Franklyn Becker and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee

The way the Catholic Church chose to deal with sexually abusive priests is incomprehensible to me.

As a Catholic myself, I react with shock, anger, and disgust.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Hundreds of pages of just-released documents that the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese compiled over four decades reveal a coverup of pedophilia that involved top church leaders and touched a prominent law-enforcement official.

The documents, which a California court released as part of a $16.65 million settlement of civil lawsuits in that state, paint more than just another graphic story of a priest who sexually abused children: They could be a harbinger of things to come for the church here as victims of abuse press their cases in the courts and the Legislature.

The archdiocese fought to keep sealed the documents, which focus on Franklyn Becker, an archdiocesan priest who has been accused of sexually abusing nine teenage boys in Wisconsin and one in California, the first case dating to just two years after his ordination.

The records indicate that as early as 1983, church officials sought the advice of E. Michael McCann, then Milwaukee County district attorney, about a priest's record of sex abuse, without identifying Becker by name. The documents say McCann, a Catholic, advised the church to take the priest out of ministry "for about five years, and if no complaints come forth in that time perhaps he can be given another chance."

McCann said Thursday that at the time, he was not told of any criminal activity involving Becker.

He said the conversation about Becker, referred to in a 1983 document, involved a phone call from an archdiocesan official who spoke of concerns about a priest who was "spending way too much time with a particular boy." McCann recalled being told that the boy's mother supported her son's relationship with the priest. The boy had made no allegations of inappropriate conduct, and there were no allegations of criminal misconduct, McCann said.

"Do you think, for God's sake, if they told me he committed a crime that I would say keep him away (from the boy) for five years? . . . If they told me he had committed a crime, I would have acted on it," McCann said.

But a log entry made by Father Joseph Janicki, vicar for the archdiocese at the time, indicates McCann told him the priest "has been given adequate warnings and enough chances and that he should not be assigned anywhere where he could come in contact with youngsters."

Michael Finnegan, an attorney working for the victims, said McCann's recollection that he had been told of only one boy, and that no one chose to make a complaint, seemed inconsistent with the document.

I don't know how accurately McCann can recall events that took place 25 years ago.

Who knows what McCann knew, when he knew it, what he said, when he said it?

Of more concern to me is that this Becker was a known pedophile, "accused of sexually abusing nine teenage boys in Wisconsin and one in California."

TMJ4 reports:

The Archdiocese now admits to having reports of Becker’s abuse from as far back as the 1970's, but very little was done to stop it.

He was sent to nine different parishes in southeastern Wisconsin over 20 years. Becker was finally restricted from ministry in 2002. Months later, he was arrested for sexual assault.

That's inexcusable. I don't know how anyone could permit it.

NINE different parishes?

NINE?

...Becker's misconduct and that of the late Siegfried Widera, another archdiocesan priest who served for a time in California, cost the archdiocese millions in out-of-court settlements in California, as well as legal fees and payments for psychological treatment for both the victims and the abusive priests.

The archdiocese has acknowledged that it knows of more than 40 priests who have been credibly accused of sexual misconduct, but it has refused to release clergy personnel files - such as those released in California.

Last year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court opened a door to lawsuits by victims of sex abuse by priests, saying the church could be sued for fraud for not telling the public about abusive priests before placing them in public ministry. At least seven people have already filed suit.

Further, a bill is pending in the Legislature that would allow lawsuits to be brought despite the age of the allegations - a step that would remove what has been a principal roadblock for victims.

The archdiocese said this week that it faced a $3 million deficit in the current fiscal year and that further cases could push it toward bankruptcy.

Jeff Anderson, a lawyer from St. Paul, Minn., who represents victims here, called the release of that news a "shameful public relations tactic, timed to the release of these documents."

It's not a shameful public relations tactic to put out news of the reality that the archdiocese faces a deficit in the millions and it's likely to grow, possibly to the point of bankruptcy.

It is what it is.

When the abuse victims are awarded money, it's got to come from someplace. The archdiocese's funds aren't unlimited.

As the Church in southeastern Wisconsin faces this crisis, we are so blessed to have Archbishop Timothy Dolan.

Read Archbishop Dolan's Letter to the Catholic Community.

He writes:

[O]ur faith tells us that our Church must acknowledge that poor decisions were made, regardless of how these decisions were reached. And, the Church’s decisions about Becker were badly misguided.

So what do we do next? Do we hide in the corner while the scab of this mess is once again picked open? No! The good work of Jesus Christ and His Church continues, despite this mess and despite any of us. The mistakes of the past do not change the needs of our people today, the needs of today’s community, or the needs of our world.

Nor, do these things diminish the good work that has been done over the past years as the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has ardently worked with victims/survivors and the wider community to bring healing and resolution. Nothing changes our commitment to continue to work together to ensure that we do everything in our power to protect our children and young people of today and tomorrow.

...May I ask that you please pray for people who are victims/survivors of sexual abuse, especially for those whose abuse came about by clergy and Church personnel?

May I also ask that you pray for our Church, especially our Church in southeastern Wisconsin, that the Holy Spirit continue to guide us and give us strength to get through this, and that His Church be cleansed, purified and renewed by the agony of this scandal, sin and suffering.

Archbishop Dolan is dealing with the crisis openly. He's not sugarcoating or withholding this very disturbing information. He's not making excuses for the wrongs.

The mistakes of the past weren't of his making yet it's left to him to guide the Church in southeastern Wisconsin through this. What an enormous, difficult task!

I think he's handling it with great compassion and grace.

There's still a long way to go but I have faith there will be healing.