In San Diego I met with Cardinal Schönborn to discuss, among other things, my book Sacrilege: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church. He said it was painful to read, but that it was important that the truth be told about what had happened. He is a Dominican, and the motto of the Dominicans is Veritas, Truth.
His predecessor as archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Groër, was an abuser, and I discuss the accusations against Groër in my book. I am always nervous about the cases whose primary documentation is in another language. I can read German fairly well, but it is easy to miss nuances. Schönborn assured me that I had understood all the publicly-available facts and presented them accurately.
I am a Roman Catholic priest, born in the United States, who has been working in Mexico as a missionary for over 30 years. We are about 50 years behind in the clergy sexual abuse process of change. Anything you can suggest we might do to further the safety of victims, please inform. My main concern now is how to act in favor of victims while not violating my vows of obedience. The way you described bishops in “Sacrilege” is the way our bishops in Latin America also proceed, but turn back the clock fifty years or more.
I have read the book, “Sacrilege”, and found it to be a real jewel that God has given us to help us place the clergy abuse crisis in proper perspective. Certainly this is not a book for Christians weak in their faith. I would only recommend it to three classes of persons: the hierarchy, saints, and victims. Victims can see we have access to the horrific nature of their plight–It wasn’t just “fondling”. While listening to Pope Benedict XVI on his visit to the United States, I feel convinced he has read Podles’ book. Congratulations on your marvelously documented and eloquently written book. If Father Richard John Neuhaus did not like its tone, I believe it is because he has done too little pastoral work in the field to adequately sympathize with victims.