Bishop Ronald Gainer opened his homily at the Friday noontime Mass of Forgiveness at St. Patrick Cathedral with the disturbing words of the beginning paragraph in the grand jury report on the rampant clergy sex abuse of teens and children in six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania.
"We, the members of this grand jury, need you to hear this. We know some of you have heard some of it before. There have been other reports about child sex abuse within the Catholic Church. But never on this scale. For many of us, those earlier stories happened someplace else, somewhere place away. Now we know the truth: it happened everywhere," he read.
With that, an apologetic Gainer launched into a nearly eight-minute homily during the well-attended mass inside the ornate sanctuary located a half block away from the state Capitol in Harrisburg.
The head of the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Gainer expressed his "heartfelt sorrow and sincere apology to all survivors of clergy sexual abuse." He said the Harrisburg Diocese today is a different one from 15 years ago.
The bishop announced a year-long effort to "address our need for a spiritual conversion" and "repentance for these grievous sins."
"We all know the saying 'words are cheap.' By my words in these last weeks and my words now in this mass are invested with profound remorse, firm resolve and consistent action that these horrific actions by some members of the clergy which violated the dignity and innocence of children must be absolutely eliminated from the church's life," Gainer said.
But the church has changed, he said. Over the past decade, the church has taken "significant and effective measures to protect our children and to identify and remove any person who would intend to do harm to them," he said.
Outside the cathedral before Friday's mass, a woman handed out white ribbons to show support for the survivors of abuse.
A security guard stood inside the entrance to the church, outside the sanctuary.
While Gainer's message alluded a few times to the grand jury report, one part he did not address was the criticism in it targeted toward him. The Harrisburg diocese has sought to defend Gainer's actions in the wake of the report's release.
Grand jury findings
The grand jury slammed the Harrisburg bishop for refusing to defrock James Pease, a priest who was accused in 1995 of sexually abusing a boy, from the priesthood.
It was not until 2003 that Pease retired and was removed from active ministry. The allegations of abuse were reported to police, but they determined the allegations were too old to prosecute.
Gainer was installed at bishop in the Harrisburg diocese in 2014, and wrote a letter to the Vatican about Pease's case that year, in which he advised against any church trial or stripping Pease of his priesthood.
"The grand jury disagrees," the panel's report states. "While removing Pease from ministry was a start, he was clearly unfit to carry the title of priest. Moreover, public knowledge of Pease's crime is exactly what was required in service to the public and Pease's victims."
This week, the Harrisburg diocese issued a statement defending Gainer's handling of the Pease case and the case of The Rev. James Beeman.
Once a chaplain for the state prison at Camp Hill, Beeman was accused of raping a 7-year-old girl while visiting her in the hospital after she had her tonsils removed. Beeman raped her again when she was 13, the girl reported, and again when she was 19 and pregnant, the grand jury report stated. Beeman also fondled the genitals of three other girls between 1958 and 1972, the grand jury said.
The grand jury report noted that Gainer wrote to the Vatican regarding Beeman in 2014.
"I believe that the scandal caused by his admission of the sexual abuse of minor girls has been sufficiently repaired by his acceptance of the penal precepts," Gainer wrote.
The diocese issued a statement after the grand jury report was released saying Gainer's recommendations regarding Pease and Beeman had been misconstrued.
Stripping Pease of his priesthood "would have required a church trial, and that "was not a viable option against Joseph Pease in 2014 given his diminished mental capacity," the statement read. "As such, Bishop Gainer, in a form letter meant solely to resolve his canonical status, recommended Joseph Pease live out his days in prayer and penance. The form letter is regrettably not written well and does not accurately represent the action that was taken."
The diocese noted that in 2014, Beeman was 88 years old and in declining health; he died in 2016. Beeman had been suspended for two decades and an allegation of child sex abuse was reported to authorities in 1988, the diocese said.
In its statement this week, the diocese said that Gainer hadn't attempted to cover up the abuses of Pease and Beeman.
"The status of both of these men was not addressed for many years prior to Bishop Gainer coming to Harrisburg," the diocese said. "Bishop Gainer acted appropriately and definitively to get these men out of the Church as soon as possible.
Survivors come forward
In his remarks to the attentive congregants seated before him, Gainer said that since the public release of the names of clergy in the diocese who had accusations of abuse made against them, several survivors have come forward.
He welcomed others to do so and "allow us to support them along the path of healing."
Gainer said survivors told him that making that list public has been a healing experience for them.
"Survivors who have contacted me expressed relief that they finally felt affirmed and believed that the one who had abused them was outed," Gainer said.
The road ahead to restoring Catholics' trust and credibility in the church will be a long and challenging one, he said, but they will do so together trusting in the Lord will be at their side.
"The practical changes to avoid repeating the sad and troubling past are in place and are being faithfully observed and will continue to be improved in our diocese," he said.
The year-long effort started with Friday's Mass of Forgiveness, Adoration of the Sacrament and Service of Repentance to begin the process of making "reparation for the sins committed and calling out for God's mercy and healing."
The prayer that followed was riddled with references to the scandal. Petitions were made for those who have been abused by clergy, survivors of abuse, families whose lives were broken by the failings of church leaders, for the protection of all children.
The prayer included petitions for those "whose faith has been shaken by scandal and failure of church leaders," for those in public office as they pursue laws to safeguard children's wellbeing, and for the complete repentance of those who committed the crime of child abuse and ignored cries of the helpless.
Finding comfort
As parishioners exited the church, some commented that the bishop's words brought them peace and comfort. One woman was offended that the media had been invited to be present during the service, saying it should have been kept private.
Joe Carduff of Harrisburg praised the bishop for being a "brave strong leader when we really need one. I also would like to see the pope come visit us again and visit these diocese where it happened. I think it would help. Everyone pray for us."
"It was a wonderful service. I give him a lot of credit. I've lost a couple of friends over this because I refuse to demonize every religion or priest over this," said parishioner April Moore of Harrisburg. "They didn't have to do this."
Randy Lee of Harrisburg said he was surprised by the way the bishop started his homily but it made sense.
"You can't heal until you confront the wound and that 's really what the bishop has been trying to do," he said. "We have to be ready to be healed to move forward and embrace the peace that God wants us to live in. When we're ready to embrace that peace, we can begin the process of healing. That's why he's talking about let's start with a year."
Harrisburg diocese's statement regarding Joseph Pease and James Beeman by Teresa Bonner on Scribd