Catholic Church Historians Face Dilemma

From the Los Angeles Times (July 5 2004):

When beloved priests are revealed to be child molesters, Roman Catholic parishes, schools and dioceses face an uncomfortable choice: to remove existing tributes to the clerics and erase glowing references in local histories -- or explain to victims and critics why they continue to honor men who also were pedophiles.

This issue"taps into something that is very difficult for we humans to understand -- the tension that lies between the good that a person can do and the evil that we are all capable of," said Shirl Giacomi, a top administrator with the Diocese of Orange.

"People who have known only the good [the priest has done] have difficulty understanding the evil," she said."And people that have been hurt cannot, rightly so, understand the good."

Some church officials have opted to stick with the pre-revelatory status quo, arguing that history and achievements of the priests should not be obliterated by their misdeeds.

For instance, the official history of St. Cyril of Jerusalem Church in Encino credits its late pastor, Father Clinton Hagenbach, with establishing the parish's first teen club. No mention is made that he has been accused of sexually abusing 18 boys and that the archdiocese paid $1.5 million in 2002 to settle one of those claims.

Michael A. Harris -- accused of molesting 12 boys and the subject of a $5.2-million settlement for one of his alleged victims -- continues to be lauded in a 2003-04 parent handbook as a guiding force in the creation of the $26-million Santa Margarita High School in southern Orange County.

Similar stances can be found in dioceses across the country. In the Diocese of Knoxville, Tenn., a near-life-size bust of founding Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell, an admitted child molester, has been on display in the headquarters, and his picture hangs on the walls of schools and parishes there.

Knoxville officials said that the bust and portraits are not intended to honor O'Connell but are historical. It's an argument that victims' advocates find disingenuous.

"It shows what they say and what they truly believe are two different things," said Susan Vance, a Catholic school teacher and former nun in Oak Ridge, Tenn., who has fought to have the bust and photos removed.

For critics, the reluctance by some Catholics to publicly tarnish the legacy of popular priests reveals their real feelings -- that the accusations were false or that they shouldn't taint a long career dedicated to godly pursuits and the service of others....