OWE BIG FOR PEDOPHILE PRIESTS? EVICT THE NUNS!

The Monseigneur stands in front of the new multi million dollar L A
cathedral built within the last few years.

I am blogging on this topic to show, once again, the callousness of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Their gall and arrogance never fail to amaze me!

In July, 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay sex abuse victims a record $660 million; settlement with the victims of hundreds of clergy abuse cases I've been waiting with bated breath to learn what the Church would liquidate first. At least $250 million and up to $373 million of the total will be paid directly by the archdiocese, with the rest coming from insurers and various religious orders. The L.A. archdiocese is one of the wealthiest in the country, and one of the largest landowners in Southern California. So what would it be? Repossess wheelchairs used by homeless people or the headgear worn by mentally handicapped children?

I was close. They went for the humble servant women of the Church! The Church is evicting three elderly nuns living in a small building in a largely Hispanic, relatively poor section of Santa Barbara. The Order’s Superior, 69-year-old Sister Angela Escalera and can't get around without a walker, which the Church, hopefully, will not force her to leave behind when she has to hit the streets.

Escalera, who is retired and partly disabled, had hoped to live out
her days in the convent in east Santa Barbara ~
until the archdiocese decided to sell it.

“What the church is doing is evicting the nuns who work with the poor of Santa Barbara and who have been doing this work since June 1952,” Rosemary Gutierrez wrote in an email. “This is not the way to treat the nuns who have worked with the poor as social workers, immigration consultants, catechists, etc. The Archdiocese is creating new victims to pay off the abuse victims that the church covered up for so many years.”

The nuns were given four months to move out, according to a letter from the archdiocese. The notice, dated June 28 but not received until the end of August, instructed the women to vacate the property no later than Dec. 31 ~ and CALLOUSLY noted that an earlier departure "would be acceptable as well."

Rather than offering compassionate help with relocation, the notice referred the Sisters to “our real estate department,” which was also hurtful to the sisters. The letter, from the Rev. Monsignor Royal M. Vadakin ~  with the title of moderator of the Curia/vicar general  ~  read, “As you know, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is faced with multiple financial challenges in its efforts to bring closure to the accusations and litigation which confronts our Church.”

Signed by Msgr. Royale M. Vadakin, the archdiocese's vicar general, the letter offers the nuns no recourse but thanks them for their understanding and cooperation during a difficult time. Vatican arrogance at its finest! The women have no idea where they will go when the December 31 deadline arrives.

Sister Angela Escalera, the order’s local superior has lived in the two-bedroom Sisters of Bethany home for 43 years. Recently she told the Los Angeles Times, "We're not even worth a phone call." The Church never has stood up to well under close scrutiny and disclosure. Sister Angela's younger sister, Rosemary Gutierrez, now speaks for her because church officials slapped a gag order on the nuns.

"She said: 'It's such a heavy price to pay for such an ugly thing,' " said Gutierrez, quoting her sister. " 'Children were being victimized.' " The public storm over the evictions has prolonged an excruciating controversy that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles had hoped to begin putting behind it in July when it agreed to payouts to 508 accusers of 221 priests and other male church employees.

Recently there was uncovered a Vatican document kept secret for 40 years. This confidential document lays out a church policy that calls for absolute secrecy when it comes to sexual abuse by priests ~ anyone speaking out could be thrown out of the church. The policy was written in 1962 by Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani.

Bishops are instructed to pursue these cases "in the most secretive way...restrained by a perpetual silence...and everyone {including the alleged victim) ...is to observe the strictest secret, which is commonly regarded as a secret of the Holy Office...under the penalty of excommunication." This document is significant because it's a blueprint for deception. This results in further victimization since the victim is unable to seek counseling or help and is left to deal with the mess alone.

But from Santa Barbara pulpits, a number of priests defended the church. At Holy Cross Parish on Cliff Drive, the Rev. Ludo DeClippel lamented that "these kinds of conflicts within our Church are immediately thrown into the public arena, creating, once more, an hostile public opinion." He therefore throws the guilt on the nuns for daring to speak out! His remarks appeared in the parish newsletter below an item, tagged "Did you know?" urging parents to teach their children about "bad touching."

DeClippel observed that four other convents were also being shuttered to produce cash for the abuse settlement and that the nuns being evicted "accepted it without protest or public outcry." Apparently not giving voice to one's abuse within the church is an admirable trait in his eyes?

"Well, we've been renting," said Sister Rita, in the driveway of the house where she has lived with another sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, in Camarillo, 40 miles to the southeast. Asked if tenant status meant the nuns acquiesced to the move, she demurred and excused herself.

