The Light of Day

The Light of Day

Hellenic Chronicle Editorial
This editorial is re-printed from the January 5, 2000 edition of the Hellenic Chronicle in Massachusetts. The Hellenic Chronicle is published every Wednesday by the Hellenic Publishing Company. Phone# 1-508-820-9700.

One small family in Vermont, strong in faith and determination, put its reputation on the line to see that no other young Greek Orthodox girl would have to walk in their daughter’s shoes.

Three years ago this month, their daughter went to church where her family worshipped and actively served, entered the church hall, which ironically is named for her maternal grandmother, to receive her weekly Greek language lesson and then was sexually molested by the man she had known as her spiritual father, her priest.

For the last three years, this family and the Orthodox faithful of our Archdiocese have waited for a response from our Church. The response came slowly. The judicial process had to wind its way first: the trial, the conviction, the six-month jail term, the currently-running probationary period and sex offender treatment.

A spiritual court of the Diocese of Boston considered the priest’s fate, as did the Holy Synod of our Archdiocese and then the decision fell to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The process was excruciatingly slow for the family waiting for closure and at times, it seemed it would not come at all. However, that determined mother who would not let another young girl endure what her daughter had suffered, continued to send letters, make calls to the Archdiocese, the media, to anyone who would listen.

Shortly before Christmas, the decision to return this priest and convicted sex offender to the status of a lay person was rendered by the Patriarchate and the Diocese of Boston was tasked with officially informing him of the action last week.

Our hierarch made no public announcement of the decision to defrock this priest, nor any comment about the case or the victim and her family. We are frustrated by that, feeling that while the act of defrocking is important, equally and perhaps even more vital is the message that must be sent that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated in our Church in any way, shape or form.

The faithful in America have grown and matured, they will not quietly accept the old ways of handling these traumatic situations — a transfer to another parish where we all know it will happen again, as it did in this case with the earlier accusations against this priest from the Concord, NH parish.

As ethnic Greeks, we inherently do not want to air our dirty laundry. It is not within our makeup. Rightfully, we want to see ourselves and our culture recognized for all of our achievements. We cringe when we see a fellow Hellene arrested for a crime or involved in something shady. We feel it reflects badly on our entire community.

We must not let that mentality stand. The wrongful actions of one individual do not reflect on an entire community, any more than the wrongful actions of this one now former priest reflect on the respected and beloved clergy of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

In other parts of the world, we are certain that nothing would have come of this incident, but Americans in all walks of life, particularly in their churches, have made it clear that they will not let this travesty be swept under the rug.

Our hierarchy may not want to comment specifically on this case, but a general statement of policy that sexual offenses will not be tolerated within our Church at any level is sorely needed. This case must represent a line in the sand.

For the victim in this case and her family, we hope that this decision and the new year will provide some closure and we hope that their faith in His Church has not been irreparably shaken, particularly for the young girl. It took enormous inner strength and maturity for a girl at that difficult and already self-conscious age to get up in a courtroom and testify that someone she trusted and respected violated her. We hope that the memory of that will fade for her and for her parents, as well.

As Christians, we must also pray for the saving grace of Our Lord on the conscience and soul of this troubled man and for God’s blessings on his family, which was dragged unwittingly into this ordeal. We also offer a prayer of healing for all of the parishioners of the small New England parish which has struggled to unite itself following this sad chapter in its life.

May this new century find our Church ready to shed the light of day on these unavoidable human tragedies within our Church and working to see that they are dealt with swiftly and appropriately.