CHAPTER 11 AND THE CHURCH

The most striking aspect of Cardinal Bernard Law’s statement of resignation Friday is that, unlike recent public statements regarding sexually abusive priests, it made no direct reference to the victims. He thanked Pope John Paul II for allowing him to step down; he expressed his gratitude to clergy and laity with whom he was worked. When it came to those he just two weeks ago called “the victims of this crime, this sin,” the closest he came was prayer for the Archdiocese of Boston and a vague apology to “those who have suffered from my shortcoming and mistakes.”

It was as if something that started out as heartfelt got run through the legal department and came out as something in which protecting the client’s interests in pending litigation is paramount. Which – with civil lawsuits piling up (400 so far), state grand jury subpoenas going out to the now-former cardinal and at least five bishops for possible criminal violations, and the potential of the archdiocese filing for bankruptcy – is precisely what happened.

The resignation does nothing to protect Mr. Law from the civil liability exposure and even criminal charges for allowing – a skilled opposing attorney no doubt will call it aiding and abetting – child abuse by transferring accused priests to other assignments where they could continue their crimes undetected. The possible bankruptcy filing, a course of action Mr. Law hinted at last month, is a matter he leaves to his successor.

For now, that person is Bishop Richard Lennon, an auxiliary bishop in Boston, appointed by the pope to run the diocese temporarily. Although temporary administrators in the church rarely are empowered to make major decisions, one of Bishop Lennon’s first acts must be to reject bankruptcy as an option.

The crisis the church finds itself in is, above all, one of the spirit and for that Chapter 11 offers no relevant protections. Drawn out, tedious, procedure-filled court hearings and settling debts for 10 cents on the dollar will not restore faith in church leadership; trying to do so will only increase cynicism.

Nothing has exacerbated this crisis as much as the painfully slow, reluctant way the diocese has disclosed information about abusive priests. The time has come for full disclosure and a full apology. Bankruptcy court is not the place.