The leader of the Diocese of Tucson is speaking out following increased scrutiny of the Catholic Church. Bishop Edward Weisenburger issued a six-page letter responding to the controversy facing the church. In an interview with Arizona 360, the bishop said the church waited to issue a response: "This is such a moving target, at the present time. That, sometimes people in our culture want us to rush out with immediate answers and I understand that. It’s the way our brains are wired in Western culture. One of the great truths about the Catholic Church is we’re probably more an aircraft carrier than a speedboat. And sometimes there’s some real prudence in letting the dust settle before you give the world your best answer."
In 2002 the Diocese of Tucson faced its own crisis with allegations of abuse dating back to the 1960s. Weisenburger said the Diocese of Tucson has improved its protocols for responding to allegations. In the last 10 years 10 people were terminated from their work in Catholic churches and schools in Southern Arizona. Since 2008, the diocese has processed about 38,000 clearance requests for churches and schools. At least 700, or about 2 percent, were denied due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
For those skeptical of the church and the current crisis, Weisenburger said: "If you look at statistics there’s no higher incidents at all of sexual acting out amongst priest than there is amongst any other identifiable group. Any other ministerial group. Any other group of men. I do sometimes feel that the world would be a much safer place when the world begins to look accurately at the phenomenal amount, the overwhelming amount of sexual abuse going on today in our world. It’s almost a collective yawn on the part of our public when we hear about one in five females today or one in 12 males today being sexually assaulted —not 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 years ago — but today. And we’ve made such huge advances within the church I think our culture will be much safer when others kind of follow our suit.”
Also on this week’s program, lifelong Catholic Renée Schafer Horton is disappointed that the Diocese of Tucson hasn’t done more to communicate with parishioners about the current crisis. Plus, assistant professor Daisy Vargas from the University of Arizona College of Humanities Religious Studies & Classics provides analysis on how the current crisis impacts practicing Catholics.
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