By Mary Frances McCarthy and Angela E. Pometto
Herald Staff Writers
(From the issue of 3/4/04)

Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde sent a letter to pastors last week to be read at Masses announcing the release of the results of the John Jay Study, commissioned by the independent National Review Board established by the U.S. bishops in 2002 to shed light on the clergy sex abuse crisis. The nationwide study went back 50 years and brought to public eye the instances of sex abuse in the dioceses that complied with the investigation.

Bishop Loverde released the local study results last month (ACH 2/19/04). The release of these results, which stated that nine priests have been accused since the formation of the diocese in 1974, fostered many reactions from local priests.

Father Michael Dobbins, parochial vicar of St. Philip Parish in Falls Church, and Father Michael Duesterhaus, administrator of St. William of York Parish in Stafford, were both upset with the way the scandal was handled by people in leadership positions.

"I can’t understand the disconnect between what people feel and how the bishops handled it," Father Dobbins said. He explained that most people who hear about child sex abuse would know it was wrong and try to stop it. However, the national study now proves that some Church leaders allowed evil to perpetuate.

Father Dobbins attributed this to the way some bishops have handled the scandal. "I’m not bitter," he said. "The Church will survive, but I’m not impressed with the bishops at all. We should be questioning the bishops and others in leadership positions. Our Church is about forgiveness, but it’s also about accountability."

Although he felt that certain bishops in the past have allowed this behavior to continue, he said that Bishop Loverde is a "well-meaning and visible" bishop.

In homilies, Father Dobbins has referred to the scandal as a "crisis of integrity" and calls his congregation to "live what you believe," as opposed to being duplicitous. In terms of the future, Father Dobbins believes we need to "preach the Gospel louder" and focus more on young people.

"How the average parish responds to (the John Jay Study) is based on their experience with local priests," he said. "If their priest lives a sacrificial life and tries to bring the Gospel with him, people won’t question the effects."

Father Duesterhaus found the results of the study to be "sad, but true." Because of its youth, the Diocese of Arlington is not affected as much as some other dioceses, but Arlington is not completely unaffected, he said.

"The bishops’ failings in other dioceses affect (Bishop Loverde) too," said Father Duesterhaus. Agreeing with Father Dobbins, he said

Father Duesterhaus found it was interesting that the majority of victims were teenage boys. He felt this brings homosexuality, the "elephant in the sacristy," into view.

"This is demonic stuff. There are shepherds who have been twisted into harming their sheep," Father Duesterhaus said. And these sheep, in turn, "have their faith and/or confidence shaken."

In order to keep his parishioners informed, Father Duesterhaus keeps the parish Web site updated and also makes links for current documents available in the bulletin. He agreed, however, that this is "not a burning issue in the pews." The parishioners have not been directly affected by this issue. "If there’s a flu bug in Philadelphia, it’s not an issue in Stafford," Father Duesterhaus said.

Father Marcus Pollard, pastor of St. Veronica Parish in Herndon, said the questions from his parishioners concerning the scandal and its aftermath came two years ago. At that time, he composed a 12-part series that he ran in the bulletin to give parishioners the information he had and to "combat the press."

"The thing people crave is understanding," he said. While studies like this bring to light many unfortunate events in recent Church history, it also reaffirms that "priests suffer the same frailties all humans suffer," he said.

Instead of focusing on the negative, Father Pollard wants to teach his parish about what they can do for the future. "The greatest hope of the Church lies in parents being good parents and pastors being good pastors; not in big administrative bureaucratic policy," he said.

Father Stanley Krempa, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Winchester, and Father Dennis Kleinmann, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Alexandria, also have received little reaction to the study from the parishsioners.

Father Kleinmann admitted to being surprised after the results of the study were released. "There was one person out of 12,000 parishioners who made a comment, and they didn’t seem really concerned," he said.

Father Krempa has seen little reaction, so he is focusing on the future of his church. "I think there is such a thing as overkill," he said. "(The scandal) has been so much in the news. It’s a serious problem but people need to keep it in perspective."

In Winchester, Father Krempa said, Catholics "look at Sacred Heart and they don’t see chaos. The school is growing. We’re building a wing. Mass is celebrated every day and the Gospel is being preached. It’s important for people to not think everything is suddenly falling apart. Locally, their own diocese and parish are being faithful to the Gospel."

While he was not overly concerned with the John Jay Study results, Father Krempa said, "I’m not trying to downplay this as a problem."

He likened the scandal to cancer. While part of the body is sick, many other organs are still functioning. Father Krempa believes that currently "the bishops are applying whatever chemotherapy is necessary."