Paterno statue gone from Penn State; when will Weakland’s turn come?
Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director (Milwaukee)
Today, in a simple and obvious gesture of decency and justice to victims of child rape and sexual assault by Jerry Sandusky, Penn State officials removed coach Joe Paterno’s statue from university grounds.
Removing the statue is not simply some nice gesture to victims. It was done because Penn State officials realize that if they are going to rehabilitate the honor of their institution and make it worthy of respect and support, they cannot deliberately display a statue of a man who, for whatever contributions he has made to the university, failed to protect children when he could have easily done so. Paterno didn’t because he was more concerned about the school’s reputation than about the school’s actual moral integrity.
For years survivors of rape, sexual assault and abuse by scores of Milwaukee priests under the supervision of former Archbishop Rembert Weakland have begged the current Archbishop Jerome Listecki to remove from the Milwaukee Cathedral a prominent bronze relief of Weakland depicting himself in the place of Jesus protecting little children. Weakland concealed and transferred so many sex offender clerics that Joe Paterno’s actions at Penn State seem almost trivial in comparison in their scope and consequences.
But the real reason Listecki must remove Weakland’s bronze honor to himself, which Catholics are forced to pray and worship in the presence of, is not for the sake of survivors and our feelings about Weakland. It’s for the sake of what honor and decency the Catholic Church in Milwaukee might still stand for, especially as Listecki demands the indulgence of the federal bankruptcy court to shield Weakland and others from the consequences of decades of cover-ups.
Milwaukee’s bishops continue to be honored as statue of Joe Paterno is taken down
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In announcing his decision to remove the statue of Joe Paterno from outside of the Penn State football stadium Penn State President Rod Erickson stated that the 7 foot statue of Joe Pa “has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing”. Erickson added “I believe that, were it to remain, the statue would be a recurring wound to the multitude of individuals across the nation and beyond who have been the victims of child abuse”.
On the same day that a forklift lowered the statue of Penn State’s disgraced football coach onto a flatbed truck to be carried away and placed into storage the President of the NCAA Mark Emmert announced that “corrective and punitive measures” would be taken against Penn State adding that he had “never seen anything as egregious”. The NCAA will announce its sanctions against Penn State on Monday noting that they will be “well beyond what was done in the past”.
The bronze statue of Joe Paterno was removed and sanctions will be imposed against Penn State because Paterno and University officials covered up, concealed, and enabled the child sex crimes committed by football coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky was convicted of sexually assaulting at least 10 boys and is expected to spend the remainder of his life behind bars. Former FBI Director Louis Freeh described Paterno and his colleagues as having “total and consistent disregard” for the children Sandusky brutally assaulted.
In sharp contrast to what is taking place on the campus of Penn State University the Archdiocese of Milwaukee continues to honor and glorify those bishops who enabled and facilitated the rape and sexual assault of countless children. Despite a declaration of bankruptcy, and over 8,000 acts of reported abuse which span decades, the bishops of Milwaukee, including William Cousins, Rembert Weakland, and Richard Sklba are still provided with admiration and acclaim by church officials.
The “Archbishop Rembert Weakland Center” currently adjoins the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist despite repeated pleas from victims, their families and Catholics to have it renamed. Inside the cathedral a bronze relief of Weakland sits beneath a statue of the Virgin Mary. Weakland appears in the place of Christ as the shepherd of children in the archdiocese. In order to offer a prayer to the Blessed Mother one must kneel down and face the image of Rembert Weakland. And just a few miles south of the Cathedral stands the “Archbishop Cousins Catholic Center”, home to the office of Archbishop Jerome Listecki and the administrative offices for the archdiocese.
Victims and Catholics have urged church officials to remove the Weakland shrine and rename the Cousins Center. They have adamantly refused to do so. They will not acknowledge that the accolades and tributes showered upon these individuals continue to cause pain and distress for the hundreds of victims who were harmed as a result of their indifference and inaction.
The President of Penn State correctly noted that the statue of Joe Paterno, if it were to remain in a place of honor outside the football stadium would “be a recurring wound to the multitude of individuals across the nation and beyond who have been the victims of child abuse”. President Erickson rightly acknowledged that Paterno’s statue was not only a painful reminder for Sandusky’s victims, but for all victims of child sexual abuse.
The continued homage paid to Weakland, Cousins, and Sklba are not only harmful to those who are the victims of clergy sexual assault, but they are an affront to all those in our community who are the survivors of child sex