This is taken from the substack page of Fr. Michael's Newsletter (Sept. 22, 2024) . Fr. Mike is from the Archdiocese of Washington.
I am posting this here in full and not simply as a link, as I believe that +Gregory will order it to be taken down. And Fr. Mike will take it down, but as the Archdiocese has no control over me, I will leave it up.
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The powerful centuries in which popes, bishops, priests and religious men killed is well documented. I use the verb kill very deliberately. This centuries old traditional manner of killing is not the same as the criminal act of murder. Church killings do not take a person’s physical life. Rather this ancient mode of killings by ordained men involve the killing of a person’s human spirit, the oppression and eventual destruction of one’s mind and heart and the steady destruction of various body parts such as one’s muscles and bones. Depression is nearly a universal pain inflicted upon the victims whose lives have been, are now being, or ultimately are intended to be destroyed.
One only need sit down with clerical rape victims. They might have been raped by a priest forty years ago. The reality is they have suffered every year since that evil act was carried out by some ordained priestly rapist. The criminal act was long ago. The suffering continues decades later. The rape victim is living out a life sentence. Among our three to four hundred American Roman Catholic bishops 150 or more are known to be sexual predators and almost all of these bishops are accessories in the decades old cover-ups of such criminal sexual abuse matters. Do our US Bishops care? Absolutely not! They work the hardest covering up.
Just recently here in the Archdiocese of Washington our Wilton Cardinal Gregory has authorized the return of a credibly accused homosexual predator. The rectory he now lives in also houses our internationally renown homosexual predator, Fr Adam Park. Some of the vulnerable boys or young men they targeted with sexual predation are now living daily lives in depression, parts of their young adult bodies have required surgery, and their passing days are spent in despair. In contrast these ordained sexual predators live their comfortable daily lives fully aware they are well protected by our Church. Is this fair?
Also, is it fair a young girl raped by her parish priest in the 1970s remains in her coffin around fifty years later with no accountability provided by the Archdiocese of Washington? Is this ok? I say not! However, the older priests and bishops tell me to “Let it go”! Really? There is a little boy raped by a priest in the 1970s who then killed himself. That same priest is known to have raped at least five other boys. The Archdiocese of Washington simply wants to leave this matter in the past. Is this justice? No! Not at all! Our child-centered and young adult rape victims of RC ordained sexual predators deserve the fullness of greater justice, greater divine mercy and greater revelation of the fullness of truth. Many of these victims are dead or living daily lives suffering in sheer miseries. Our trusting and youthful brothers and sisters deserve our undivided attention. Justice for these countless victims of clerical sex abuse has yet to be fulfilled!
The bishops and priests have a great criminal or mafiosi system going. Until the laity and serious law enforcement agencies come down very hard on the American RC Bishops these lives will continue to suffer and thousands of additional clerical rapes will continue. Where is law enforcement?! It is way past the time for both Catholics and non-Catholics to partner and investigate, gather testimony, evidence and the legal representation required to pursue this far too long postponed justice. I pray my fellow priests and faithful Catholics will help to obtain this justice. We must do this in order to rebuild His Church. Let us work for greater justice. Amen.
