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HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL IN THE PRIESTLY BREAST: Procedural Justice

Reviewed by Michael Thomas

Contents - Aug 2012 - Buy a copy now Assumption homily: Mary: The true Ark of the Covenant - Pope Benedict XVI Benedict XVI sets up Anglican Ordinariate for Australia - Monsignor Harry Entwistle News: The Church Around the World Youth: Young adult Catholics peer ministry in WA and Queensland - Br Barry Coldrey Religious freedom: US Supreme Court upholds Obamacare - Babette Francis Vocations: Australian religious Sisters: 'In the true spirit of Vatican II' - Kate Cleary MGL Events: Equipping Christian leaders for the challenges of secularism - Philippa Le Feuvre Marriage: Archbishop Hickey: the Eucharist and the Christian family - Archbishop Barry Hickey The Virgin Mary's key role in our salvation history - Cedric Wright Parents' love for their children: finding the right balance - Andrew Kania Letters: Fact-filled article - Thomas and Patricia Watkin Letters: Caritas - Lance Eccles Letters: Old Testament God (1) - Fr Brian Harrison OS Letters: Old Testament God (2) - Frank Mobbs Letters: Emily's List - Maureen Federico Letters: Transubstantiation - John Young Letters: Real Presence - Theo Jorna Letters: Women priests - Francis Vrizmoed Letters: Marriage - Peter J. Young Books: LESSONS IN A ROSE-GARDEN: Reviving the Doctrinal Rosary, by Aidan Nichols O.P. - Peter Westmore (reviewer) Books: THE NEW EVANGELISATION: Issues and Challenges for Catholic Schools - Br Barry Coldrey (reviewer) Books: HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL IN THE PRIESTLY BREAST: Procedural Justice - Michael Thomas (reviewer) Books: Order books from www.freedompublishing.com.au Reflection: The Pietà: the love of our heavenly Mother - Anne Lastman

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL IN THE PRIESTLY BREAST:
Procedural Justice for Priests, Diocesan & Religious
by Fr James Valladares
(iUniverse, 2012, 328pp, $22.95, ISBN 978-1-46207-241-5. Available from the author at www.jamesvalladares.com, or Unit 2, Aluan Court, 1 Ferguson Ave, Myrtle Park, SA 5064)

Fr James Valladares is a priest presently serving in the Archdiocese of Adelaide. He is well equipped to address the highly sensitive theme of clerical child abuse, having degrees in Psychology and Educational and Counselling Psychology and a Doctorate in Marriage Counselling. Prior to coming to Australia, Fr Valladares lectured for a decade in psychology at Saint Andrew's College in Mumbai, India, while completing extensive post-doctoral research in religion, healing, and parenting.

Hope Springs Eternal focuses on the American situation, but its analysis would apply in varying degrees in other countries where allegations of clerical child abuse going back several decades have come to light with a resultant fire-storm of media criticism of the Church and the priesthood.

Unjust accusations

In an attempt to improve a system that allowed a small minority of the clergy to violate children, and to address the gross negligence of some bishops who recycled these predators, the American bishops instituted a Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002. The Australian Bishops had earlier set up the Towards Healing protocol in 1996 while Melbourne under Archbishop Pell established its own system for dealing with clergy abuse allegations.

While these moves were needed in light of the number of serious cases emerging, the downside has been (at least in the US) that a number of innocent priests have been wrongly accused and endured immense suffering.

In Hope Springs Eternal in the Priestly Breast, Fr Valladares shows how justice and charity have been violated by some American bishops in dealing with accused priests. He examines the pertinent canons that guide the Church's judicial system and finds that these have been often ignored or wrongly applied and he documents cases that highlight the flawed application of the US process and the agony experienced by the unjustly accused.

Fr Valladares is hopeful that ultimately truth and justice will prevail and to that end he has set out the principles and procedures most likely to achieve this. The bottom line is that priests, as with everyone else, should be considered innocent until proven guilty, no matter what the allegations.

Most priests know nothing of procedural justice and it is all too easy for a priest to be falsely accused at any time for any reason or none. Fr Valladares cites the late Fr Richard Neuhaus' comments: "The niceties of Canon Law, due process, and elementary decency have in many instances taken a beating."

Lay people should ensure that their priests have copies of this timely book, even those least likely to be accused of anything. Sadly, these days, any priest can be a potential target of false accusation.

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 25 No 7 (August 2012), p. 18