Interview with Bishop Aymond
The following article, an interview with Bishop Gregory Aymond on the ongoing scandal in the church regarding sexual abuse by priests, appeared in the April 2002 Catholic Spirit.
Bishop calls for support of priests of Diocese of Austin
Editor: The scandal that began in Boston regarding sexual abuse by priests continues to be in the news. It is being reported that some U.S. bishops have strengthened their policy against clerical sexual abuse of minors. Bishop Aymond, could you tell our readers about the Austin Diocese’s policies regarding this?
Bishop Aymond: I want to state first that sexual abuse in any situation, particularly sexual abuse of minors, is a terrible evil that exists in our world and can never be justified. Whether this abuse is done by a priest or anyone else, the church must stand strongly against such actions and try to repair the damage done to the victim. Such abuse and immorality is not condoned and we must be straightforward in dealing with such difficult situations.
Unfortunately, sexual abuse is alive and well in our society. Within the last year the Austin Diocese has developed very specific policies not only regarding sexual abuse but also regarding verbal abuse, sexual harassment, physical abuse and any behavior that would not give respect and reverence to the individual. Our policies, entitled Ethics and Integrity in Ministry, are very comprehensive. These policies call the bishop, priests, deacons, religious women and men, laity, diocesan staff, volunteers -- anyone associated with and working in the name of the church -- to sign a Code of Ethics stating that they have not been involved in matters of abuse and that they fully embrace the teachings of the Catholic Church that call us to a deep reverence and respect for human life.
I am pleased that our diocese has such a comprehensive policy. We do follow it very carefully. Any accusations of sexual abuse that are brought to us are dealt with in a very straightforward and honest way. After an initial investigation we do report them to the civil authorities, as required by state law.
Dr. Monica Applewhite of Praesidium Inc. and I have presented these policies to more than 6,000 people in our diocese since last August. We not only explained the policies but spoke very honestly about sexual abuse in our society and some cases of abuse that have taken place in the church.
We as the Catholic Diocese of Austin will continue to do all that we can to protect our children and vulnerable adults. We have a moral and spiritual obligation to protect all people so that they are never "used by others" for any reason.
Editor: Boston isn’t the only diocese to have had this kind of scandals. Can you shed any light on why?
Bishop Aymond: Again, I must state that all Christians and all Catholics and, in a particular way priests and religious, are called to a high level of ethics and integrity in their ministry. Any immorality or violation against celibacy is sinful and can cause scandal.
But to answer your question more directly, there have been times in the Catholic Church, both in the United States and in other countries, when priests and religious have unfortunately used their lives and sometimes their power to victimize others. We can offer no excuse for this.
There have also been times when those in authority have not responded as quickly as they could have and in a way that others judge inappropriate. Furthermore, abuse by church leaders was brought to light in the 1970s, and we as a society knew very little about pedophilia. It is only in more recent years that we have not only learned more about it but have also grown in an understanding of how to better protect children. Unfortunately, hindsight is better than foresight.
When we as church leaders make judgments or decisions that do not help others and can in fact be wrong, we must be bold enough to apologize and to try to heal the wrong that we have done. It takes courage to do that, but that is what we are called to do as the reconcilers of the church. I know of bishops who have done precisely that and I do respect them for their honesty. The church must make sure that we as a family reach out to those who have been victimized to offer healing.
Editor: Why does this seem to be a problem among Catholic priests?
Bishop Aymond: In the press, clergy abuse receives the most publicity. However, the incidents of pedophilia in the population as a whole and in the priests' population are about the same. In addition, studies show that half of the abuse in churches is perpetrated by volunteers. Psychologists also tell us that 30 percent of all females are sexually abused, and half of those girls are abused by a member of their immediate family, in their own home.
This does not make any one group better than the other but it just shows us that a great deal of sexual abuse does take place in our society and it is something that we as a church must stand strongly against.
Sometimes we hear comments that celibacy promotes pedophilia. That is simply not true. In fact, most pedophiles are married and a great deal of pedophilia takes place within the family. This is a terrible tragedy and we as a church must reach out to families who have been hurt by such situations.
Considering the fact that we have more than 40,000 priests in the United States, it is a small number of priests who have been involved in this immoral behavior. I also beg us to call our attention during these times to the dedicated priests who minister day after day to the people of God.
I speak specifically here about the priests in our diocese, those who serve in the Catholic Church of Central Texas. I feel very positive about our priests and about their dedication to God’s people. They minister daily in the spirit of sacrifice and in dedication to preach the Gospel, to provide the sacraments for our people and to provide effective pastoral care. It would be unfortunate to lose sight of so many priests who daily give of their lives for the sake of Christ and the church. We should not forget their generosity and service in light of a scandal involving a few. I suggest this might be an appropriate time to express sincere appreciation to your parish priest, either verbally or by a written note, to thank them for their life of ministry and for the way in which they have dedicated themselves to the priesthood.
We as priests do feel embarrassed and ashamed when we see brother priests not being faithful to the way of life that is expected of us. It is bound to affect us personally as well as our morale as priests.
Very often I get questions about the screening of seminarians. First of all, there are no psychological tests which can predict that a person is a pedophile. Nevertheless, the diocese does conduct very comprehensive psychological testing, background checks, letters of recommendation and other forms of investigation into the past of prospective seminarians. Furthermore, we call them to a very high standard of morality and ethics, not only during their seminary years but also during their years in priestly ministry.
Editor: Where do we, as the local church of the Austin Diocese, go from here?
Bishop Aymond: Our diocese put into effect almost four months ago our policies for Ethics and Integrity in Ministry. This obviously had nothing to do with the situation in Boston; we had been working on these for almost two years.
We have accomplished phase one, which was to set forth the policies and to explain them as I mentioned earlier. In phase two we provided a workshop in February for those who wanted to learn more about the healing of sexual abuse or for those who were victims. Almost 90 people participated. We hope to offer other workshops and retreats for people who are interested in healing.
Phase three will be to provide training in order to help people develop skills to present the workshop on “Protecting God’s Children” on the parish and deanery levels to parish staff, volunteers and parents groups. We will continue to provide education and assistance on an ongoing basis to enable parents, clergy, religious and volunteers to better protect our children.
Abuse must be eradicated. Prayer and education are the primary ways in which we can deal with this situation. In doing so we pray for victims as well as perpetrators, and we do our best to be observant in providing protection for children and for vulnerable adults.
I want to close by expressing a very sincere thank you to the priests and religious of the Diocese of Austin who give of their lives in a sacrificial way and also live up to Ethics and Integrity in Ministry. By far they are the vast majority.
I beg you, my sisters and brothers, to support your priests with prayers as well as with a word of gratitude for their dedication to you. And let us all continue to pray for our children and learn more about what we can do so that they can grow up safe and well.