By Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz

Years before I became the bishop of Lincoln, when I was still the pastor of a suburban Milwaukee parish, a grandmother who had legal guardianship of a sweet little girl enrolled her in the fourth grade in our parish school. The child needed special educational help as well as the assistance of mental health professionals because of the abuse she had undergone. The grandmother had obtained custody of the child after a court battle from the dope-addicted mother, who lived in another state, and who, to obtain narcotics, regularly gave the child over to her "boyfriends" for their sexual pleasure. This, 1 believe, was my first practical encounter with the execrable and despicable ugliness of child sexual abuse. I do not know what became of the child who was still in our school when I left Milwaukee to come to Nebraska, but I pray for her always. One of her ongoing problems was that she would unjustly accuse every delivery man, mailman, and almost every man she saw walking on the street of assaulting her.

It was in those days that I learned more about pedophilia than I ever cared to know. One of the statistics that impressed me was that, while there were "strangers" who sometimes did those kinds of evil deeds (the proverbial dirty old men in raincoats trying to lure innocents around schools with candy or fables about lost puppies), most sexual child abuse was the wicked work of family members or other people whom a child had learned to trust. Molesting children may leave them with life scarring (and sometimes life-ruining) experiences and may perpetuate the evil, since many convicted child molesters themselves had been molested as children.

This is the principal reason why I enacted a rather comprehensive policy about child abuse, just a few months after I became the bishop of Lincoln in 1992. It took those months (from the middle of May to the middle of July 1992) for me to attend to the most immediate and urgent business of the diocese and to become acquainted with the laws of Nebraska regarding such things. I tried to enact a policy that would apply to any clergy and laity who might be connected to the diocese, combining fairness with firmness and, above all, seeking to protect innocent children. This policy continues in full force. It contains a provision, which I hope is carefully observed, for anyone knowing about child abuse (not just sexual, but any kind) to report this to the proper law enforcement people.

No words that are printable, or even conceivable, are adequate to express my outrage, fury, and depression upon learning that anyone, much less a priest, would sexually molest any children. Such a thing is an unspeakable abomination. Upon hearing about such things, I must confess that I am tempted to look for my shotgun and baseball bat, much sooner than I am tempted to give any consideration to a possible "sickness" in a perpetrator. Molestation victims and their families are certainly entitled to anger. Sometimes their excessive anger and demands, while often becoming unacceptable and unreasonable, are still understandable to me.

While not excusing those responsible for turning pedophiles loose in society, it should be remembered that the psychological establishment in our country (the odd studying the id ?), which recently asserted that homosexual conduct is "normal and good," was accustomed previously to proclaiming pedophiles curable and cured, when in fact they are and were not. Some American bishops in their decisions evidently and unfortunately relied on such faulty and gravely flawed "scientific advice." More recent studies seem to show that pedophilia, like alcoholism, is a permanent situation, possibly controllable, but never curable. A pedophile, like an alcoholic, might be "recovering," but never can be "recovered."

Over 44, 000 wonderful, chaste, and hardworking Catholic priests in the United States have become another "victim pool" of the current media accounts of molestation accusations. Priests usually have little by way of earthly possessions except their reputations, which are being smeared and assailed now by the sinful and criminal acts of a few. Our Lord Himself had a Judas Iscariot (one out of twelve), so in one sense a few bad priests should not surprise us, although even one breaks our hearts. We should keep in mind the terrible words that Jesus spoke about child molesters and the millstone and drowning they deserve (Matt. 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2). Especially in these days, pray for the victims of these horrible crimes as well as for your priests and seminarians. Tell them of your affection and show them your support.

Nowadays there are some disgruntled people who in malignity or in ignorance accuse any priests whom they dislike of various untrue misdeeds. Sadly, an accusation in the media is sometimes the equivalent in the popular mind of a conviction. Without entering into what is called "denial," we nevertheless should be careful to avoid rash judgment, calumny, and slander.

The faithful of the Diocese of Lincoln can be assured that I shall be as vigilant as humanly possible about these issues. I would never knowingly ordain any sexual deviant nor allow such to work as a priest. Our seminarians are being most carefully screened and trained, and our priests are holy and pure.

Reprinted with permission from The Wanderer 201 Ohio St. St. Paul, MN 55107