Funds solicited for beleaguered priests
Retired Bishop Leroy Matthiesen said the zero-tolerance policy adopted by the Catholic church in 2002 has left some former diocese priests accused of sexual misconduct struggling to make ends meet, which prompted him to send a letter to a small group of people requesting donations on their behalf.
The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People requires dioceses to permanently remove from the ministry a priest accused of any act of sexual abuse. This, Matthiesen said, leaves those priests, many of whom he said are getting up in years, in a situation similar to that of being laid off with no chance of being rehired.
"Because that charter was retroactive 50 years, they were required to be removed no matter how well they had been doing," Matthiesen said. "They didn't ask me to do this. They did tell me that they didn't know what they were going to do. We're trained to do ministry and not much beyond that."
Matthiesen said he sent the letter as a friend of the priests, not as a former bishop, but for some the distinction didn't make the letter any less troubling.
Belinda Gonzales Taylor, who provides victims' assistance for the diocese on a contract basis, said for some victims, the letter brought a sense of re-injury.
"That letter is a contradiction of what our mission is at the Diocese of Amarillo," Taylor said. "It was very disappointing and it's not representative of the current diocesan initiative."
The current bishop, Bishop John W. Yanta, and other officials at the diocese office would not comment on the situation because legal issues are pending with some of the priests. Although Taylor does not work for the diocese, she said she had been in touch with officials at the diocese and is assured that the letter is not representative of the diocese's opinion.
Matthiesen said he never intended it to be.
"This is a temporary, very personal, private thing that I'm doing," he said. "It's not a criticism of what the diocese has done. It's not a protest or anything at all. I think that Yanta (and his staff) did everything that they needed to do and couldn't do more."
Matthiesen did not want to give an exact figure, but he said response to the letters has been generous. Taylor said she would like to see that generosity redirected.
"Take a look at the Dallas clergy who have started a fund for the victims," she said. "That's the kind of thing we want to see in Amarillo. We're moving in a positive direction overall, and there's real compassion that has been extended by the current administration of the diocese. This letter is confusing."
But Matthiesen sees the clergy who have been removed without being convicted of a crime as another kind of victim.
"They're kind of like the forgotten ones in all of this," he said. "You can imagine. They tried to get some defense of themselves set up, but that takes time."
Taylor said the victim's support group meets every other Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the Wesley Community Center.