A tale of two priests.

Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II Jason Berry and Gerald Renner (Free Press, 2004, 353PP) o 7432 44419 $26.00

I received Vows of Silence: the Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II on the day Pope John Paul II died. I was reading it on the day the College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI. It was a sobering backdrop in which to read this book and, quite frankly, both the book and the backdrop depressed me.

The book's authors, Jason Berry and Gerald Renner, are journalists who have been reporting on the issue of Catholic clergy sexual abuse long before the worldwide scandal broke in 2002. Berry and Renner, in previous works, have already covered the "who, what and where" of the scandal. Vows of Silence is their search for the "why." How could something so horrific, and of this magnitude, happen within the Catholic church?

The book is divided into three parts. And while the third and final part of the book is the punchline, it is the first two parts which set the stage in a dramatic way. It tells the story of how the Vatican confused two priests: it mistook one priest for a villain when he was really a hero and another priest as a hero who was actually a villain. Berry and Renner use this conundrum to highlight a powerful point: the Catholic church just does not understand (nor does it seem to care about) the impact the sex abuse crisis has had on thousands of Catholics.

Part one of the book outlines the story of Father Thomas Doyle, an American Jesuit priest who, in the early 1980s, was on the fast track to a very successful career within the Vatican power structure. A canon lawyer for the Vatican embassy in Washington, DC, he was on the shortlist to become a bishop. Yet it was not to be. During his time at the embassy, he was asked to review the case of Father Gilbert Ganthe, then facing criminal charges for raping a child in Louisiana. That case led Doyle to ask questions, and his discoveries disturbed him. He found a pattern of sexual abuse within the church and, even more troubling, the church was covering it up. Seeing the evidence of an explosive scandal and an avalanche of lawsuits in the making, he presented a report to the National Catholic Conference of Bishops in 1985 outlining the problem, its implications and steps to resolve it. No one listened. As Doyle slowly realized that the cardinals and bishops where turning away from their moral responsibility, he became outraged. He soon became a pariah to church officials. Cardinals and bishops he considered friends no longer talked to him. Disillusioned and out of favor, he became an outspoken advocate for survivors.

Part two discusses the rapid rise to power of Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ. Maciel formed the rigid and ultra-orthodox order in Mexico in 1941. The Legion, under the strict control of Maciel, formed schools across Mexico and eventually worldwide. Maciel raised millions of dollars for the Legion from wealthy Mexican families--who also enrolled their children in Legion schools. Maciel drove through poor Mexican villages and handpicked young boys to place in Legion schools far away from their homes. Berry and Renner outline his pattern of sexually abusing boys and his drug use. (He was investigated by the Vatican in 1954 for drug abuse.) The book discusses the cult-like practices of the Legion and their heavy devotion to Maciel himself. By the late 1980s, several men had come forward to discuss their abuse at the hands of Maciel. The Vatican stalled on investigating the claims, and Pope John Paul II went so far as to publicly praise his work within the church.

The contrast between Doyle and Maciel is the book's best dynamic. The fact that Doyle was thrown out into the street while Maciel was embraced with open arms--is a powerful metaphor for the church's skewed priorities in relation to the sex abuse crisis.

The final part of the book attempts to explain why the Vatican instituted internal policies that led to such a massive cover-up. Berry and Renner argue that Pope John Paul was obsessed with secrecy and believed that one should keep such dirty laundry "in the family." But for Pope John Paul, a man who (ironically) spoke out harshly against human rights violations outside the church, his insistence on silence and stonewalling went much deeper. As a staunch defender of conservative Catholic doctrine, he was convinced that sexually abusive clerics had to be dealt with internally under the strict guidelines set down under canon law. The removal of a priest from ministry is not easily accomplished and can take years. Canon law provides opportunities for an abusive priest to repent and continue ministry. Pope John Paul was not going to let secular authorities take over and discipline his priests. Church doctrine did not allow for that and Cardinal Ratzinger, the pope's handpicked head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, would ensure that such procedures were followed to the letter.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Vatican, it was Father Doyle who committed the gravest sin: he brought the scandal to the public eye and demanded that secular authorities step in.

Father Maciel founded a movement based on conservative and traditional Catholic doctrine (and incidentally brought millions of dollars to the coffers). The fact that he may have abused children was a private church matter.

The book does have some minor flaws. Berry and Renner have distinctly different writing styles which hurts the pacing of the book--and the story jumps around quite a bit, making it difficult to follow the chronology of events. The book also devotes a large portion to discussing the "gay subculture" of the priesthood in America and its impact on the sexual abuse scandal. And, while this subculture may or may not exist, there are many who believe pedophilia (sex with children) and ephebophilia (sex with teenagers) are different and distinct from homosexuality. It also does little to explain why scores of women were sexually abused. That said, the book is excellent for anyone wanting to learn about the dynamics of the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal.

Finally, as I was in the process of finishing this review, the Vatican, under the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, announced that it was dropping the investigation of sexual abuses by Father Maciel--and that is the most depressing thing of all.

MARK FURNISH is an attorney and counsel for New York State Senator Thomas Duane and a board member of SNAP--the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.