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American Morning

Is Holy Seat Taking Charge Too Late?

Aired April 16, 2002 - 09:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: As we've been reporting this morning, the Pope has summoned eight U.S. cardinals to the Vatican for a rare emergency meeting to discuss the escalating sex abuse scandal. The church summit will take place early next week. But is the holy seat taking charge too late? Joining us now, here in New York, Bishop Joseph Galante, Coadjutor - say it again ...

BISHOP JOSEPH GALANTE, COADJUTOR OF DALLAS: Coadjutor.

ZAHN: Coadjutor, I had it right - of the Dallas diocese and in San Diego, Richard Sipe, a retired priest and the author of "Sex, Priests and Power: Anatomy of a Crisis." Good to see both of you, again. Welcome.

GALANTE: Thank you.

RICHARD SIPE, AUTHOR, "SEX, PRIESTS AND POWER: ANATOMY OF A CRISIS": Good morning Paula.

ZAHN: Good morning. So Bishop Galante, help us understand why the Vatican changed its mind. Over the weekend, U.S. bishops, Catholic bishops made it pretty clear that the Pope thought it was going to be fine for them to figure out how to address this crisis in America. Now you have the Pope summoning these cardinals to Rome. Why?

GALANTE: Yes. I think - well, it's not that rare an occasion. A lot of times the Pope and the curial officials, it won't be just the Pope himself, have met with bishops from countries about particular issues. The Australian bishops, for example, when they were in Rome for the senate (ph) in Oceana (ph), had a meeting with the Pope. I was working in Rome in 1989 when the curial (ph), the Pope and the cardinals who had the various offices asked all the American archbishops to come to Rome for a meeting about various issues in the church in the United States.

ZAHN: But in this case weren't the bishops left with the distinct impression it was going to be up to them to decide how to proceed with the sex abuse scandal?

GALANTE: Yes. And I'm not certain that it still won't be in great part up to the bishops. I think - my impression is that the cardinals as well as the president and vice president of the bishop's conference have been asked to come to Rome for really consultations to layout, perhaps, in a clearer way the limits of the cases, the problems that we're facing here to give a better understanding in Rome to exactly what it is we're facing.

ZAHN: Let's, Richard, talk a moment about the challenge they all face when they meet in Rome next week. We're going to look at a poll and I'm going to put this full screen up now that says a poll last week by again Quinnipiac University finds that 43 percent of Americans and the same percentage of U.S. Catholics say the mistaken policies and cover ups by church leaders have done more to hurt the church's reputation than the sexual abuse of young people by priests. How much damage control needs to be done here?

SIPE: Are you asking me, Paula?

ZAHN: Yeah, Richard. Please.

SIPE: OK. I'll tell you. I think what's unprecedented about this meeting is that it's a meeting about human sexuality. The one topic that the second Vatican counsel did not address was human sexuality and celibacy. And what is happening is an unraveling of the whole, what I call the celibate sexual system. People are asking questions, not just about sexual abuse of minors, but what about celibacy? What about the practice among bishops and priest? What about other sexual activity and how does that fit in with the churches teaching on human sexuality, which has really been undiscussable?

I don't see how whatever the Pope says or whatever the cardinals say that they can now shutdown the unraveling of a secret system that was not talked about, that now is open for discussion and people are demanding accountability for.

ZAHN: So Richard are you essentially saying that celibacy has not been practiced in the numbers it should have been practiced and it's time to change the rules completely?

SIPE: Well not saying it should change the rules completely. I'm saying that it has not been practiced in a complete way and in an honest way by some priests and that has caused a great deal of scandal. And what has to be changed is the discussion of it. It no longer can be secret. It has to be discuss on every level.

ZAHN: Bishop Galante, do you see that happening in Rome next week, an open discussion about the issue of celibacy among priests or a lack thereof?

GALANTE: Well I have a little problem with Richard Sipe talking about the secrecy of celibacy. It's never been a secret. And there have been a number of church documents about it. I did my own doctoral dissertation back in 1968 on the history of the development on the law of celibacy and theological values of celibacy in the modern church.

ZAHN: But you would acknowledge that it is not being practiced in the numbers you would like it to be?

GALANTE: Well I would acknowledge, yes, that - but throughout history that's always been a problem. I think what was said earlier, the question that you raised from the - from the Quinnipiac study, the ball is clearly in our court as bishops and for us, I think we need to do several things. First of all, we need to continue to develop a greater understanding of what celibacy is among our seminaries and priests, not just as an aggetion (ph) but as a positive way of loving and living. We also need to deal with psychosexual integration and maturity among seminarians and priests.

ZAHN: What exactly does that mean?

GALANTE: It means ...

ZAHN: You're losing me on that one.

GALANTE: Well it means basically all of us are sexual beings, male, female.

ZAHN: Right.

GALANTE: How do we integrate our emotional life and our sexuality? It doesn't mean sexual activity. But how do I, as a male, relate to people in my life with a mature way of relating to them consonant with my own sexuality, my maleness, how do I relate with men, women, children, whomever?

The other issue too is an intimacy issue. Every adult has needs around intimacy, which is not a physical expression necessarily. But how do I reveal myself? How do I share the innermost feelings, thoughts, aspirations, hopes, successes, failures, sorrows with another person with whom I can trust and how do I receive those things from other people?

ZAHN: You raise some very interesting issues, and in closing, Richard Sipe, do you think these issues will be confronted next week at the Vatican?

SIPE: I don't know that they'll be confronted at the Vatican and the Bishop knows better than I. But I do know that they are going to be open for discussion because people are demanding it. And I agree with what Bishop says. I have spent my life studying celibacy, the practice of it, not just the ideal of it. And this is what we have to address.

ZAHN: All right, Richard Sipe always good to have your perspective and Bishop Galante, nice to see you in person for a change.

GALANTE: Thank you. Thank you Paula.

ZAHN: I usually interview you by remote from Dallas.

GALANTE: Thank you. Yeah, it's nice to be able to see you face to face.

ZAHN: Thank you.

GALANTE: Thank you.

ZAHN: Enjoy your trip. Thanks gentlemen.

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