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The New York Times
Long Dead, a Revered
Small-Town Priest
Is Disgraced
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David Pierini/The Herald, Jasper, Ind.
A crucifix
in Schnellville, Ind., dedicated in memory of Msgr. Othmar
Schroeder, who is now believed to have been a pedophile. |
By MICHAEL RUBINO,
nytimes.com on the Web, August 30, 2007
JASPER, Ind., Aug. 29 -- Msgr.
Othmar Schroeder was revered in this town of 12,000 for starting a parish and a
school. The Knights of Columbus Council in Jasper was named for him.
He served his entire 50-year career locally.
Now the bishop is calling on churches here to remove photos of the late priest
and rescind honors that were given him, because he is suspected of having
molested scores of young boys.
The bishop, Gerald A. Gettelfinger, has also prevailed upon the Knights of
Columbus Council to change its name, and is considering what to do about a
12-foot stone crucifix dedicated in Monsignor Schroeder’s memory at the cemetery
of Sacred Heart Church in nearby Schnellville, where he is buried.
The developments in Jasper, some 40 miles northeast of Evansville, come 19 years
after Monsignor Schroeder’s death, and 11 after Bishop Gettelfinger first
learned of accusations against him.
Monsignor Schroeder, the founding pastor of Holy Family Church, was never
disciplined by the Diocese of Evansville or charged with a crime, and the
diocese is under no threat of a lawsuit. Still, Bishop Gettelfinger said
in an interview, he is sure the abuse occurred. And while he would not say
how many victims had approached church authorities — none of the victims have
spoken publicly — he did say that “in terms of potential numbers,” this was the
largest sexual abuse scandal in the history of the 70-parish diocese, which has
seen others.
The bishop said he was acting now because it was only early this month that he
began learning the scope of the abuse. Since then, he has spoken on
consecutive weekends at parishes where Monsignor Schroeder served. Bishop
Gettelfinger said those appearances had generated even more accusations against
the monsignor.
“This isn’t ancient history” for the victims, the bishop said, speaking after
Mass on a Saturday at one of Monsignor Schroeder’s former parishes. “The
pain they are experiencing is still very real.”
Of all things, it was a parade float that appears to have set the current events
in motion. On Aug. 5, the Knights of Columbus Council entered the float in
a parade celebrating the community’s German heritage. A banner with the
priest’s name adorned the entry, upsetting some parade goers.
Bishop Gettelfinger said this and other symbols “were constant reminders.”
“Any time a victim saw those,” he said, “it reopened the wounds of a child.”
Addressing the bishop’s efforts to take action now, David Clohessy, executive
director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, agreed that the
only thing worse than hiding the identity of a sexual predator was celebrating
one.
“When wrongdoers are publicly praised,” Mr. Clohessy said, “it fuels the
hopelessness and helplessness that traps victims in silence.”
But he was skeptical that Bishop Gettelfinger had acted at his own initiative.
“You almost never see a bishop truly voluntarily disclose knowledge of a
predatory priest,” he said, “much less rescind an honor, unless someone else has
exerted a tremendous amount of pressure.”
The community in which Monsignor Schroeder served is a regular on lists of the
best small towns in America. German Catholics settled the area in the
1830s, and Jasper retains the flavor of its ethnic heritage: the maypole a
few steps west of the courthouse, street names in German and a phone book that
could have been lifted from any Black Forest town.
Catholicism also remains a cornerstone. The town has three Catholic
churches with a combined membership of 9,054, and eight more are within 15
miles.
Monsignor Schroeder was a 33-year-old priest when he was chosen to become
founding pastor of the Holy Family parish. He served there from 1947 until
1975, helping to start a school and a Boy Scout troop. A parish history
says working with the Scouts “became one of his special ministries.”
Parishioners who were children during his tenure at Holy Family say his
appetites were an “open secret” among children, though not adults.
Monsignor Schroeder, they say, often took boys on hunting and camping trips, and
swimming at a lake.
Bishop Gettelfinger said he understood why children did not come forward at the
time.
“The culture where I grew up, just up the road in a farm community, this kind of
thing was not talked about,” the 72-year-old bishop said. “And I also know
that if someone had told a parent, they wouldn’t believe him. When you
take someone like Monsignor Schroeder, who was such a pillar of the community in
so many other ways, who are you going to believe? A 10-year-old kid?”
On Monday, the local Knights of Columbus Council began the emotional process of
choosing a new name. Bernard Fallon, grand knight of the council, said the
process was hard, because the membership includes Monsignor Schroeder’s brother,
nephews and cousins.
Then, too, “a lot of the guys were married by him or served for him,” Mr. Fallon
said. “But at the same time, we’re also aware of the victims, the families
and their pain. We’ve all got quite a bit of healing to do ahead of us.”
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