| CHURCH CRISIS: NOT JUST AN AMERICAN PROBLEM |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Monday, May 06 2002 |
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| By summoning to Rome only the cardinals from the United States, the Vatican sent the wrong message to Catholics around the world. The sexual-abuse scandal now rocking the church is not just an American problem. Charges of sexual misconduct by members of the clergy have surfaced in all corners of the globe. But nowhere is the problem more entrenched than in Latin America.
Why Latin America? Because while the United States is home to 60 million Catholics, a much larger number -- 289 million, one-third of the world's Catholics -- live in Latin America. Nowhere is Catholicism more deeply rooted than in this region, where the church holds unparalleled power. It is unthinkable for a Latin American family to question the conduct of a priest, or for law enforcement to come after a man of God. There are no statistics on sexual abuse by priests in Latin America, but no one doubts that it occurs.
Besides the documented cases of priests who abused minors and were sent to places like Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras and Mexico, there are untold stories of molestation in places like Brazil, El Salvador, Cuba and Costa Rica. In the past few weeks I have heard stories of abuse, intimidation and threats from those who don't dare speak in public. Church officials in Mexico recently admitted that they, too, have sinners among them, but said they would never turn them over to the authorities. One priest in particular learned the hard way that confronting the church in Mexico carries a high price.
While administering last rites to a dying former priest, Father Alberto Athie was shocked to hear that this man had been a victim of abuse by his superior. He soon learned that at least eight other seminarians accused Father Marcial Maciel of gross sexual misconduct. But when Father Athie tried to bring up the issue with his archbishop, he was accused of being part of a conspiracy. The Vatican hierarchy also turned a deaf ear. Father Maciel, he learned, is untouchable. He is the leader and founder of the Legionaries of Christ, a small but powerful organization that has raised millions of dollars for the Vatican. Father Maciel, who is Mexican, has been honored by the pontiff himself for his work with young people.
Several letters have been sent to the pope on behalf of the former seminarians who claim abuse by Maciel, but there has been no answer. Father Athie lost several important positions he held in the Mexican Catholic Church and has been forced into exile. He now lives in Chicago. Several years ago when a TV network in Mexico aired a documentary with testimonies of Father Maciel's alleged victims, it was boycotted by advertisers and almost forced into bankruptcy.
We in the United States are lucky to live in an open society, where the press is allowed to scrutinize even the most powerful institutions. I have heard some Catholics blame the media for the church scandal, and it honestly shocks me to think that someone would prefer the press to be an accomplice to the coverup.
Instead of concentrating solely on the United States, the Vatican should address the fundamental problems that lead men committed to a celibate life to break their vows. Instead of trying to protect the institution, the church should encourage victims of abuse worldwide to come forward, and purge itself of bishops who spent decades protecting pedophile priests.
Monsignor Lorenzo Albecete, a Puerto Rican priest in New York, summed up the problem best. He told me that the current sex scandal in the United States is like a fever: "Once a patient has a fever, that means the body is fighting the disease," he said. If that is true, then the U.S. Roman Catholic Church might soon begin to heal. But the virus that caused it is still thriving in Latin America. |
