3-12-2007

Website lists can be tricky things. Recent databases listing doctors who provide abortion services and the addresses of registered sex abusers pose the question: when does the public have a RIGHT to know information like that and when does it cross the line into an area where someones life or reputation may be in jeopardy?

The list of doctors was deemed too dangerous but the listing of sex offenders has been given the OK showing there is no clear cut line.

Now, an organization has taken to listing every member of the Catholic Church accused of sex abuse in a database. You can view the site for yourself here:

http://bishopaccountability.org/

Right now, 63 Portland members of the Catholic Archdiocese are listed. All have been accused. Some have already settled. Some are still involved in legal battles. Some aren't even alive to act in their own defense.

I spoke with Mary Grant with SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) and she says it is important for Catholics and the community to know WHO has been accused and where they are (she drew the comparison to alerting a community to a sexual predator in their neighborhood). If the clergy are still active, they may have new victims, she says.

When I asked her if she was concerned that some of the men and women listed may actually be innocent, she replied that she would rather list someone innocent than let a guilty party slide by. She contends that it is easier for an adult to get over the accusation of being a pedophile than for a child to bear the burden and guilt of hiding sex abuse.

KXL Legal Expert Paul Martinek tells me that the site walks a fine line between informing and slander. If the site merely lists people who are accused and in no way implies guilt than it's perfectly fine. However, if the wording on the site suggests that everyone listed is already guilty or implies a guilt-by-association then it's crossed the legal line into slander/libel.

Bud Bunce with the Portland Archdiocese spoke with me briefly and says no one in the church can comment due to the pending bankruptcy litigation.

On a side note, local members of SNAP tell me that they're hopes of erecting a monument to victims of sex abuse by priests is on hold as the bankruptcy proceedings continue. (Organizers would like to see a full size mill stone placed in front of the archdiocese HQ on Burnside. The explanation I've received for that particular monument links to a story from the Bible. Jesus said that anyone who would harm a child should have a mill stone tied to his/her neck and be thrown into the water. SNAP members tell me the monument is not designed as a penance for the existing church members but instead as a reminder of the scandal).