SNAP and Voice of the Faithful aren’t satisfied with the Diocese’s action in the Krafcik incident and his subsequent (by 20 years) laicization.
On Monday, the diocese announced that the Vatican had defrocked Andrew Krafcik, 76, of Arlington, for a 1984 sex abuse conviction near Richmond. Krafcik served in limited ministry at a Fairfax parish for nearly 12 years after he was convicted.
The diocese has said no other victims have come forward with allegations of abuse by Krafcik. But Mark Serrano of Leesburg, a SNAP board member who was a victim of pastoral sexual abuse, said it’s foolish to assume there was only one victim without conducting an active investigation to seek others who may be reluctant to come forward.
“Some things are clear: A pattern of secrecy persists in the Diocese of Arlington, and victim outreach is woefully inadequate,” Serrano said. “Christ strapped on his sandals and walked the countryside to seek out the hurt, the sick and the wounded. … We are calling on Bishop Loverde today to strap on his sandals and seek out victims of clergy sexual abuse where they would likeliest be.”
At a minimum, Serrano said, Loverde should go the parishes where Krafcik served and urge people who may have been abused to contact police.
I don’t believe there is a pattern of secrecy in the Diocese or that victim-outreach has been woefully inadequate. In this climate, I don’t know how a Bishop could keep those issues a secret. Arlington has been extremely forthcoming with respect to past child sexual abuse. Quoting from this link,
[the late] Bishop Keating put in place diocesan Policy on the Protection of Children/Young People and Prevention of Sexual Misconduct and/or Child Abuse which was revised in 1993, 2000 and 2003 in light of the passage of the bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
9 of the 891 diocesan and religious priests who have served in the diocese, or 1 percent, were accused of sexual abuse of minors by 11 victims. Of the nine priests, one was exonerated; two are deceased; one is retired without faculties; and the remaining five are no longer in ministry.
Mr. Krafcik must have been the one who was retired without faculties. He was laicized for an offense that occured twenty years ago. In Arlington, there not the terrible number of victims or repeat-offenders that there were in Boston and other parts of the country. I trust the Diocese and Bishop Loverde with respect to the information they’ve given the public about instances of child sexual abuse.
It wouldn’t serve any purpose for the Bishop to go to the parishes where Krafcik served to search for more victims. How does Mr. Serrano expect Loverde to do this? To speak at all the Masses on a weekend in each parish? That is absurd. There would be a public outcry unknown in the history of this Diocese. It would do much more harm than good. Instead of being viewed as a shepherd of the Diocese earnestly attempting to reach out to victims he would invite even more scrutiny. Everyone would ask themselves, “Why is he asking this at our parish unless he knows there are more victims?” The crisis of confidence in his leadership and spiritual fatherhood would be severe. The trust of many people in this Diocese would probably be unrecoverable.
Krafcik was a priest for about 45 years. He was most likely ordained in the Richmond Diocese. If there were other instances of child sexual abuse abuse I’d be shocked if the victims hadn’t come forward by now.
Isn’t it the right of victims to let their abuse remain in the past? Is it always valuable to dwell on traumatic episodes in one’s life?
Eric:
To your questions: respectively … “of course” and “of course not.”
I’ve never been enthusiastic for any self-styled “victim advocacy” group, but that first quote from Serrano of SNAP just caused my patience with them to snap.
“It’s foolish to assume there was only one victim without conducting an active investigation to seek others who may be reluctant to come forward”? How dare he. If nobody comes forward and says “I was a victim,” then there were no other victims. Period. I don’t care what the general, empirical pattern may be. No person deserves the *particular* inference of *him* that “because you did it once, you MUST have done it more than once” to the point of its being a moral obligation for investigators to go on fishing expeditions hunting for other victims.
And for what, in this case. There is nothing more the Church can do here; the pervert has been laicized. What would be the point of more people making charges to the Church except as Psychologized Society’s equivalent of Elmer Gantry revival tent testimony.
I don’t even like the fact this guy was defrocked for a single offense — I think “one strike” rules contrary to Catholic teaching on grace and repentance. But in this environment (thanks, Bishops), there’s no other choice.
My parish lists the date/time/location of the next SNAP meeting in every bulletin. It’s an unsettling reminder, but no one can say people haven’t been encouraged to come forward.
I’m sure Serrano’s frothing will continue because there’s nothing the Church can do to satisfy the victim’s rights groups.
Well, no, there is nothing they can do — because the whole point is to undercut the Church herself, or at the very least undermine her current bishops.
It’s hard to see what SNAP could do to undermine the credibility of the United States bishops that the bishops have not done themselves. Arlington seems to be a rare happy example of how the dioceses *should* handle sex-abuse allegations. The diocese’s railroading of Fr. Faley and their browbeating of Christendom College over Communion kneeling are less happy matters, but those different topics.
Serrano’s demand that Bp. Loverde go on a fishing expedition at former Krafcik parishes is indeed out of line. Arlington’s good track record suggests that occasional bulletin announcements, and listing SNAP’s phone number, as JS notes, should be sufficient.
Although victim-support groups of any kind can get into mischief (like the Brady people attacking the Second Amendment), I for one can’t get too mad at SNAP for their excesses. The track record of the American hierarchy on protecting priestly homosex predators, and intimidating victims, is a gross injustice that cries out to Heaven.
SNAP is made up of people who have been on the receiving end of what Gov. Keating correctly called a mafia-like effort to cover criminals. Fortunately, others of us in the Body of Christ–like Victor and Eric–are there to call them when they go over the line. The Body’s many parts help each other out.
Fr. Krafcik’s offense was over 20 years ago. When it happened, he submitted to the discipline that was then prescribed for him, and there is no indication he ever repeated his offense. Now he is retired, and performing no public ministry. To revisit the case now and laicize him looks more like a move to enhance the diocese’s public image by making it look like they’re “getting serious” than one to enhance the safety of children of the diocese.
Seamus – welcome to the world of the Dallas Charter. One strike ever and you’re out.
That’s what I meant, Sal, by calling the “one strike” rule contrary to Catholic teaching on grace and repentance. I mean, good gawd, how many of us have never done one thing we’d regret for the rest of our lives. But anything to save the overseers of the coverup, I suppose.
And yes, Beregond, the bishops are doing a good enough job damaging the Church (though not quite up to high standards set in Austria, I hear) without SNAP’s help. But even though they don’t kill anything, jackals are still jackals.