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Written by Angela Kessler
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Thursday, 03 November 2005 |
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The film Twist of Faith is an HBO production about clerical sexual abuse in the Diocese of Toledo. The diocesan leadership has seen the film, which tells the story of Tony Comes of Toledo, who was sexually abused as a minor by a former priest, Dennis Gray, now laicized.
Mr. Comes acknowledges that the late Bishop Hoffman offered him and his family a sincere apology for the terrible sin and crime that was inflicted upon him. After coming to Toledo, Bishop Blair wrote to all alleged victims asking to meet with them in the hope of fostering some understanding, healing and reconciliation. Bishop Blair certainly reaffirms the apology of Bishop Hoffman to Tony Comes and his family.
At the same time, Twist of Faith raises some issues that call for a response, without in any way wishing to diminish the pain and torment that Tony Comes, other victims and their families endure as a result of sexual abuse.
Strict Mental Reservation. In the film, Mr. Comes' attorney, Catherine Hoolahan, states: Under Canon law, priests are authorized to lie if it is in the interest of the Church in order to protect the Church from scandals. It's called mental reservationStrict mental reservation means that you cannot answer a question - you can lie in your answer in order to protect the interest of the Church. This is simply false.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states (no. 2489): No one is bound to reveal the truth to someone who does not have the right to know. However, this is simply acknowledging what any moral person knows. If an abusive husband came to a safe-house for battered women demanding to see his wife, respect for the truth would not require the person who answered the door to acknowledge that the wife was there. To apply this moral principle to the concealment of grave sins or crimes by clerical abusers has no basis whatsoever in Canon Law, the Catechism, or Catholic teaching
The term mental reservation was once used to defend the morality of giving an evasive or ambiguous answer to a questioner who did not have the right to know. However, this practice can easily be used to rationalize deliberate deception, and Catholic moral theology has treated it with caution. The Catechism of the Catholic Church does not use the term. An even more questionable use of this teaching was known as strict mental reservation (the term used by Ms. Hoolahan). Strict mental reservation was condemned by Pope Innocent XI in the year 1679, and since then no Catholic theologian has attempted to justify it.
No other allegations. Mr. Comes says that when he and his wife and mother met with Bishop Hoffman in June of 2002, they asked the Bishop if there were any other allegations of sexual abuse by Dennis Gray. He states that the Bishop responded that to his knowledge there were no others. Mr. Comes felt that he had been lied to when, four months later, he read in The Blade that the Diocese of Toledo had been aware of other allegations against Gray and had even reported them to the Lucas County Children's Services Board in 1995. This information was also reported in the October 18, 2002, issue of the Catholic Chronicle.
Without wishing to question the truth of what Tony Comes alleges, it is important to make clear the chronology of events. Dennis Gray left the ministry in 1987, never to return. When, in 1995, the Diocese became aware of allegations against him of past sexual abuse, at Bishop Hoffman's direction these allegations were reported to Lucas County Children Services. The mystery remains as to why, seven years later in 2002, in the midst of intense public scrutiny, Bishop Hoffman would say that he had no knowledge of other allegations against Dennis Gray. Sadly, the answer to that mystery died with Bishop Hoffman.
The Diocesan Stock Portfolio. Twist of Faith concludes with the following words: In 2004, Tony and 21 other survivors entered into settlement discussions with the Toledo diocese. The diocese offered Tony $55,000, which he reluctantly accepted. Several weeks later, it was revealed that the diocese had a stock portfolio worth $117,000,000.
As pointed out in detail in the October 7, 2005 issue of the Catholic Chronicle, most of the money invested by the Diocese belongs to parishes and schools as part of the Diocesan Deposit and Loan Fund and the Catholic Foundation. What does not belong to parishes and schools is mostly committed to various restricted trusts and funds; namely the Protective Self Insurance Trust, the Priests' Retirement Fund, the Unemployment Trust and Workers Compensation Trust for lay employees, and finally the Cemetery Fund and Seminary Fund. Only a relatively small portion of the portfolio can be used for diocesan operations.
Some have asked that the Diocese of Toledo promote the viewing of Twist of Faith in the parishes. Given the serious misinformation about the Church with respect to strict mental reservation, the Diocese is not in a position to promote the film for parish use. The HBO rating is mature audience only, contains graphic language and adult content. It should be noted that in Twist of Faith graphic language is used even in reference to sacred things like the Holy Eucharist.
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