A woman has filed a claim that she was sexually abused 40 years ago by now Bishop Skylstad had of the USSCB. Whether the claim in credible or not is impossible to determine and I will not speak to it, but the response to how this should be handled in light of the bishop’s policy is definitely gray area.
It is unclear under the reforms American bishops adopted in 2002 for responding to abuse claims whether Skylstad should temporarily step down while his case is being investigated.
The policy requires Catholic officials to determine whether there is "sufficient evidence" supporting the allegations against a cleric before they take him out of public ministry while a full review is conducted under Vatican oversight.
In its statement, the diocese said protocols for dealing with sex abuse allegations were being followed, and that Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican’s Apostolic Nuncio to the United States in Washington, D.C., had been notified of the claim.
8 comments
You’d better hope it doesn’t turn out like the Bernardin thing. That didn’t end well because there was a lot there…….
My first reaction is, where has she been for 40 years? He’s not one of my favorite bishops, but let’s be fair. It’s not like he’s been hiding in some rural parish since 1962.
I’m catching the unpleasant whiff of an ambulance chaser.
Maybe this is a possibility for the traditional parishioners at St. Mary’s By the Sea who have been asked to leave their parish with the support of the Bishop.
All one of the women would have to do is accuse the Bishop of abusing her (or to make it more believable, one of the guys) and he’ll immediately have to step down pending a witch hunt^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H investigation.
What an amazing coincidence that I am reading this ONE DAY before the Friday filing deadline! I wonder if this will turn out like the Cardinal Bernardin story?
Well, I’ll reserve judgment in case there are smoking guns (letters signed by the Bishop, tapes, who konws what all), but I suspect it’s one more case of “Who’s got the deep pockets?”
It may be an ambulance chasing.
Or it may be real.
When any priest says, after an accusation of sexual abuse, that “I did not violate my vow of celibacy,” I can’t help but think of Pres. Clinton, who said, “I did not have s-x.” There are many, many way to sexually abuse a person that do not involve the marital embrace, and which, technically, might not involve a “violation of a vow of celibacy.”
Per his CV at
http://www.dioceseofspokane.org/Bishop/CV.htm
40 Years Ago, 1966, Bp. Skylstad was just Fr. Skylstad, 32 years old, ordained 6 years, a student at Gonzaga U., and teaching at Mater Cleri Seminary in Colbert, Washington, a suburb of Spokane.
Coincidentally, on Feb 9, 2006, the following Message was sent to the alumni of Mater Clari:
http://www.matercleri.org/abuse.htm
—-
From: Rev. Msgr. John M. Steiner
Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2006 11:15 PM
Subject: Mater Cleri Students Notice
Dear Mater Cleri Students,
During the last week the Bishop received information of an act or acts of sexual abuse, boundary violations, inappropriate touching or criminal acts on the part of a person on the Mater Cleri staff. To this point we had always taken some pride in the fact that no such behavior had ever been reported as taking place at Mater Cleri by the staff.
The Bishop wants everyone to know his distress to learn such behavior took place at Mater Cleri. He is so sorry about this. We do not want in any way to hide this matter. There is not reason to pretend it did not happen.
The Bishop’s enduring concern about you and your lives draws us to ask both if there are other incidents that we do not know about and if you are aware of Mater Cleri students who were ever victims of such behavior? Can you help us in the present situation by letting them know we have great concern about such behavior?
In the context of the bankruptcy that the Diocese is going through we would urge them to review the material at the following web address
http://www.bmcgroup.com/dioceseofspokane and/or make contact with
Father Steve Dublinski at the Catholic Pastoral Center (509-358-7303), or
Mary Butler, the victims assistance coordinator (509-353-0442), or myself (509-924-3281), or the Bishop.
—
It is quite conceivable that, as many rocks are being turned over, something from 40 years ago could show up.
The claim was not made today, or yesterday, but:
—
The claim was filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane on Dec. 27 by a woman who said she was under the age of 18 when Skylstad sexually abused her at St. Patrick’s Parish and at Gonzaga University from December 1961 to December 1964.
Skylstad was a student at Gonzaga University from 1962-1966 and taught mathematics to students at Mater Cleri Seminary at Colbert, north of Spokane.
—
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002852744_webskylstad08.html?syndication=rss
If this claim was filed on Dec 27, why do we just hear about it now?
I could really use some extra cash. Perhaps I should claim to have been abused 20 years ago. I would have no proof of course but apparently today you don’t need any.
Old Zhou, we’ve been told that claims aren’t supposed to be made public until three months after they are filed. I suppose that gives the diocese time to figure out what to say and whether the claim deserves investigation, and the claimants time to retract, if they wish.