Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Peter Isley

Aired June 21, 2003 - 18:38   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.


MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: The Catholic Church says its sex abuse reform remains on track. Others might disagree, this assurance as the church's bishops wrap up their semiannual meeting in Missouri. It's been a year since U.S. bishops approved reform policies in the sex abuse crisis. While they analyze where to go from here, many insist much progress has been made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISHOP WILLIAM LORRI, BRIDGEPORT, CONN: I can really think of few institutions, whether religious or secular, taking the unprecedented steps that the church is taking in this year. We made a lot of progress, but I think we also recognize that we have a lot more to do as we move forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Peter Isley is among those who is watching this conference with particular interest. He is a national board member of SNAP -- Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. And he joins us now. Thanks very much for being with us, sir.

PETER ISLEY, SNAP: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: What do you think of what you have seen and heard so far, coming out of this conference?

ISLEY: Well, it's been a year since Dallas, and I think while no one expected 100 percent results in a year, there was an expectation that there was going to be 100 percent effort, and, you know, the really important news over the last week was the verdict that was brought in by Governor Keating, who was the one person who was in an independent position to kind of draw a verdict over the last year. And that verdict was -- there is some serious, serious problems with how this issue is being handled one year later.

SAVIDGE: There is no question that the comments by Governor Keating have raised a storm of controversy. Let's listen also to some of the statements again coming from Bishop William Lorri, one of those at the conference. And I'll ask you to respond afterwards. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORRI: We are doing this by massive awareness training, that involves clergy, volunteers, employers, by criminal background checks, and by doing an extensive study on the extent of the problem as well as its causes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Bishop talking about the goals overall. Peter, are you seeing that same sort of emphasis?

ISLEY: Well, the problem is -- again, as the governor pointed out -- is about compliance right now. Look, this is about criminal behavior and covering up criminal behavior. And so, we look a year later, and do we really have that much more transparency in information about the criminals that have been -- you know, that have used the Catholic Church to commit their crimes and about those in senior management in the Roman Catholic Church that covered up those crimes? That's the central issue, first of all.

And then, secondly, restitution for victims. Have we really been seeing an effort on the part of the United States bishops to really reach out to victims over the last year and provide help and restitution? And on both of those issues our members from all the United States are telling us it's been at best a very sort of lackluster effort on the part of the church on those two really, really key issues and matters. And you can say all kinds of things, we are doing a study, we are getting some people together. But what counts is not what's promised, but what is actually being done. And we are a year later, and where really, where are the concrete results that were promised one year ago in Dallas?

SAVIDGE: Well, is this really an indication of religion that refuses to change, or is it simply that it is a system that is hard to change in a limited amount of time?

ISLEY: There is a combination probably of those things. I have a 9-year-old son, and we were at the museum in Milwaukee, where I come from, a few weeks ago, and we were watching a cartoon about dinosaurs, and I mean this is in all respect, but dinosaurs have a very small brain and a very large body, and the show was trying to demonstrate how long it takes for a message to get to the brain. And so, if you hit the tail with a brick, it takes like -- it took like an hour to go from the tail to the brain, and -- that message.

And I think, in some ways this is an institution that it takes a long time for that message to get there. We are trying to track, well, where exactly is the message about this horrific problem, how far along are they, in sort of getting to the brain of the Catholic Church, so they can understand and sort of grasp this, and unfortunately it seems to be taking a long time.

SAVIDGE: Peter Isley, thank you very much for joining us. He is with SNAP, and that is the group that is looking out for those that have been sexually abused within the Catholic Church. Thank you again for being with us this Saturday.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com








Aired June 21, 2003 - 18:38   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: The Catholic Church says its sex abuse reform remains on track. Others might disagree, this assurance as the church's bishops wrap up their semiannual meeting in Missouri. It's been a year since U.S. bishops approved reform policies in the sex abuse crisis. While they analyze where to go from here, many insist much progress has been made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISHOP WILLIAM LORRI, BRIDGEPORT, CONN: I can really think of few institutions, whether religious or secular, taking the unprecedented steps that the church is taking in this year. We made a lot of progress, but I think we also recognize that we have a lot more to do as we move forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Peter Isley is among those who is watching this conference with particular interest. He is a national board member of SNAP -- Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. And he joins us now. Thanks very much for being with us, sir.

PETER ISLEY, SNAP: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: What do you think of what you have seen and heard so far, coming out of this conference?

ISLEY: Well, it's been a year since Dallas, and I think while no one expected 100 percent results in a year, there was an expectation that there was going to be 100 percent effort, and, you know, the really important news over the last week was the verdict that was brought in by Governor Keating, who was the one person who was in an independent position to kind of draw a verdict over the last year. And that verdict was -- there is some serious, serious problems with how this issue is being handled one year later.

SAVIDGE: There is no question that the comments by Governor Keating have raised a storm of controversy. Let's listen also to some of the statements again coming from Bishop William Lorri, one of those at the conference. And I'll ask you to respond afterwards. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORRI: We are doing this by massive awareness training, that involves clergy, volunteers, employers, by criminal background checks, and by doing an extensive study on the extent of the problem as well as its causes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Bishop talking about the goals overall. Peter, are you seeing that same sort of emphasis?

ISLEY: Well, the problem is -- again, as the governor pointed out -- is about compliance right now. Look, this is about criminal behavior and covering up criminal behavior. And so, we look a year later, and do we really have that much more transparency in information about the criminals that have been -- you know, that have used the Catholic Church to commit their crimes and about those in senior management in the Roman Catholic Church that covered up those crimes? That's the central issue, first of all.

And then, secondly, restitution for victims. Have we really been seeing an effort on the part of the United States bishops to really reach out to victims over the last year and provide help and restitution? And on both of those issues our members from all the United States are telling us it's been at best a very sort of lackluster effort on the part of the church on those two really, really key issues and matters. And you can say all kinds of things, we are doing a study, we are getting some people together. But what counts is not what's promised, but what is actually being done. And we are a year later, and where really, where are the concrete results that were promised one year ago in Dallas?

SAVIDGE: Well, is this really an indication of religion that refuses to change, or is it simply that it is a system that is hard to change in a limited amount of time?

ISLEY: There is a combination probably of those things. I have a 9-year-old son, and we were at the museum in Milwaukee, where I come from, a few weeks ago, and we were watching a cartoon about dinosaurs, and I mean this is in all respect, but dinosaurs have a very small brain and a very large body, and the show was trying to demonstrate how long it takes for a message to get to the brain. And so, if you hit the tail with a brick, it takes like -- it took like an hour to go from the tail to the brain, and -- that message.

And I think, in some ways this is an institution that it takes a long time for that message to get there. We are trying to track, well, where exactly is the message about this horrific problem, how far along are they, in sort of getting to the brain of the Catholic Church, so they can understand and sort of grasp this, and unfortunately it seems to be taking a long time.

SAVIDGE: Peter Isley, thank you very much for joining us. He is with SNAP, and that is the group that is looking out for those that have been sexually abused within the Catholic Church. Thank you again for being with us this Saturday.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com