ARTICLES
January 2002 ARTICLES
Contents © 2002
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
Inflammatory and Outrageous
Molestation Case Raises Many Questions
By Charles A. Coulombe
On August 1, 2001, a landmark clergy abuse case was settled in Orange County. One Marcus Ryan DiMaria, 28, claimed that Monsignor Michael Harris had molested him a decade ago at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita. Four other men have also accused Monsignor Harris, known as "Father Hollywood," of molestation.
The Los Angeles archdiocese and the diocese of Orange have apologized to the four alleged victims, and have settled with Di Maria for $5.2 million. Though the alleged molestations occurred in Orange diocese, the archdiocese of Los Angeles is involved because of the claim that one of its priests had failed to follow up on allegations that Monsignor Harris molested a student in the late 70s. Besides the dollar amount, the dioceses agreed, in the future, to be governed by guidelines dealing with molestation. Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray, who agreed to the settlement, will oversee the application of the guidelines.
According to the settlement, the archdiocese and the diocese of Orange must establish an "assistance officer program" in which a "mental healthcare professional receives and follows up on any complaints about sexual improprieties involving diocesan personnel. According to the Tidings, the archdiocese has such a program "currently under development." Priests must also sign a paper declaring that they have received diocesan policies on sexual abuse and will abide by them. Los Angeles and Orange also agreed to allow a third party to hold exit interviews with men who leave the seminary for whatever reason and to report any reported problems to diocesan officials. Both dioceses are to prepare an information pamphlet on ministry and working with children, which they will distribute once a year at parishes and at parent-teacher meetings. Perhaps the most unorthodox policy in the agreement is the establishment of a web site and toll-free number where cases of molestation can be reported anonymously.
Cut and dried as these facts appear, a number of questions arise. Not least is the actual guilt or innocence of Monsignor Harris. Denying the charges against him, Harris has angrily accused the archdiocese of Los Angeles and the diocese of Orange of consulting "their own business interests." Dr. Burr McKeehan, who has served on boards of non-profits founded by Monsignor Harris, told the Los Angeles Times that Harris is "the most honorable person I've ever met." McKeehan said he was disappointed in the diocese's settlement since DiMaria's accusations were not proven in court. At the same time, it might be asked why Msgr. Harris (not available for interview) has not taken action for libel.
Moreover, apart from the amount of cash given to the victims, the amount of supervision over the Church's activities by the state seems excessive to many. Despite archdiocesan spokesman Tod Tamberg's assertion to the Tidings that "none of the things are going to cause us to make radical changes to existing policies," many priests feel differently. Especially worrisome was the anonymous 800 complaint. Quoted in the Times for August 22, an anonymous priest declared "It's so inflammatory -- it's outrageous," he said. "Imagine if I'm a teacher and I give a person a poor grade, and then they can make an anonymous charge of molestation against me." Similar statements have been made, on condition of anonymity, to me by a number of clergy. Psychologist Joseph Nicolosi, known for his work with the victims of clergy abuse, echoed their concern. "A lot of orthodox priests are complaining about the idea of anonymous accusations."
Why, then, did the archdiocese settle out of court for such a big sum? According to The Wanderer, Sylvia Demarest, the attorney representing the alleged victims, claimed that the settlement was so high because Cardinal Roger Mahony did not want former Santa Rosa bishop Patrick Ziemann to be subpoenaed to testify. Ziemann, forced to resign his see over his admitted sexual relationship with a young Latin American man whom he had imported and ordained, was Monsignor Harris' spiritual director. Once on the stand, the retired bishop could be asked, under oath, any relevant question about the moral state of the archdiocesan clergy.
But some facts regarding the plaintiffs leave questions as to motivation. One of their expert witnesses was Dr. Richard Sipe, a psychologist specializing in such cases. "The problem of sexual violation by priests is constant because it's systemic," he told the Times. "The church is being pushed to reform -- reaction rather than proactive. The church has really done very little. They've done it on paper, but not in practice." At the August 1 settlement conference, Sipe told Orange County superior court judge James Gray that the archdiocese had received five molestation complaints a month for the last five years. But in a letter of rebuttal written to Sipe, archdiocesan attorney John P. McNicholas said that, overall, there were about 50 cases of "sexual misbehavior" reported to the archdiocese in the last five years.
Who is Richard Sipe? According to his biographical statement, he is a psychotherapist and psychiatrist assistant in the state of Maryland. Professed as a Benedictine monk in 1953 and ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1959, he retired from religious life and the priesthood with the permission of Rome in 1970. He claims to have "spent 37 years as a counselor, psychotherapist, and teacher of Catholic clerics and a counselor and psychotherapist to lay Catholics with a history of sexual involvement with Catholic priests and religious." He taught at three Catholic major seminaries, and has given lectures on how to achieve celibate practice at Catholic seminaries, most recently from January 7-22, 1996. In April 1996, he published a manual for those who wish to practice a celibate lifestyle: Celibacy: A Way of Loving, Living, and Serving. However, although based in Maryland he is not a member of either the Maryland Psychiatric Society, nor the Maryland Psychological Association. Neither is he licensed to practice psychiatry in either Maryland or California.
