美国国家公共电台 NPR Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal Keeps Parishioners From Mass

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania are still dealing 1 with the fallout from a grand jury report that came out recently alleging 2 widespread childhood sexual abuse in the state. Virginia Alvino Young from member station WESA has been talking to some Catholics in Pittsburgh who opted 3 to skip weekend mass.

VIRGINIA ALVINO YOUNG, BYLINE 4: Walking inside Courey and Andy Leer's home just outside Pittsburgh, you're met with a golden cross, some palms.

COUREY LEER: So then we have a little Mary holy water holder 5. We got some holy water for our wedding, but we never, like, replenish 6 it. It just hangs out there. Is it empty?

ANDY LEER: No. There's still some. We always try to keep a little of it.

YOUNG: For the past few months, the 31- and 32-year-olds had been increasingly active in their parish, attending more weekday masses and even starting a new ministry 7. While they each say their spirituality is personal, for them being Catholic is really more about identity and culture.

C. LEER: I think for the longest time, it wasn't a matter of, how does this make you feel? What's your relationship with Jesus? It was just - yeah, we're Catholic. It's what we do. It's what our family does.

YOUNG: But for the past few weeks, they've been grappling with the news of the grand jury's clergy 8 abuse report. Andy says it's not the first time he's been thinking about this. When he was a teenager growing up in Pennsylvania, claims against his own priest surfaced. The allegations of abuse were a few decades old, appeared to be isolated 9. And the priest was moved to a different parish.

A. LEER: We were OK back then to say, OK, well, we've gotten rid of the bad apple. The rest of the bunch is OK.

YOUNG: A few years ago, he saw the movie "Spotlight 10" about the investigation 11 of sexual abuse in the Boston archdiocese. And he understood the scope of what was going on.

A. LEER: But it doesn't really hit till it's in your backyard.

YOUNG: Pennsylvania's grand jury report alleges 12 300 so-called predator 13 priests abused more than 1,000 boys and girls across the state. It also includes evidence of a systematic 14 cover-up by church leaders. Pittsburgh's bishop 15 David Zubik says the church has learned from the past and implemented 16 measures to prevent that from happening again. Courey Leer is skeptical 17.

C. LEER: So it goes beyond just the priests and their superiors. It leads me to question, you know, entire Catholic communities, who knew what and not only why didn't they expose them, but how long have people been turning the other way?

YOUNG: Even before the report was released, mass attendance had been declining for years within the Pittsburgh diocese. Now the Leers say they don't feel right attending services while so many others have been hurt by the church. They say they're standing 18 in solidarity 19 with the survivors 20 rather than the institution. Courey did attend mass with her 2-year-old daughter the day after the report was released, but they didn't stay long.

C. LEER: I think a part of me was thinking, I'm going to go to mass, and I'm going to get an OK to leave and not come back. And of course that's not going to happen. But I think a part of me just wanted to hear someone say, like, we really messed up. We really messed up. And use your own moral discretion 21 to decide what's best because we have no moral authority.

YOUNG: She says her priest did acknowledge the report but offered little more than prayers.

C. LEER: And my daughter ran off. And she found this beautiful, long, stained-glass window. And the sun was coming in. And she was exploring all the lights coming through. There was yellow and blue and red. And it was beautiful. And to a 2-year-old, like, that's what makes church special.

YOUNG: Courey says the beautiful, sacred space is part of what makes church special to her, too. Right after the homily, the two walked out.

C. LEER: And, you know, I'm thinking, like, is this our last mass? And it's hard. I can't fathom 22, you know, when she's 8 years old saying, no, we don't go to church. Sorry, you can't receive communion even though your mom and dad did, your grandparents did. Like, you don't get to do that.

YOUNG: The Leers say they'll miss the sacraments, community dinners and the music ministry. But they'd like to see church leaders push for more investigations 23 into sexual abuse at dioceses across the country.

A. LEER: They don't need to be worried about our spirituality right now. They need to be worried about dealing with the corruption 24 and dealing with the priests that are out there that need to answer for what they've done and the people that have potentially covered up and withheld 25 information.

YOUNG: After the report was released, Pittsburgh's bishop Zubik told parishioners that an expert will review the diocese abuse prevention and reporting policies. The church says it will also monitor clergy who have been removed from ministry. The Leers don't know what it will take for them to go back but say it will take time for their faith in the Catholic Church to be restored. For NPR News, I'm Virginia Alvino Young in Pittsburgh.

(SOUNDBITE OF SIGNAL HILL'S "A SECRET SOCIETY")