Nuns take a vow of obedience. The Catholic Church is perhaps the world's farthest-reaching hierarchy. Gutierrez said her birth sister remains implacably opposed to the eviction but must abide by an order of public silence from the mother general superior of the Sisters of Bethany, who was summoned from Guatemala to address the controversy.

"One of the reasons I left is you have no voice," said Gutierrez, who wore the habit for eight years in the 1960s. Now retired from a second career teaching English, she expressed dismay that the Los Angeles archdiocese, after being pilloried for its reluctance to investigate allegations of sexual abuse, appeared to have gone to ground again.

"It's the same mistake all over again: 'Be quiet, be quiet. Don't say anything. Don't rock the boat,' " Gutierrez said.

Another former Bethany sister, Evangelina Diaz, said the defensive posture was also apt to hurt recruiting, seldom easy for the Catholic Church in recent decades.

"Look, a gag rule on three nuns! Holy mackerel!" said Diaz, 74, in the parking lot outside the convent. "They do this to the ones who've been around for 57 years? No wonder they don't get more vocations. Would you want to join?"

Instead, the new flap has also raised the question of how much the church has learned about the crucial business of public perception.

"What's interesting is the church has not learned its lesson. The church thinks Catholics will still follow it without question," said Denise d'Sant Angelo, a member of Save Our Sisters, a local group formed to resist the eviction. "They're still operating under the shroud of secrecy, and secrecy isn't going to be tolerated by Catholics anymore, especially this new generation.

"We're going to kick it up a notch."

Gonzalez, left, and Escalera read the letter from
the archdiocese telling them they were being evicted.

Will Tamberg explain why the eviction letter is dated June 28, but not delivered until August 28? As Sr. Angela says, the worst thing is the cold detachment from the hierarchy. If they give a damn about the Sisters it's a well kept secret, for they have heard not one word of compassion from the archdiocesan personnel nor from the local “prince of the church,” Bishop Curry of Santa Barbara.

"These nuns are precious to us. There are priests living in fabulous-looking houses, by themselves," Evangelina Diaz, a former Bethany sister, told the Post. "You don't see them getting kicked out."

In fact the handsome residence of the Santa Barbara bishop ~ ironically once a convent ~ remains safe behind seven palms on a corner lot. The building is the largest in a neighborhood where homes easily fetch $2 million. The value of the sisters' humble house, according to the Santa Barbara County assessor's office is listed "at about $98,000."

For 43 years, Sister Angela Escalera has lived and worked from this small convent on city's east side, helping the area's many poor and undocumented residents with translation, counseling and other needs. She formerly worked at Catholic Charities on East Haley Street and is now retired, suffers from failing eyesight and other health problems. Despite her physical challenges, Sister Angela continues to do volunteer immigration and translation work with parishioners. The sisters have maintained the building using Sister Angela’s Social Security SSI disability allotment and Sister Consuelo’s income.  

Sister Consuelo works in Catholic education at Our Lady of Sorrows Church. Sister Margarita is the housekeeper and takes care of Sister Angela who believed that she would live out her days, the traditional form of retirement for the sisters of the Catholic Church, in the community where she is still an active volunteer and in the dwelling that was built for the order in 1952. ~ until the archdiocese decided to sell it.

Tod M. Tamberg, spokesman for the archdiocese, said Thursday that the decision to sell the Santa Barbara property was difficult but necessary. The archdiocese will sell up to 50 non-parish properties, including its administrative headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, to cover the bill. Apart from those central offices, the Santa Barbara convent is the first property to be publicly identified as among those to be sold.

Archdiocese spokesperson, tanned and healthy looking young Tod Tamberg, says that he too is paying the price for the pedophile priest scandal, that the Catholic faithful have to share in the price for the sins of the few. That is, in my mind, complete BS. This makes the sin of the priests THEIR sins as well! Tamberg's price was not getting a raise. Gee, how does that compare to losing your house and the work you have dedicated your life to, your whole community?

Carmen Torres, lives nearby and attends the Catholic Church adjacent to the convent. "I didn't want you to feel abandoned," Torres told the nun in Spanish, adding that she was hoping to raise money for the sisters by renting a small home she owns in Texas. "We need to see what we can do to help you."

Torres called the decision to sell the convent unjust, given the nuns' long history of care and service to their low-income community. Other supporters spoke even more strongly.

"It's outrageous," said Sally Sanchez, a community activist who added that she had known Escalera since 1964, "Why should the nuns pay for the sins of the morons who did this? Why can't they sell something else?"