In The Sipe Report, solely available online at www.thelinkup.com/sipe.html, Sipe appears to be concerned solely with helping priests live up to the requirements of celibacy, rather than to be opposed to the practice as such. But in the Religion and Ethics Newsweekly (www.thirteen.org/religionandethics/week443/cover.html) for November 2, 2001, he is asked about the topic of married priests. Referring to the pastoral provision allowing married Anglican minister-converts to be ordained, he declares, "I think it shows the contradiction in the church's teaching. I think it's an acknowledgement that married men can be as dedicated servants of the people as non-married men. I think it's a step. I think it's a link. I think probably it's a very wise step toward the evolution of a married priesthood. A person who claims celibacy and is sincerely trying to be celibate isn't always sexually abstinent. And isn't sexually abstinent consistently."
His views on homosexuality within the priesthood are also original. Writing in the National Catholic Reporter (March 31, 2000), Sipe proclaimed: "This is a time when a growing number of priests and bishops are homosexual in orientation. They should not be outcasts or second-class servants or secreted behind homophobic facades. Homosexually oriented clergy are equally observant of their celibacy, as are their heterosexual brothers, and one struggles as much as the other. Coming to terms with one's identity and relationships are tasks central to any spirituality and leadership irrespective of one's sexual orientation."
Despite his denials of opposition to celibacy and the Church as such, according to page 267 of Jason Berry's book Lead Us Not Into Temptation, "therapists Richard Sipe and Sister Fran Ferder, who have both treated many priests for a range of problems, consider the Vatican mindset that condemns all sexual activity outside of marriage to be locked in an adolescent stage of psychosexual development." Dr. Sipe is himself married to Marianne Benkert, MD., a psychiatrist at UCSD's Owen Clinic, and volunteers there himself, both in counseling and administrative tasks -- despite his lack of licensing.
The "Linkup", sole internet source for the Sipe Report, is in itself a fascinating organization. The website bills itself as "The Survivors of Clergy Abuse Linkup's Homepage." The opening statement declares, "Sexual abuse and exploitation of believers by their spiritual leaders is an unfortunate fact that can be found in all sects and denominations of all the religions in the world. The Linkup, the largest and most prominent victims' and survivors' advocacy group in North America, is dedicated to the fight for justice, prevention and the healing of victims. We track cases around the world, publishing up to date summaries and special in-depth articles in our newsletter, the Missing Link."
But further examination of the site reveals some disturbing elements. The vast majority of the cases covered involve Catholics (although, to be sure, a few of the more bizarre accounts concern Episcopalians and Protestants). Despite the repeated assurances that the group is not anti-Catholic, per se, and that such a charge is used by those who would cover up clerical crimes), one comes away with a very different impression.
Tom Economus is the group's director. In an interview with PBS (www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/pope/sex/economus.html), he reveals that he himself went through some horrific experiences with the clergy. But today, Economus is a priest of the "Independent Catholic Church," which he describes as " a group of bishops, priests, nuns, lay people that were Roman Catholic, that no longer adhere to the Christian tenets of the Roman Catholic Church or to the Pope. And they are independent-minded people that want to continue to have the seven sacraments, want to continue Catholic theology, but don't want to be weighted down with issues such as the abortion issue, married priests, women at the altar. And so they're very liberal in that thinking." His final judgement on the Church is "I was on my way to California for a business trip, and had CNN on and I saw the Pope coming down the steps of his aircraft and hugging Fidel Castro.... He can hug Fidel Castro, who kills his own people, and yet the Pope won't hug a victim of clergy sexual abuse -- of his own priests. And I was very disturbed by that. It just doesn't make any sense to me. And again, it makes me believe and confirms the notion that the Vatican is a political entity. And they're about power, and money, and exerting their power in the world, but they're not about the souls of their own children."
Given his experiences, of course, Economus' views are understandable -- but they are quite conventional compared to those of Jay Nelson, until recently listed on the site as co-chairman and webmaster. Deleted also is the link to Nelson's own website, "Weirdload." Here we find not only that the strange tale of Maria Monk is true, but that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at the order of Pope Pius IX, and that the current pontiff is plotting with extraterrestrials against mankind. One can perhaps understand why Nelson had a falling out with Economus.
At any rate, given Sipe's background, associations, and biases, one might conclude plaintiffs in the Harris case had an agenda of their own -- one which might have been smoked out in court. Yet rather than do so (and give Monsignor Harris his chance to defend himself), the cardinal opted for a million-dollar settlement.
As one source who declined to be named told me, "Given the ammunition against the Church's teachings that the settlement has given her opponents, one wishes that it had gone to trial."