A prominent member of a Catholic order was sentenced to jail yesterday (May 5, 2022) for sexually abusing minors more than a decade ago. The Archbishop apologised in a letter the same day, though it raised more questions, like why it took so long for a police report to be filed (read here).
Today (May 6), in response to media queries, the Archdiocese of Singapore said that Archbishop William Goh only found out about the sexual abuse of minors in October 2020. You can read the various news reports here (TODAY), here (ST), and here (CNA).
Said the spokesperson: “The Roman Catholic Archbishop was only informed of the case in October 2020, during which time he gave instructions that the matter be reported to the police as it was a criminal offence and that a report be made directly to the Dicastery for Consecrated Life in Rome and to inform and update the Archbishop of the Diocese where the offence was committed in accordance with Vatican protocols.”
Archbishop Goh could have decided to let sleeping dogs lie but his immediate reaction was to do the right thing – report the abuse to the police and notify higher-ups in Rome. And that is commendable.
A few readers have referred this news to me in response to my many questions yesterday. I appreciate the point but my questions on May 5 were not directed to the current Archbishop alone, but also to the Church as an institution, and most of the questions raised continue to be relevant.
Read the questions raised:The Archbishop's silent letter
When did the Archdiocese of Singapore, as an institution, first find out about the abuses? Archbishop Goh may have only known of it in October 2020, but did his predecessor Archbishop Nicholas Chia, who handed over the reins in 2013, know? Someone, anyone? After all, the abuses came to light in the Catholic order in 2009.
The miasma of bureaucracy
According to ST, the archdiocese spokesperson said that “religious orders within the Roman Catholic Church are separately constituted and are governed by their own judicial proceedings and administration of law”.
Then why is the Archbishop apologising? What an odd position to be in: the Catholic order is not accountable to him but he feels responsible enough to apologise for their sins.
There’s also the Professional Standards Office (PSO) set up in 2011 which, according to Archbishop Goh, “operates independently in accordance with the laws of the land as well as the dictates of Canon Law without any interference from the hierarchy of the Church” to protect the vulnerable and “reviews its protocols to provide a safe environment”.
Headed by a non-clerical person, the PSO is “made up of professionals comprising Senior Counsels (law), ex-District Judges, senior lawyers, legally trained persons, psychologists and people in senior management, not all of whom are Catholics”, added Archbishop Goh.
Excellent. An important institutional mechanism has been put in place. But does the PSO’s authority extend to the various Catholic orders and congregations? How effective are they?
Alas, the archdiocese declined to respond to such pertinent questions. TODAY “asked whether there has been any probe into potential lapses in the case and if so, what was the outcome”.
Added TODAY: “The office did not respond on the above, as well as about who paid for the accused’s overseas therapy programme and whether he was still on the Church’s payroll then. It also did not give information on how many complaints or cases the Church’s Professional Standards Office has handled or resolved since its launch.”
The PSO has been around for a decade and there’re no results to show for it? Or are there so many cases it rather not make public the extent of the problem?
I wish the archdiocese was more forthcoming with information. Otherwise, it gives rise to doubt and even suspicion.
Whither accountability?
From the outside, all of it feels evasive, with no accountability. As I’ve argued on May 5, as the culprit groomed the victims in the course of his work in a school, it is a matter of public concern, not the private issue of a religious community. The Catholic Church, including its orders and congregations, runs over 50 schools in Singapore. Ranging from preschool to junior college, most are open to Singaporeans regardless of race or religion. Many are public schools; some very well-known with illustrious histories.
Can the archdiocese guarantee such cases won’t happen again in any of these schools? At the very least – God forbid – if something does happen again, will the perpetrators be held accountable swiftly and the victims taken care of effectively?
It doesn’t seem like it, given the response that the Catholic orders are not directly accountable to the archdiocese.
In that case, is there any authority in Singapore, which can take meaningful responsibility for the well-being of all Catholic school students, unencumbered by the internal bureaucracies of the various entities in the Catholic Church?
Something needs to be done fast, or the righteous are tarred by the sins of those hidden.
Perhaps, as an immediate measure the Catholic order at the heart of it can address all these questions anonymously via the Archdiocese. It will put to rest the concerns on accountability and make plain the processes now in place to keep our public schools safe.
Alternatively, the various Catholic orders and congregations can independently issue statements about processes in place to prevent such a case from happening again. That way, the specific order in question remains safely anonymous, in line with the court-issued gag order to protect the victims.
In the longer term, maybe the PSO or some other body can act as an ombudsman to ALL Catholic organisations within Singapore?
I don’t know. Honestly, this entire episode is frustrating to say the least. The internal governance and structure of the Church is not good enough a reason to eschew public accountability. Especially when the lines of responsibility were not made clear to begin with and only appeared when pressed for information.
To be frank, I loathe getting into these issues as a non-Catholic. I’m hesitant to go any further than I already have in this blogpost. Really, it ought to be led from within the community.
The question is, why hasn’t there been any?
Update, May 7: I am very glad to have came across an excellent article by Bertha Henson who's Catholic by faith. A heartfelt call for accountability, I feel. Click on the title to read her article, "A fuller confession needed".
If you’re a survivor of sexual assault and would like support, please reach out to the Sexual Assault Care Centre at 6779 0282. Click here for details.
Pingback: The Archbishop's silent letter - MD SUHAILE