Tamberg claimed the nuns had lived rent-free in the archdiocesan-owned building, which he said was a fairly unusual arrangement, with most religious orders nowadays owning their own houses. He ~ and the nuns ~ said that if they had to leave Santa Barbara, they would probably move into a convent in Los Angeles, which is not owned by the archdiocese. Tamberg also says that the Bethany order is sure to “step in” and help the transition.

That is simply sugar coating. The fact is that the archdiocese is doing nothing for the sisters. As far as they are concerned, the evicted nuns are on their own. If the church engaged in relocating the accused pedophile priests, some of whom used the transfer to continue their evil acts on new victims, why can't it relocate these nuns to continue their good work? Some of these priests have "disappeared" and others continue their work, while others, as is the custom, now work in the Vatican, where diplomatic immunity keeps them safe from prosecution by law.

Escalera, whose energy belies her years, is a former notary public and social worker who retired from Catholic Charities in 2003 but still works as a volunteer each afternoon, mainly assisting residents with immigration and translation problems. A diabetic who has developed balance and other health problems in recent years, she receives a state disability stipend.

The Santa Barbara County assessor's office lists the property's value at $97,746, although it will sell for more, if a sale goes through. Small, older homes near the convent start at about $700,000, according to the Zillow real estate appraisal website. Finally, as a spokesperson, will Tamberg explain why the eviction letter is dated June 28, but was not delivered until August 28? TWO months later!

Sr. Angela says the worst thing is the cold detachment from the hierarchy. If they give a damn about the Sisters it's a well kept secret, for they have heard not one word of compassion from the archdiocesan personnel nor from the local “prince of the church,” Bishop Curry of Santa Barbara.

Before the gag was placed on her, Sister Angela sat in the convent's simple living room, where paintings of biblical scenes and framed photographs of the order's founders line the walls, and said she was still wrestling with her feelings about the letter, shifting between pain, anger and resignation. She said she remained upset that the archdiocese had not contacted the nuns directly but had chosen instead to send a letter to the convent in Los Angeles, which then notified the Santa Barbara sisters.

"We're not even worth a phone call," she said. "That's one of the things that hurts so much."

She and the other sisters said that they were grateful for the support from many in the community, but that they knew they could not afford to pay for a rental in Santa Barbara on their own, making it likely that they would be forced to leave the area.

"I'm not ready right now," she said. "I'm still trying to think it through. I do trust in God and I will accept his will, but if something happens to change this, that would be wonderful.

Escalera says the most hurtful part of the proposed sale of her convent is
that the proceeds will be used to pay for the misdeeds of pedophile priests.

Currently the citizens of Santa Barbara are organizing and doing what they can to keep the Sisters in their community.

UPDATE: The three sisters will not be allowed to remain in Santa Barbara city limits under any circumstances, according to Ernie Salomon, a spokesman for Save Our Sisters, a group formed to ensure the sisters continue to reside in their East Side neighborhood. Salomon said the three sisters have been told that even if enough money is raised to purchase the home, they will have to leave.

Tamberg says his employer is not responsible for the relocation of the nuns and that all orders about where the nuns will be after Dec. 31 is up to a Sister Gomez, who is the provincial superior for the Sisters of Bethany Order in Los Angeles. Attempts to reach Gomez for comment were unsuccessful, but a sister that answered the phone said, “Don’t call back because she doesn’t want to say anything, please.”

“We do not have any permission under the church’s cannon law to interfere in the inner workings of the Sisters' religious community,” Tamberg said.

Because the Archdiocese owns the two-and-a-half bedroom convent located next to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, Tamberg said they have the power to evict the nuns, but insisted the power to decide where the situation goes from there lies with the provincial superior. Classic pass-the-buck syndrome.

Lawyers have offered the nuns their services free of charge and lenders have offered low rates on loans in order to help the sisters purchase their current residence, or another nearby. Tamberg said the convent has not yet been put on the market and some estimate the modest, stucco home could be sold for as much as $700.000.

Salomon said Save Our Sisters does not plan to seek out a meeting with the Archdiocese's, but rather hopes to change the minds of whoever is responsible for making the final decision by creating a wave of public opinion.

“Public opinion can turn this around and if it can’t, we’ll have to think about moving them to a location close to Santa Barbara but not in the city limits,” Salomon said. “What the archdiocese does not need is more terrible publicity and that’s what they’re getting.”

Salomon, a 72-year-old Jew, said what makes the Archdiocese's’ decision to evict the nuns more stinging than it would under normal circumstances, is the money will be used to pay for the sins of pedophile priests.

“These guys are going to be taken care of and the women are going to be punished literally for the sins of the fathers.”