Catholic Crisis hits home

By Nate Swinton

The crisis facing the Catholic Church has recently surfaced on the Santa Clara campus. A Jesuit who lived at Santa Clara for two years is one of four priests named in a lawsuit accusing them of sodomy, molestation and false imprisonment, according to a recent San Jose Mercury News article.

Rev. Edward Thomas Burke, now 80, admitted to his superior two years ago that he engaged in sexual misconduct with a mentally disabled man at a Jesuit facility in Los Gatos, the story said. It added that though the case has drawn little public attention until now, negotiations between the victims and lawyers for the California Province of the Society of Jesus have been in the works for the past year.

University President Paul Locatelli, S.J., said the Jesuit order deliberately placed Burke at Santa Clara after the molestation issues surfaced. Locatelli added that he wasn't aware of Burke's past history until recently, at which point he asked that Burke be relocated.

"When I did find out why he was here, it seemed to me that he should be moved," Locatelli said. "I think that's my responsibility to students."

Burke was never considered a threat to anyone at Santa Clara, and to his knowledge did not have contact with students, Locatelli said.

"Even though this was the case, he is no longer here and shouldn't have been here in the beginning," he added.

Within two weeks of Locatelli's request, Burke was transferred to another Jesuit home in the San Jose area. No other Jesuits named in the molestation cases have been or are currently affiliated with the University.

Locatelli said Jesuits undergo multiple rigorous screening processes and that the standards for these processes are continually increasing, especially in the last 15 years.

In an effort to assist students, staff and faculty in coping with cases of sexual abuse involving Catholic priests that have recently come to light, the school hosted a panel of speakers to discuss the issue Monday afternoon.

Bishop P.J. McGraw of the diocese of San Jose spoke of the need to help the victims heal.

"The instances of sexual abuse are horrific," he said. "The innocent and vulnerable were not given the trust they should have been given. We must reach out to them from the core of our Christian souls."

Panel speakers Thomas Plante, professor in Santa Clara's psychology department, Father Joseph Daoust of the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and June O'Connor from the University of California at Riverside's Religious Studies Department each presented their take on how the church could best deal with the issue.

For many, however, the forum left several questions unanswered. In an attempt to stay within the event's time frame, organizers cut short the question and answer period.

Senior Janette Eaton said she attended the event as a concerned citizen and Catholic. Eaton, who converted to Catholicism one year ago, was frustrated by the lack of opportunity to voice her opinion.

"They should have planned for questions and answers," she said. "It should be planned that until every single person in the audience who has a question also has a response, that's when the meeting should be adjourned."

Freshman Ken Reidy agreed. A Catholic, Reidy said he attended the forum as part of his English class, but appreciated the points made by the speakers.

Reidy also said the event could have benefitted from taking more questions from the audience.

"I thought one of the main purposes of it was to have student opinions, but it just turned into people talking," he said.

While no other forums are scheduled on the matter, Locatelli said further events are possible, depending on the interest from the University community.