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American Morning

First of Series of Extraordinary Meetings Between Pope and U.S. Cardinals Wrapped Up This Morning

Aired April 23, 2002 - 09:15   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: The first of a series of extraordinary meetings between the Pope and 12 U.S. Cardinals at the Vatican. That first part wrapped up this morning. And at a news conference just a couple of hours ago, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago said he sees the silver lining coming from this crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARDINAL FRANCIS GEORGE, CHICAGO: So I think the Holy Father certainly knows that the problem exists elsewhere it's just that for the moment it's the United States that is talking about it. If we talk about it honestly, with integrity and with a reliance upon God's grace and perhaps what we do in the United States can be helpful to the universal church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: But while the gathering in the Vatican is historic, many Catholics here at home are skeptical that anything will actually be accomplished in these meetings, that they actually think will address the core of the problem. And joining us now from Galveston, Texas Father Steve Rossetti, a Psychologist and Consultant with Bishops' Committee on child sexual abuse. Welcome Father, good to see you again.

FATHER STEVE ROSSETTI, PSYCHOLOGIST: Good morning, Paula. Nice to see you.

ZAHN: Just wanted to ask you what your reaction is to some of what you heard coming out of that joint news conference today, and in particular, a very pointed question that was asked of these bishops about the fact that guidelines have been in place since 1993 that should have prevented priest who abused children from being moved from parish to parish to parish. So the question being posed to these experts was, you know, why will new guidelines make any difference at all if first set didn't work either?

ROSSETTI: Well Paula, the first set of guidelines were a good step forward. But we need to answer some authority questions. For example, after a priest has been (INAUDIBLE) as molesting minors and gone through treatment, what's the best thing to do with them? Many people are saying there should be a one strike and you're out policy. And maybe there should be. But the problem comes if you simply release these priests into society; we no longer can monitor and supervise them. So the question is, what is the safest thing for children? I think in the June meeting the bishops are going to want to address that. What's the best thing? Is it going to be a one strike you're out policy or we put some of them back into linen (ph) ministry with no contact with minors? Not an easy question.

ZAHN: Well in fact, it seems to me that issue was skirted today during the question and answer session because they refer to this very thorny issue and then went on to say maybe what should be considered is a process by where a priest who accused of doing this stuff would actually sit down with lay people, psychologist such as yourself and the victims and face them directly. Do you see that happening?

ROSSETTI: Well there's no question about that we need to make priests who molest minors or anyone who molest minors accountable for their behaviors. And one of the problems right now is that the civil courts and criminal courts don't adjudicate the cases primarily because most of the victims that come forward that takes place years after the abuse occurred and so the criminal people won't investigate it and the statute of limitation has run.

If we're going to make these men accountable for their behavior, in some way, the civil authorities are going to have to deal with these issues. Most of the time they're not able to so it falls on the bishop's lap. He ends up becoming judge and jury and parole officer.

ZAHN: The issue of celibacy I guess isn't going to be confronted directly, but clearly, Bishop George said that there was a talk about strengthening the rules of celibacy. And I just wanted your reaction to something he said here where he said there is a real difference "between a moral monster like the defrocked priest John Geoghan, who was convicted in January of molesting a 11-year-old boy a decade ago and someone who has consensual sex with 17-year-old girl under the influence of alcohol". He said both are crimes. The Geoghan's case is unquestionable more abhorrent. Do you agree?

ROSSETTI: Well I think it's important to see differences because we can't deal with the question well in the perpetrator's well (ph) when we see what the real problems are. And they're all very different. It's true that any case of child sexual abuse is a heinous crime. It's a crime against society and the victims and should be punished. But the question is how to deal with that most effectively.

Someone like John Geoghan, I believe, should be prison for the rest of his life. Someone who molests one 15, 16, 17-year-old has committed a serious crime and should go to prison. But after that, how do we deal with that individual? And all the cases are different.

ZAHN: And Father Rossetti the issue of homosexuality was brought up too during this news conference. And Father George says "it is most importantly a struggle to make sure that the catholic priesthood is not dominated by homosexual men". He went on to say, not only is it not dominated by homosexual men but make sure that the candidates we receive are healthy in every possible way, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually. What does that indicate to you that he so forcefully talked about the issue of homosexuality among priests? ROSSETTI: Well Paula, many people have raped

(AUDIO PROBLEMS)

ZAHN: And it's not that Father Rossetti didn't want to answer that question. Apparently we just lost our satellite to Galveston, Texas and as soon as we can get that back up working we will go back to Father Rossetti.

In the middle of the press sex abuse scandal, what is like to be a priest on the front lines of catholsism?

Bruce Morton went out and spent some time with one priest who was quite literally trying to keep the faith and hold the faithful.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE MORTON: Father James Gould, his new parish of 700 families in the Washington suburbs doesn't have a church yet. He has mass in the chapel of parochial school. And like all priests, in these troubled times, he worries.

FATHER JAMES GOULD: The heartbreak, the consideration and how devastating it must be for the clergies across the country. There are 47,000 priests in this country of ours and the 47,000 priests every one of them is impacted by these scandals taking place.

MORTON: It doesn't just say mass of course he helps out in the school. One boy named the three wisemen correctly.

GOULD: How about the three wisemen, can you give me that?

UNIDENTIFIED: (INAUDIBLE).

MORTON: You can name the three wisemen?

UNIDENTIFIED: Yes.

MORTON: He talks with architect Dominik Murray (ph) about the church building. They hope to break ground this fall.

DOMINIK MURRAY: And this is looking towards the alter where we have all the pews.

MORTON: He talks with the men and the women of his parish.

GOULD: The little one is what, three-years-old or four-years- old.

UNIDENTIFIED: Three is the oldest.

MORTON: His parishioners are worried too.

GOULD: They're upset. They're upset and concerned. There is no sense finality to this problem. No one is really certain when it's all going to away. MORTON: Father Gould's next stop in Fairfax Hospital. He's visiting Sanchez O'Brien (ph) and her father. She's got a stubborn infection. Father Gould has brought a gift.

GOULD: How is that? That's a little cross with Jesus.

MORTON: It's what priests do, of course, but everything in these times is under a cloud.

GOULD: It is such a crushing feature that affects the morale of the clergy, that affects family life, that affects all people from the cardinal down to the local secretaries, everyone is affected by that.

MORTON: He shares a (INAUDIBLE) with an Australian fellow priest and with Sam, a golden retriever. To relax, all three of them go fishing at a nearby lake.

No Blue Gill this day but Sam's having good time. Father Gould likes the lake, the illusion of fish but something nags at him. Something his church hasn't done.

GOULD: When you think there is a catholic kid who's a college student with non-catholic roommates who are going to mock him or her. You think that there might be a catholic spouse with non-catholic relatives, in-laws who will be questioning whether those grandchildren should be raised in that church. You think that those who are around the bus going to work on Monday mornings and who are being teased about what the people are reading in the Sunday papers. Those people deserve an apology.

MORTON: Pedophilia, a reporter suggests, may be illness. Cover- ups are not.

UNIDENTIFIED: I have no explanation for the questions of the cover-ups.

MORTON: He bonders and works at his job.

GOULD: The body of Christ. Amen.

MORTON: Bruce Morton, CNN, Springfield, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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