Letters to the Editors

Bishop should be commended for handling problem

Bishop Robert Lynch is a now a victim of the frenzy that has gripped our nation's media and the confusion that now reigns within the church and its faithful. He is a good and faithful servant of the Lord and of the church, and has guided the local Catholics with truth and justice.

The bishop and Bill Urbanski were at once friends and professional colleagues. Why does any one of us believe we can sit in judgment of what happened within a relationship between two people? Whether professional, family or friendship-based, all relationships have moments of confusion or "gray areas" as to one's feelings or intentions -- simply because we cannot read each other's minds or hearts. Within this complex dynamic, blurred boundaries led to a difference in perception. Perhaps to dignify though not agree with Urbanski's perception (we cannot condemn a person for his perception) and to honor his professional service, the diocese gave him a generous severance package -- no strings attached. End of story.

There is no secret plot here, and no trail of lies. Our bishop handled this problem exactly as he should have, and according to policy -- by asking for a full investigation no matter how personally torturous. He should be commended for the way he has handled himself in this painful matter. Relationships are complicated things, and priests are only human. Let's relax our zeal for the perfect, unblemished leader, and be grateful for the wonderful one we now have.
-- Terry Darken, Tampa

Support for Bishop Lynch

I have known Bishop Robert Lynch of the Diocese of St. Petersburg for more than 20 years. I was a seminarian at St. John Vianney Seminary in Miami when Bishop Lynch served as rector. I have never heard of an allegation of anything that would be considered inappropriate in all the years of my knowledge of Bishop Lynch.

Bishop Lynch has affirmed that he has been faithful to the celibate state and that he has striven to fulfill what the Catholic Church expects of a bishop and a priest. I believe Bishop Lynch and I hope all will support him during this difficult time.
-- The Rev. Thomas Morgan, Espiritu Santo Catholic Church, Safety Harbor

Settlements are not admissions of guilt

As individual members of the Tampa Bay Catholic Lawyers Guild, we would like to put in perspective the recent headlines concerning Bishop Robert N. Lynch. Both as lawyers who have handled literally thousands of disputes and as Catholics, we have the background and experience to do so.

Parties to a controversy usually have completely different perceptions of what occurred. Rarely does a dispute involve one party who is entirely wrong and the other who is entirely right. In most disputes, both parties are right as they see it.

Parties settle controversies for many reasons. One side's reasons are usually quite different from the other side's reasons. Often money or severance pay is given to one party when employment disputes are settled. The payment of money is not an admission of guilt or liability and should never be considered to be so.

Our American system of justice favors settlements and abhors jumping to conclusions. Our God condemns judging others. He teaches forgiveness and mercy instead.

In these days of tragic scandals involving our Catholic Church, we give to Bishop Lynch the presumption of innocence and our support. To both Bishop Lynch and the former employee, we give our prayers.
-- C. Timothy Corcoran, III, Tampa; W. Penn Dawson, III, Tampa; Catherine Peek McEwen, Tampa; and A. Karl Stevens Jr., Temple Terrace

Payment hard to understand

If Bill Urbanski's claim is false, I don't understand why the diocese would give him $100,000 in "severance" pay.

Likewise, I resent the comparison Bishop Robert Lynch made with respect to Jesus and himself vs. Judas and Urbanski. The bishop appears to play as fast and loose with scriptural comparisons as he does with diocesan money. Excellency, we have met the enemy and he is us!
-- Jean Downing, St. Petersburg

The nature of sacrifice

The discovery of pedophilia in the Catholic clergy has led many editorialists to question the wisdom of clerical celibacy (see Maureen Dowd's Swept under the Vatican rug, March 26). According to this logic, a man or woman whose spouse becomes unable or unwilling to have sexual relations for a prolonged period of time should be allowed and encouraged to find a different partner in order to avoid sexual perversions!

What keeps marriage together even in time of forced celibacy and what may keep the Catholic priest celibate is the acceptance of sacrifice, central to both the Judeo and Christian traditions. Unlike a linguistic modern perversion that considers sacrifice in pejorative terms, sacrifice means sacrum facere, to make sacred, and sacred means "reserved" to a particular person or use. In the marriage ceremony, the spouses vow "to sacrifice" themselves, including their sexes, as a special unique gift to another person, that only this person can use. In the Catholic tradition, priests make this sacrifice of themselves to God, because they have acquired a special vision of God that calls them to an unconditional unlimited, unrestricted service of their brothers and sisters.

