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CNN Live Today

Interview with Theodore McCarrick

Aired June 12, 2002 - 14:48   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Another top story that we've been following today is the fact that bishops are meeting in Dallas, Texas, and talking about how they are going to deal with the sex abuse scandal that has been plaguing the Catholic Church. A very important time for the Catholic community.

Also, we've been talking about an article that came out in the "Dallas Morning News," revealing 2/3 of bishops let accused priests work. A number of other details, key findings, in this article. We're joined by a very special guest, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington.

Sir, we appreciate you joining us here at the last minute. We want to talk about how the progress that's being made. Also, we'd love to talk about this article with you. Get your feedback on that and the findings that came about.

But first of all, progress being made. Give us an update.

CARDINAL THEODORE MCCARRICK, WASHINGTON ARCHDIOCESE: Well, I think there's a great deal of progress being made. I pray that ultimately it will resolve this very, very serious and very tragic trauma that the Church is going through at this time.

Of course, our meeting does not really begin until tomorrow. Today there are just committee meetings on different facets of the Church's life. As you know, even though we are so concentrating on this one problem, this doesn't mean that we're not taking care of other things.

I was at meeting today on pro-life, on the care of the unborn, on capital punishment. I just came from another meeting where we talked about the rights and the needs of refugees and migrants.

So we continue to try to take care of the poor. We continue to try to feed the hungry. We continue to try to educate tens of hundreds of thousands of youngsters. So we're still doing all those things.

But I think that we come to this meeting in Dallas with a real enthusiasm, with a real hope that we're all on the same page and that we will be able at this meeting to resolve what has been a terrible situation. We'll be able to say to our people at the end of it, we heard you, we've listened to you, we've shared your pain. We've -- our hearts are broken too, but we're fixing it, and now it's never going to happen again. I think that's what we're trying to do at this meeting.

PHILLIPS: Taking that to heart, sir, I definitely want to get you to respond to the "Dallas Morning News" article. I know you've read it. A lot of numbers coming out. A lot of very discouraging, I guess, facts and numbers. First of all, do you refute anything in this article?

MCCARRICK: Well, I don't think there's really anything new in article. I think they have compiled statistics from all around. And so often, what they're saying is they're quoting things that happened in the '80s. And you know, in the '80s we didn't have the same understanding that we have today. Not only the Church didn't have it, but medicine didn't have it and psychiatry didn't have it. Society didn't have it.

In the '80s, you thought that if you sent a man away to a therapeutic center and that he was there for a year and he came back with a clean bill of health, and the therapeutic center said he's OK, you can send him back into the ministry -- well, we thought we could do it.

We wouldn't do it now. We know now that the therapeutic center can't give us a 100 percent result. And you don't want to do less than a 100 percent result. You can't risk your youngsters. You can't risk your children.

If they say, well, 97 percent of the time we can do it. That three percent we can't handle, and we're not going to handle it anymore. I think this is what is running through that article there. They're going back to the '80s. They're going back to times when we didn't know what we know now.

So I think the article is somewhat flawed because of that. I skimmed through it, I did not read it all. I don't know what's going on in so many other diocese. But in the things that I did know, I found some flaws.

There's nothing new in it. It's just the repetition, bringing a lot of things together. But sometimes a lot of things that aren't, they're apples and oranges. There are mistakes that were made back in the '80s, when we all make mistakes.

PHILLIPS: So, sir, you're saying...

MCCARRICK: I think it has to be understood.

PHILLIPS: ... you're saying there were no mistakes that were made in the '90s -- is that what you're saying?

MCCARRICK: Oh, no. Heavens no, I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that the article is flawed because it mixes apples and oranges. It mixes the mistakes that were made in the '80s because that was the knowledge we had at the time, with some very unfortunate, tragic mistakes that were made later on.

PHILLIPS: We're seeing priests being examined as this conference begins. That's a key part of this conference. But what about bishops being examined? Do you support that?

MCCARRICK: I don't know what you mean by when you say being examined?

PHILLIPS: Their history. Their relationships with those they dealt with in the church.

MCCARRICK: If examination -- if by examination you mean, are we taking into serious gravity allegations that are made against some of our priests, certainly we are. We're doing it against priests, bishops and everybody.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know that four bishops have resigned. So that leads to questions. People want to know more about those bishops that resigned. So, besides priests, do you think it's important to also examine the hierarchy, examine bishops?

MCCARRICK: Again, when you say examine, I'm not sure what you mean. When you say examine, you mean look into any allegations that have been made, any credible allegations? Certainly, we should do that.

PHILLIPS: No matter who you are.

MCCARRICK: We should do that with everybody. Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Cardinal, my final question, I guess we want to know about the survivors. What do you hope to accomplish by speaking with them?

MCCARRICK: Well -- of course it won't be the first time that I have spoken to them. We've listened to them in our own dioceses. But I think it's good that we continue to listen to them. It's good that we continue to understand their concerns, their anger, their upset with our lack of being sure with what we were going to do.

I think we hopefully will say to them, through this meeting, that this is not going to happen anymore. And that's my prayer. And I'm looking forward. I know it's going to be a heart-rendering session. But I'm looking forward to meeting them and to listening to them, and to trying to assure them, first of all, of the sorrow that it gives me. And secondly, of the apology that I have for them and for anyone who would hurt a young person.

And hopefully -- yes, the assurance that it won't happen again.

PHILLIPS: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, thank you so much, sir, for being with us at the last minute. We appreciate it very much.

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