"The bishops and the Dallas meeting"by Bishop William S. Skylstad (From the Aug. 1, 2002 edition of the Inland Register)
The publicity surrounding the meeting in Dallas is well known to all. In my 25 years as a bishop, I have never seen so many media people covering one of our meetings. In the first morning, Bishop Wilton Gregory, Bishop of Belleville and president of the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) gave an inspiring and frank address to all those attending. He talked about the painful moment: “The (crisis in the Church), in truth, is about a profound loss of confidence by the faithful in our leadership as shepherds, because of our failures in addressing the crime of sexual abuse of children and young people by priests and church personnel.” Then Bishop Gregory became very specific about the role of bishops: • “We are the ones, whether through ignorance or lack of vigilance or, God forbid, with knowledge, who allowed priest-abusers to remain in ministry and reassigned them to communities where they continued to abuse. • “We are the ones who chose not to report the criminal actions of priests to the authorities, because the law did not require this. • “We are the ones who worried more about the possibility of scandal than in bringing about the kind of openness that helps (combat) abuse. • “And we are the ones who, at times, responded to the victims and their families as adversaries and not as suffering members of the church.” I cannot remember at any of the past bishops’ meetings a more candid and frank observation about the responsibilities of bishops. I strongly agree with his analysis. Near the end of our time together, discussion took place about the need to have a national day of prayer and penance, perhaps on Sept. 14, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. However, as was noted by several bishops, this would be the week of 9/11, the first anniversary of terrible and tragic events in our nation. In addition, the thought was expressed that the call for a day of penance and prayer should focus upon the bishop and not upon the faithful in general. The decision was finally made that there would be a special day for the bishops to give witness to penance and prayer on Aug. 14, the day before the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Each bishop was to decide in his own diocese how he would participate in this national day of atonement. In my own instance, I have decided that I will spend my day of prayers and fasting in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane. I will begin the day at 8 a.m. and conclude with the celebration of Eucharist at 5 p.m. (the vigil Mass for the Feast of the Assumption). Msgr. Ribble will celebrate the usual Eucharist at noon at which, of course, I will be present with the congregation. In the afternoon, from 3 p.m. until shortly before the 5 p.m. Eucharist, there will be exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Anyone who would like to join me in prayer at the Cathedral that day is invited to do so. I encourage you to stay as briefly or as long as you wish. I know that it will be possible only for very few to come to the Cathedral that day, but for those who can’t, please add your own prayers to mine in a manner that would be suitable for yourself. I will pray for victims of abuse and their families; for healing, reconciliation, and unity in our Church; for myself and my brother bishops that we might live up more responsibly in our role of service and leadership; for abusers; for our society at large that we might better address this great hurt and pain more effectively. In anticipation of your prayers for me personally, for the diocese and the church on that day, I thank you. I take this opportunity once again to publicly apologize on behalf of the Church to all of the victims and their families. I personally ask for your forgiveness for any way that I might have been at fault in not addressing this issue as responsibly as I should have. May we together carry on faithfully the mission Jesus has given us: carry on faithfully, with humility, hope, and a constant openness to conversion of heart. Best wishes of peace and joy to all of you.
Bishop Skylstad’s Schedule
Aug. 1-3: USCCB, Washington, D.C.
 Home |
The historic meeting of the U.S.
Roman Catholic bishops took place in Dallas in mid-June. Although the gathering lasted only
two-and-a-half days, including, a time for prayer and reflection, the decisions made have had
and will continue to have considerable impact upon the Church and how we deal with the issue of
sexual abuse. The charter concerning sexual abuse, giving specific directions as to how such
behavior will be handled from now on, was passed overwhelmingly by the bishops, in a vote of
239-13. In addition, the norms which have been sent to the Holy See for approval will make
specific action mandatory for all of the dioceses in the U.S. The charter does not carry the
weight of a mandate, but I suspect every diocese will take it very seriously, given the
publicity and the very sad, tragic stories from the past which have unfolded these past few
months.