The sex abuse scandal and Cardinal Dolan

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York would probably have been voted Mr. Congeniality at the gathering of cardinals to elect a new pope last spring -- if they had such a title.  Naturally outgoing, gregarious, basking in the spotlight, and easily wearing the mantle of leadership (perhaps too easily and self-promoting, IMHO) -- and, from what I saw and read, a bit over the top in his public persona.   He might not fancy Benedict's custom made ruby shoes;  but he would find his own sartorial signature.   The trappings of the heirarchy seem to appeal to him, in contrast to the new Pope Francis.

Once mentioned as a possible long-shot choice for pope, that possibility cooled with news that, just before he left for Rome and the papal conclave, he had been deposed about his handling of abuse cases and the diocese's finances in 2007 when he was head of the Milwaukee Archdiocese.

In recent years, Cardinal Dolan has expressed his personal outrage at the harm done to the abused children and pledged to help the church and the victims heal.   Many had regarded him as the healing leader they needed, now in his role as cardinal and president of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Dolan had previously scoffed at charges that he tried to shield church assets from victims' lawsuits, calling the allegations "marlarkey" and "groundless gossip" on his blog.  But files have now been released by the current archbishop of Milwaukee in connection with diocese bankruptcy proceedings that began in 2011.

The files contain a 2007 letter from then Archbishop Dolan to the Vatican requesting permission to transfer $57 million in church funds into a cemetery trust fund.  His letter explained that this would provide "an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability."   The Vatican quickly approved the transfer.  So, Dolan had previously denied this emphatically, and now there is a letter of proof he was behind it.

On another occasion in 2003, he wrote to then Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict), who was head of the Vatican office handling the abuse cases, saying:  "As victims organize and become more public, the potential for true scandal is very real."   Excuse me:   the scandal was already there;  is was the exposure of the scandal that became very real.

At least he was right about it hurting the church.   But his tone puts him on the wrong side.  And now the files show that he has also lied about his involvement in shielding church funds.   By the way, this all came out because the diocese is in bankruptcy proceedings, and victims making claims have demanded release of documents about "protected" church funds hidden in places like the cemetery trust.

Scandals abound here.   The shocking frequency of sexual abuse of children and teens;  the shocking cover-up to protect offending priests more than victims;  the relative indifference by many of the church leaders that the expose has revealed.

Add to that:   Not just the transfer of funds into a cemetery trust in order to shield them from lawsuits, but the very fact that the church had $57 million that they could spare and hide in a trust fund.

These same guys in the Vatican thought that the American nuns were getting out of hand with their selfless service to the poor and the sick -- instead of joining picket lines at abortion clinics or railing against gay marriage.   So the Vatican put a priest in charge of their organization to try to rein them in on the social service front.   Don't trust those soft-hearted women;   the men -- especially those cloistered in the Vatican -- they know best.

So which is a better example and a better image for the church:    (1)  A nun, dressed in her simple black habit, serving up soup to homeless families at a church kitchen?   or (2) Pope Benedict in his gold-embroidered costume, his funny hat, and his Ruby Red slippers riding around in his bullet-proof pope-mobile?   To appropriate a phrase from the fundamentalist protestants:   "Which would Jesus do?"

I think the new pope Francis knows the answer to that.  In must a few months as pope, he has gone a long way to distance himself and his position from all those old privileges and trappings of the papacy.   Like the American nuns, he takes his commitment to a life of service seriously.  Now that I can admire.

Ralph