Rampant allegations of sexual abuse have shaken the foundation of the Catholic Church nationwide but local parishes remain buoyant despite the swirling controversy. While reported cases of abuse have surfaced from Boston to Los Angeles, and even of a former priest in a Croton-on-Hudson church, the leaders of two Yorktown congregations have found their tasks even more challenging in the wake of the news. Bishop James McCarthy of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Shrub Oak and Monsignor Dermot Brennan of St. Patrick’s in Yorktown conceded this week the allegations have caused distress within their respective parishes.
“This is on the forefront of everyone’s mind and the issue is of great concern,” McCarthy said Monday of the more than 3,800 families in the parish. “Among practicing Catholics there is a sadness on how this could happen. Certainly, it has affected not simply myself but parishioners and I can only surmise the impact of the effect. “This is despicable that a priest would abuse a child,” McCarthy added. “It is reprehensible because a priest is afforded public trust.” Brennan, who has served at St. Patrick’s and its 4,500 families for the past 16 years said, “obviously what has happened is a tragedy and sadness for all of us.” “I feel real compassion for the priests that were accused, some of whom may have been wrongly, and for those that were abused,” Brennan said.
Brennan and McCarthy called pedophilia a “sickness” that must be recognized and addressed and compared it to alcoholism. The issue resonated locally when it was reported last week that Reverend Gennaro Gentile, formerly of Holy Name of Mary Church in Croton-on-Hudson, was the focus of an investigation.
A lawsuit was filed against the priest in 1997 by a family who accused Gentile of sexually abusing two of their sons in 1994, according to a two-part article in last week’s Daily News. Gentile, 55, served in the parish from 1987 to 2000 but had been the center of similar speculation since numerous allegations first surfaced in 1971. The statute of limitations resulted in many charges being dropped against Gentile, and in September 1999, the state Supreme Court handed down a ruling dismissing all but one of the allegations. To date, Gentile currently works on annulments for the Archdiocese in Poughkeepsie and fills in saying masses in area parishes.
McCarthy, who has served at Seton for the last six years, said although there is now the inclination to paint all priests “with the same brush,” his parishioners have been supportive and understanding. Brennan explained there has been fallout among members of the church due to the manner in which the allegations have been addressed from Rome. He called the letter released by Cardinal Joseph Egan, concerning his actions while Bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut too “legal,” claiming the correspondence did not show enough “compassion” for those abused.
The letter, which was distributed to 413 parishes on Palm Sunday, said all the abuse cases in question, occurred before he became Bishop in Bridgeport.<-p> “I pledge to you that I am totally and unconditionally committed to protecting our children from abuse of any kind,” Egan said.
Brennan explained there was some dismay among parishioners and some clergy who feel the Church is slightly dismissive in its handling of past cases of sexual abuse. “The anger is directed toward the hierarchy and the apparent attempts to cover up is now being revealed,” Brennan said. But Brennan did express disdain for the media for “Catholic bashing,” especially during Holy Week. “The people are angry at what has happened and especially how it has been expressed in the press,” Brennan said.
McCarthy, though, said the media has assisted in bringing these serious issues to the forefront of national consciousness not just for the Church but also for society in general.
“This has raised the specter of this awful disgrace,” McCarthy said. “As a Church, the media has made us far more vigilant.”
Brennan and McCarthy said parishioners understand the actions of a few men do not define the Church as a whole. “I don’t think it has weakened their faith. People are smart and know that their faith is not in a priest or a Bishop. It is in Jesus,” Brennan said.
McCarthy related that the Church has been guilty, in his opinion, of harboring and in some cases facilitating priests who suffer from pedophilia and have had charges brought against them. In light of the situation, McCarthy recited a simple credo. “We are always at our best when we are simple, poor and serving,” he said.
The Church is rotten to the core, at least in America, and as such, I wouldn't give them a thin dime. The hierarchy of the CC is almost as despicable as the heirarchy of the even more disfunctional Muslim "church". May they rot in hell, both.