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The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
November 11
Cardinal Bernardin denies sex abuse clai
CINCINNATI (CNS) w
Faced with a $10 million law-
suit filed Nov. 12 in Cincinnati
accusing him of sexually abus-
ing a teen-ager in the 1970s,
Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin
of Chicago denied having ever
abused anyone.
Cardinal Bernardin, 65, said
in Chicago Nov. 11, "I state
this categorically: I have never
abused anyone in all my life
anywhere, anytime, any place. "
The next morning he told re-
porters he was "stunned" by
the accusation but said he still
had:no details about the law-
suit... ,
Steven Cook of Philadelphia
was plaintiff in the suit filed in
U.S. District Court in Cincin-
nati.
He claimed that Cardinal
Bernardin/who was arch-
bishop of Cincinnati in 1972-
82, and a Cincinnati priest, Fa-
ther Ellis N. Harsham, abused
him during the period between
1975 and 1977, when he was a
minor and a high school stu-
diocesan pre-seminary
program.
Cook claimed the abuse has
left him permanently disabled,
sexually compulsive and de-
pressed. He asked $5 million in
compensatory damages and $5
million in punitive damages.
He accused Father Harsham
of having sexually abused him
"continually and repeatedly"
over the period in question and
plied him with alcohol, mari-
juana and pornography.
He said then-Archbishop
Bernardin sexually abused him
once during either his junior or
senior year in high school,
when Father Harsham brought
him to the archbishop's resi-
dence.
At the time of the alleged in-
cident, Cardinal Bernardin, al-
ready one of the most recog-
nized Catholic Church officials
in the country, was president
of the National Conference of
Catholic Bishops.
Father Harsham, who was
ordained in 1968 and on the
faculty of St. Gregory College
the years 1975- 77, is currently
a campus minister at the
Wright State Universil New-
man Center, near Dayton.
Also named in the lawsuit
were:
-- Archbishop Daniel E. Pi-
larczyk of Cincinnati, who was
a Cincinnati auxiliary from
1974 until he succeeded Cardi-
nal Bernardin as head of the
archdiocese in 1982.
-- Father Francis W.
Voellmecke, rector of the semi-
nary in the mid-'70s and cur-
rently on leave from the
Cincinnati Archdiocese to
serve as a campus minister at
St. Thomas Aquinas Newman
Center of Utah State Univer-
sity in Logan, Utah.
Both were accused of negli-
gence in carrying out their du-
ties as church officials.
Cable News Network re-
ported that Cook has AIDS.
Lead attorney for Cook was
Stephen C. Rubino of Ventnor,
N.J. Last summer Rubino rep-
resented three men who ac-
cused a priest of the Diocese of
dent participating in an arch- Seminary in Cincinnati during Camden, N.J., of having sexu-
Vatican, U.S. church officials state
support for Chicago cardinal
By JOHN THAVIS
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS)
Vatican and U.S. church offi-
cials expressed full support for
Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin
of Chicago and said they did
not believe accusations that he
sexually abused a teen-ager in
the late 1970s.
They said the allegations
demonstrate how easy it is for
a person's reputation to be un-
justly damaged before due
process can take place.
"There is total solidarity
with the cardinal at the Con-
gregation for Bishops, both at
the level of prefect and secre-
tary," said U.S. Archbishop
Justin Rigali, secretary of the
congregation, who spoke by
telephone with Cardinal
Bernardin after the accusa-
tions were made public.
Cardinal Bernardin categori-
cally denied the allegations,
made by Steven Cook of
Philadelphia in a $10 million
lawsuit filed in Cincinnati.
Cook, reportedly an AIDS pa-
tient, claimed Cardinal
Bernardin and a Cincinnati
priest abused him between
1975 and 1977. The cardinal
was archbishop of Cincinnati
and president of the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops
at the time.
"Obviously we don't believe
this at all. It's extremely im-
portant that the cardinal
knows he is supported by the
Holy See, which is not about to
believe these things," said one
Vatican official, who asked not
to be named.
The official said there was
"absolutely no reason" for the
cardinal to resign, and that the
Vatican would not be making
its own investigation into the
allegations.
"The Vatican has complete
confidence in Cardinal
Bernardin and there is nothing
to investigate," he said. He
called the accusations and the
publicity surrounding them "a
tremendous abuse of human
freedom" that violates the
basic principle that people are
presumed innocent until
proven guilty.
