| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Monday, April 29 2002 |
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| Vatican City -- The first time it happened was in their modest home in Gallina, N.M. The parish priest who had befriended the Arellano family came over to count the Sunday church offerings. Raymond Arellano's parents were not home that day. As he counted the money, the priest put his hands on Raymond's leg. Soon, his hands were inside the boy's pants. At 11 years of age, Raymond was too young to realize that the tragedy that was about to occur would rob him of his innocence and completely change his life.
I came to the Vatican, along with 13 U.S. cardinals, in search of answers. They want to know how to get out of one of the worst crises the church has ever had to confront, and how to prevent it from happening again. I want to know how the Roman Catholic Church could possibly have allowed it to get this far.
As Raymond Arellano relived the grotesque details of the abuse some 30 years ago, he felt a sense of relief. He said that by speaking publicly, his abuser, Father Jason Sigler, could once again be exposed. Raymond wants the world to know that Sigler, who is now married and lives in Albuquerque, N.M., did not pay for his crimes. Sigler also molested Raymond's two brothers (the youngest only 7 at the time), his three cousins and dozens of other young boys in the early 1970s.
In a 10-year period, Sigler was in and out of a treatment center for pedophile priests in New Mexico. Each time, he was sent to a new parish, where he would again have sex with young boys.
As I traveled across the United States conducting interviews for a special TV program about the violation of faith, I was shocked and saddened by the extent of the problem: the abuse, the lies, the cover-ups, the rejection, the humiliation, the lack of moral judgment from those who are supposed to give us spiritual guidance.
I was surprised to hear tales of horror not only from victims whose cases have been documented, but also from those who have not dared to speak out due to embarrassment or fear. People like Rita, whose 19-year-old daughter was conceived as a result of sexual abuse by a priest in Los Angeles. Or Lorenzo, whose dreams of becoming a priest were shattered after he was abused as an altar boy by his parish priest. Or Sonia, who was abused at age 6 in her native El Salvador by a priest who is still serving a parish. Or Jesus, who says that as a first-grader, he became the sex toy of three Salesian brothers in his native Cuba.
It is true that sexual abuse of minors is a grave universal problem that needs to be addressed. The main abusers are usually male family members -- fathers, brothers and uncles. But for some reason, it's always been unthinkable to suspect that a clergyman --a man of faith and spirituality, perceived by some Catholics as the personification of Christ himself -- could commit such a heinous crime.
Crime. For the first time, we heard Pope John Paul II use the word "crime" to describe sexual abuse by priests. He also said that there is no place in the priesthood or religious life for those who harm the young.
The pope's words might have been the answer and the guidance the cardinals were looking for to put an end to this crisis. And I might have found my answer to how it got this far, in Code 1395 of canon law. It states that sex between clergy and an adult woman is a far more serious offense than molesting minors. The former can result in suspension; the latter, merely punishment with unspecified penalties.
Raymond Arellano and thousands of other victims and their families still wait for answers. While they might be comforted by the pope's strong words, they still wonder why they have had to live so long with a violation of their trust, their dignity and their faith. |
