NEWS ANALYSIS : O.C. Sex Case Shows a New Church View of Priestly Sin

When the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange revealed allegations of sexual misconduct by a local priest last week, it confronted a sensitive issue the church has been criticized for historically ignoring.

However, church leaders stunned by a series of shocking revelations nationwide involving priests and children over the past few years have begun to boldly face the problem.

As part of their new effort, leaders will gather with priests, researchers and social workers in St. Louis later this month for a “think tank.” The topic: what to do about priests who sexually abuse children.

“It’s a serious problem that needs to be dealt with,” said William Ryan, a spokesman for the Washington-based National Conference of Catholic Bishops, which represents the nation’s 285 bishops. “It seems to take on new urgency all the time.”

In Orange County, the issue got renewed attention last week with allegations that Father Richard T. Coughlin, the popular founding director of the All-American Boys Chorus, had sexually molested four choir members and one other youth from 10 to 30 years ago.

Coughlin, 68, was suspended from his priestly duties by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and ordered to sever all ties with the Costa Mesa singing group last month after the five men, now aged 23 to 45, alleged that he molested them as boys.

A sixth man, now 27, said that he too had been molested by the priest.

The allegations were met with shock and disbelief by parents, associates and former members of the world-renowned choir. There was also some consternation at the fact that one of the alleged victims said his father had reported the abuse to church officials as early as 1974 with no apparent result.

Those officials denied having any record of the 1974 complaint.

But the story brought to mind an even more basic reality: that in 1974, and probably until much later, the Roman Catholic Church, as well as many other institutions in society, had what today would be considered a rather naive and incomplete comprehension of the national scourge that many experts say child molestation has become.

“Generally speaking,” Ryan said, “I don’t think that people in the church were fully aware of the problem. They tended to think of (child sexual abuse) as a moral failing that could be treated by a change of scene” for the priest.

As society’s awareness increased, Ryan said, so did the church’s. And as the surprising number of incidents of sexual abuse by priests began coming to light, he said, church leaders were gradually forced to address the problem.

“A lot of people who have been shook up by this in the church would like to know that nothing has been left undone,” Ryan said.

Since 1982, more than 400 Roman Catholic priests or brothers in the United States have been reported to church or civil authorities for sexually molesting children, church officials say. As a result, dioceses and religious orders have lost $400 million in civil settlements, legal fees and therapy costs for victims and clerics.

That pedophilia is a serious church problem was first hinted at by Father Thomas P. Doyle, who began talking about it in the early 1980s. Then a canon lawyer at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, he helped write a 1985 report warning bishops about the dimensions of the crisis--which he described as “the worst problem . . . in centuries”--and calling for humane treatment of victims.

Since then, Ryan said, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is sponsoring the gathering in St. Louis, has gradually developed a policy on dealing with sexually abusive priests that was formally adopted in a resolution late last year.

While each of the country’s 187 dioceses is autonomous, he said, the bishops’ resolution serves as a guideline that has been adopted by almost all of them, including the Diocese of Orange.

The policy has five major points. Church officials confronted with allegations of child molestation by priests, it instructs, should:

* Respond promptly when there is reasonable belief that abuse has occurred.

* Relieve the alleged offender promptly of his ministerial duties and refer him for appropriate medical evaluation and intervention.

* Comply with legal obligations to report the incident to the proper civil authorities and cooperate with any resulting investigation.

* Reach out to the victims and their families to communicate the church’s “sincere commitment to their spiritual and emotional well-being.”

* Deal as openly as possible with community members regarding the incident, while maintaining respect for the privacy of all those involved.

“It’s not that people didn’t take (child abuse) seriously,” said Chris Baumann, a deacon working for the National Conference. “It’s just that, like alcohol, society thought you could slap (a child molester) on the wrist, tell him not to do it anymore and give him a fresh start. We’re a very forgiving church. What society and the church has learned, however, is that (child molestation) is a disease that (left untreated) might not get any better.”

In implementing the bishops’ recommendations, Baumann said, some local church leaders have taken such progressive steps as setting up review panels consisting not only of priests, but also of lay people and professionals. Thus, rather than having to act on sexual abuse allegations alone, he said, a bishop can rely on the advice of people with experience in the field.

In Orange County, all decisions related to allegations of sexual abuse against priests are made by Bishop Norman McFarland, according to Msgr. Lawrence J. Baird, communications director for the Diocese of Orange.

But such decisions, Baird said, are made in “scrupulous” accordance with the bishops’ guidelines regarding abuse. And, in responding to allegations, he said, the diocese attempts to strike a balance between promptness and caution.

“I believe we have to be very careful,” Baird said. “Our primary concern has to be healing and reconciliation while safeguarding confidentiality and privacy.”

He would not say precisely what arrangements had been made for the recommended “appropriate medical evaluation and intervention” in the Coughlin case now that the priest has been relieved of his duties. “All those arrangements are between Father Coughlin and Bishop McFarland,” Baird said. “Those are personal, private arrangements.”

Arrangements are also being made, meanwhile, for the Feb. 22-23 “think tank” gathering of child sexual abuse specialists and abuse victims in St. Louis. According to National Conference officials, it will be the first time the Catholic Church has taken a major look at child sexual abuse on such a broad-based level.

“In the two years I’ve been here,” Baumann said, “it’s been like night and day as far as paying attention to these cases. It’s the realization that, wow, there is something to this and we need to do more.”