Dear Friends,
These may be hard days for you to admit to your friends that you are an active member of a Catholic parish.
You may find yourself ducking the religion questions at gatherings of co-workers so that you do not have to defend
what seems indefensible. The church you have long loved has embarrassed you with its failure to act to protect young
people. With the present efforts at transparency in dioceses across the country, it probably seems like past problems
are now appearing all at once. The publicity will not go away soon. Perhaps the bishops of the world, when they
gather in February, will find a solution to this worldwide problem. Until the light of truth has shone in all the dark
places, the problem will continue to roll out slowly around the world. The evil of the past has come to an end, the plan
for the future is not yet revealed.
The list released by the Archdiocese includes those who had only one accusation against them as well as those
who were repeat offenders and clear criminals. There is much variety in the cases listed.
For those of you who are long-time parishioners at Cabrini, you may have been shocked to see the name of
Fr. Al McMahon on the list of those who had substantiated accusations against them from the past. He was a beloved
pastor here at Cabrini and you may wonder how it is possible that he is on the list.
At a meeting of the Priest Council this past week, Fr. Hastings, the Vicar for Clergy, made it very clear to us
that we are living in a different world. The past approach of the church to protect local communities and keep things
quiet has been replaced by a vibrant attempt to make all things public. The Nebraska Attorney General had asked for
all clergy files since 1978. What the Archdiocese has presented are all cases since then.
Fr. McMahon may have done wonderful ministry at Cabrini, yet at some point in the 1970’s he crossed a line
with a couple of young people; their accounts of what transpired were found credible. Fr. McMahon did not deny the
allegations. The information did not come to the Archbishop’s office until 1998. Fr. McMahon was already retired
from active ministry and because of that there was no announcement made at the time.
The grace of God was still working through Fr. McMahon despite his human failures and he may have deeply
touched your life. That has not changed. What has changed is that employees of the Archdiocese who cross a line will
no longer be able to work in ministry and their actions will no longer be kept quiet. The public accountability will
protect other young people from suffering. None of us should be defined by our worst day or our worst action;
however, there are consequences for our actions.
As a society we have learned that it does no good to keep this information secret. All of you working in the
business world know the result of the “Me Too” movement and how it has changed the reality of all public
relationships. In the Archdiocese, if there is a credible complaint against a priest or other employee, that priest will be
removed even if it means that a local community will no longer have a pastor. Even if the priest is retired and no
longer functioning, the Archdiocese will make the information public and report all information to civil authorities.
The decision for removal is made by the Review Board and not the Archbishop.
It is my hope that you will be able to be proud of your church again in the near future, though it may take a
generation or two before this is truly behind us. There has been a vigorous effort on the part of local dioceses to
change things and the number of new accusations has dropped dramatically. Our vocation numbers are smaller, but
the quality of the candidates have improved. There is still much to do.
In the meantime, we need your help. You are the Church. Help us make this Church new and fresh. We,
ministers, simply serve you as you do the important work of building the Kingdom of God in our world.
I am so sorry that we failed you in the past. For those of you who suffered from the abuse, there are no words
to adequately express my deepest feelings of sorrow. You, sadly, experienced the failures of the institutional church.
I wish I could take your pain away. I cannot. Please forgive us.
During the funeral for President George H.W. Bush this week, I was deeply touched by many of the things
said about him. One of those was the phrase “he believed in causes bigger than himself.” I think that is what is being
asked of you now. To believe in something bigger and greater. God is in the process of purifying the Church. Trust
that the work God has done in the Church throughout the centuries will continue. May the light of truth bring us to a
new day.
Peace,
Fr. Damian