The sense of sacrifice, more than legal gimmicks like pre-marital agreements, may eliminate exploitive sexual relationships among humans, and that same sacrifice inspires the total dedication of the clergy to God. Eliminate the sacrifice that inspires clerical celibacy and you will justify any type of sexual perversion as a search for one's self.
-- Lodovico Balducci, M.D., Tampa

Confronting abuses of power

Re: Divining the priestly mind, March 19.

This excellent article tells part of the story. Sexual exploitation in the Catholic Church harms not only children, but women who are parishioners, nuns and missionaries. Sexual exploitation by the clergy is also present in all religions -- principally against women and children. Lawsuits concerning this in all parts of the country reveal only the tip of the iceberg. It has not so much to do with sex as with abuse of power, and with the fact that many by-standers who have never experienced this cannot grasp either the extent of the harm to those personally affected and their families, or even that it could possibly be happening, and so very often blame the victims.

In terms of the Roman Catholics, it would show true concern if the pope himself would apologize for the wrongs done for so many years. Advocateweb.org, a nonprofit group concerned with abuse of power in all professions, including psychotherapy, medicine and education, is a source of information and support.

Breeching trust has been a vast, if largely hidden, problem for many years. The publicity about problems with the Roman Catholic Church can awaken us to how much more there is to be known and done to stop abuse that is present in virtually all churches and all professional groups.
-- Brooks Mitchell, Tampa

Misinterpreted situations

I have thoroughly read all of the articles detailing Bill Urbanski's charges that Bishop Robert Lynch sexually harassed him. Even if the incidents that he refers to are factual, I don't see how he can call it sexual harassment. If he didn't want to share a room with the bishop on business trips, why didn't he reserve one for himself and pay for it himself? If he didn't want to take his shirt off why didn't he refuse and excuse himself? If someone walking out of the shower nude disturbs him so much, what on earth did he do as an athlete in the men's locker room? And if one man touching another man's thigh is so bad what are we to think when professional athletes hit each other on the rear end?

It is heartbreaking that such harmless events could cause so much of a stir. This is not a scandal. It isn't even newsworthy. I sincerely hope that Urbanski will get the help he needs to discover why he misinterpreted these situations and why he handled them so poorly.
-- Marguerite Vanden-Eynden, Palm Harbor

Candor and healing

In a church notorious for its secrecy and coverups, the arrival of Bishop Robert Lynch to the diocese of St. Petersburg was like a new epiphany. Here was no pompous arrogant prelate but rather a caring pastor who showed his compassion to clergy and laity alike. It was, however, a compassion that did not tolerate secrecy or coverup. In marked contrast to the rest of the church, he did not hesitate to bare the wounds and failures of his flock when it was necessary to do so. In the face of the present accusations against him, he has shown the same openness and candor. Such transparency can only augur well for him.

In contrast, much of the church hierarchy remains impervious to the distress and great anger of clergy and people over the coverup of the scandals and the recycling of clergy who should have been incarcerated instead of being incardinated. They were warned about them but chose to ignore the warnings. Now the church is reaping the harvest. The insulated cocoon they built around themselves has proven to be a straw fortress. How they could have been so stupid and uncaring is beyond understanding. One recalls the great phrase "with stupidity, even the gods are helpless."

There is immense pain in the church. But now at least the wound has been has been laid open. Only when a wound has been uncovered and cleaned, can it be healed. For that reason I am so grateful to Mary Joe Melone for her hard-hitting articles.

We who love the church and have received so much from it are sad. We are not without hope. Christ told us that there would be scandals. Even most of his own handpicked men betrayed him. But He will be with us. Hopefully we will be with him.
-- Seamus Collins, Hudson

Misinterpreted caring

Good priests, ministers, teachers, and counselors are caring and nurturing people. Usually when they reach out to hug or touch someone, it is meant as a giving of themselves -- to extend empathy, acceptance, and understanding.

It is a disappointment that so many people misinterpret these actions as "sexual harassment." It is also disappointing the TV and newspaper media have to give these actions so much publicity. Many exceptional and dedicated people are being hurt.
-- Mary Foust, Clearwater

A heroic and exemplary life

Thank you for the sensitive and thoughtful editorial about the Catholic Church (A crisis of conscience, March 18).

Sadly, the news about the church took a different form earlier this month and reminds us of what kind of people we can be. On March 16, gunmen shot and killed Archbishop Isaias Duarte Cancino, 63, in Cali, Colombia.

He clearly lived an extraordinary, heroic and exemplary life. At a time when so much of the news surrounding my beloved church has been scandalous, the story of Archbishop Duarte's death will be an inspiration to millions worldwide. He stood up to the Communists and the drug cartels and didn't blink.
-- Jim Parker, Tampa

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