators helped the groups identify the issues and there was open discussion about the problem. I think it was an open statement of support for the church and that many people saw it as an opportunity to make changes in the church," she said. Victim advocates were present at the gathering for anyone who wanted to bring forward a sexual abuse allegation against church personnel. "I was really encouraged by the bishop's comments," said Dennis Feda of Bishop Kinney's opening and closing remarks. "I think the bishop really nailed it when he said things need to be done and he will do it." © 2002 St. Cloud Visitor. All rights reserved.
by Joseph Young WADENA -- Catholics reflect often on the passion of Christ, the ultimate victim. Today, passions in the body of Christ -- the church -- are again being stirred because members of the body of Christ are again being victimized. St. Cloud Bishop John Kinney listened to the passions of about 100 other Catholics -- and expressed a few of his own -- May 21 at St. Ann Parish Center in Wadena. It was the first of a series of four evening listening sessions titled, "Time of Crisis, Time of Faith: Listening and Information Sessions with Bishop John Kinney Concerning Clergy Sexual Misconduct." "I was taken by the degree of passion and anger the people expressed," Bishop Kinney said in a post-session news conference at the parish center. "They did not hold back their comments. They expressed their anger and sadness. I saw and heard a real depth of pain, a depth of anger and a concern that the church has to get this right." In order for people to feel verbally and emotionally unfettered, news media were asked to not be present at the sessions. But Bishop Kinney made available to them copies of his opening remarks -- remarks in which he vented a few emotions himself. "I feel very deeply, both very sad and very angry, about the sexual abuse of children and of minors by people in the church," he said, "be it by ordained bishops or priests, by church employees or even by volunteers." He also expressed anger that some bishops did not heed the advice of the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse organized in 1993 and chaired by Bishop Kinney until 1999. The well-publicized cases of priests in the Boston Archdiocese who were reassigned to other parishes and dioceses, even though they were known to have sexually abused minors, "surprised me and scandalized me," Bishop Kinney said at the news conference. "I can't for the life of me understand how a priest-predator can be moved from place to place." "I, as your bishop," he said in his statement, "will not tolerate sexual misconduct and will aggressively address this threat (toward) you and the life of the church." "People are here because they have a great love for the church," Bishop Kinney said at the press conference, "but they are also scandalized" by clergy sexual misconduct and church officials' failure often to deal with it. "They asked about the U.S. bishops' meeting in Dallas three weeks from now," the bishop said regarding listening session participants. "They want to hold our feet to the fire. They are concerned about openness in how we handle these cases. They said we need further open discussions about these issues, as well as further formation and education. This is not a one-time deal, they said. And I concur with that." The passion of the people epitomized by the Wadena gathering likely epitomizes a national passion, Bishop Kinney said, that the U.S. bishops heretofore "may have underestimated." "We have been concerned for the priest, but often not so much for the victim," he said. "But when you sit down and see and hear the story through the eyes of the victim, you'll never view things the same." Amidst the passions, Bishop Kinney said, were expressions of hope. "When I talked to the people about the church's care and concern for children and youth," he said, "they applauded." The second listening session is at 7 p.m. May 23 at St. Mary's School Gym in Alexandria. © 2002 St. Cloud Visitor. All rights reserved. |
