Abuse crisis shouldn't silence church on public issues, says priest

Published: 2003-10-16

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The church cannot remain silent on public issues despite its weakened moral credibility because of the clergy sex abuse crisis, said Father J. Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic Charities USA. The church has a major responsibility to solve the problem of clergy sex abuse of minors, "but I don't think it can drive you into silence," he said Oct. 15 at Georgetown University in Washington. There is "a need for the church to be an active contributor to public debates in this country," said Father Hehir. "The stakes are too high if you remain silent," he said in a question-and-answer session after participating in a panel discussion on contemporary challenges to peace. On Jan. 1 Father Hehir will leave his national post to take over as president of Catholic Charities and as Cabinet secretary for social services for the Boston Archdiocese, which has been at the center of the U.S. clergy sex abuse crisis. A Boston archdiocesan priest, he was named to the posts Sept. 26 by Boston Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley.

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