Another Vatican official who
has been involved in studies of
sexual abuse by clergy said the
allegations against Cardinal
Bernardin represented "an at-
tack on the church through one
of its leading members."
"I would give no credibility
to these accusations," the offi-
cial said. While it is legitimate
to make sure all allegations
are considered, they should
have some evidential weight
before being taken seriously,
he said.
He said the tendency today
is to conduct a "moral lynching
of people in the press." By the
time people show their inno-
cence, "they have already been
guillotined," he said.
"The church is damaged, too,
and with it the image of the
priesthood and priestly
celibacy," he said.
One Vatican official said he
had written to Cardinal
Bernardin to express his sup-
port, and that the cardinal was
in his prayers.
Another official said there
was "sympathy and great com-
passion" for the cardinal at the
Vatican. The accusations cer-
tainly appear to be without
foundation, he said. The fact
that some people may be in-
clined to believe them is an in-
dication that public trust has
been eroded by instances of
proven sexual abuse, he said.
The Vatican press office had
no immediate commenL on the
allegations. Privately, officials
said they thought the cardinal
had defended himself well
through his unequivocal de-
nials and expressed confidence
that the U.S. public would be-
lieve him.
Vatican Radio, in reporting
on the accusations, described
the cardinal's strong steps to
uncover and deal with cases of
sexual abuse by priests in the
Chicago Archdiocese.
"American Catholics know
him as a balanced man, a man
of prayer," the radio said. It
added, "It has been observed
that accusations of this kind
are sometimes made against
U.S. priests in order to obtain
compensation money."
In Washington, Archbishop
William H. Keeler of Balti-
more, president of the National
Conference of Catholic Bish-
ops, supported Cardinal
Bernardin Nov. 15, the open-
ing day of the U.S. bishops'
meeting.
Just as one case of sexual
abuse is too many, he said,
"one case of unfounded allega-
tions is one too-many," Arch-
bishop Keeler said.
He recalled that earlier this
year two women dropped
charges against Bishop Gerald
F. O'Keefe of Davenport, Iowa.
The women claimed Bishop
O'Keefe had sexually abused
them 30 years ago, "based on a
claim of suppressed memory,"
as are the allegations against
the cardinal.
After Archbishop Keeler's re-
marks, the bishops gave Cardi-
nal Bernardin a 45-second
standing ovation.
Cardinal Bernardin thanked
the bishops for their support
and asked, "Remember me in
your prayers."
Other U.S. church leaders
also issued statements of sup-
port.
In Cincinnati Nov. 12, Arch-
bishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk said
he believed the accusations
against Cardinal Bernardin
"are rubbish and deserving of
nothing but contempt."
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony
of Los Angeles said he knew
Cardinal Bernardin "too well
to believe that any of these
outrageous allegations could
have any basis in fact."
"I fear that we are reaching
a new level of contempt when
anyone can bring unfounded
charges against church leaders
of such integrity," he added.
ally abused them. That suit
was recently settled out of
court, but the terms of the set-
tlement were not disclosed.
At a news conference in
Chicago Nov. 12, Cardinal
Bernardin said the charges
against him were completely
false and he does not remem-
ber ever meeting Cook.
"I don't remember this man
at all," he said. "It leaves me in
a state of bewilderment."
"Everything that is in that
suit about me, the allegations,
are totally untrue. They are to-
tally false," he said.
"I'm 65 years old and I can
tell you all my life I have lived
a chaste and celibate life," the
cardinal said.
"Those who know me know
my life has been an open book,"
he said.
In Cincinnati Archbishop Pi-
larczyk said he viewed the ac-
cusations against the cardinal
as "rubbish and deserving of
nothing but contempt."
He said the archdiocese was
informed in July of the allega-
tions against Father Harsham
and investigate
"We found
upon which to
allegation and so ....
Cook's attorney," he:!
"Therefore, no further
were taken under the'
diocesan) Decree on
Abuse."
"We did not
sations against
Bernardin until
they were made by
on television. I
rubbish and deserving!
ing but contempt," th
bishop said.
He said the
would "continue to
the whole issue of
as sensitively and
as we can," but he
no further co
lawsuit itself "given
of the proceedings
been initiated."
Contributing to
were Jay Copp in
cia Hempel in
Jerry Filteau in
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