Tuesday, November 20, 2007 Editorials: Archdiocese and complainants
MSGR. Achilles Dakay, media liaison officer of the Cebu archdiocese, must have meant well when he asked complainants against Fr. Benedicto Ejares to “see” them.
Dakay’s call came after Dr. Frederick Boholst submitted a report to the city prosecutors’ office on the psychological condition of the girls after November’s incident.
While the report was only meant to support the motion for reconsideration filed by the girls after prosecutors dismissed the complaint against Ejares, it was revealing.
Psychological distress can be dealt with by medical practitioners but spiritual advice would have helped also, especially one provided by the Cebu Archdiocese itself.
Reasons
There are reasons, though, why a year after that controversial Life in the Spirit seminar at the Abellana National School, the girls have not sought the archdiocese’s help.
One of them is the perception, whether it stemmed from wrong appreciation of the statements emanating from the archdiocese on the issue or not, that it was taking sides.
Some sectors even think until now that the archdiocese is bent on coddling Ejares.
The other problem could be the lack of visible effort to follow-up the call with something substantial, like the archdiocese’s emissaries seeking out the alleged victims.
Merely waiting for the girls to come is passive and does not reflect much on the sincerity of the call, which is important in sensitive issues like alleged sexual harassment.
Input
Anyway, since the call has been made, perhaps the girls, their parents and even some City Hall people helping them may consider the option of going to the archdiocese.
Dialogues always help, and their input could have provided the archdiocese with a more objective assessment of the incident that would have guided its reaction to it earlier.
In sum, while the archdiocese has always been open to the idea of helping alleged victims of sexual harassment by priests, it should be more aggressive in doing so.
The Catholic Church is both the clergy and the faithful, thus the archdiocese should not only be concerned with the accused but with the alleged victims as well.
