COMMENTARY
August 30, 2009
One can only hope that Rev. Mark Hession, the homilist at Senator Kennedy's funeral mass, was able to hear his own words as he spoke about Senator Kennedy's never ending compassion, love and understanding for the least among us.
In 2003, Rev. Hession was asked about the sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church. In an interview published in National Catholic Reporter, Hession said, "I can’t wait to get off the sex abuse piece of it.” He added that there are many other issues that need attention. “And when we put all the numbers together in this particular crisis, it’s almost indecent, frankly, that we are still tearing at it ourselves.”
In September 2007, Rev. Hession refused to meet with and speak to a small group of victims of clergy sex abuse and supporters who held a morning vigil outside Rev. Hession's parish in Cape Cod. The advocates were calling for Rev. Paul E. Miceli, a former high ranking archdiocese official and part-time pastor at Hession's parish, to apologize for his role in reassigning accused abuser priests to parishes and schools.
By his words and actions, Rev. Hession has inflicted additional insult, hurt and injury upon those who were abused and their families.
Paul Kendrick
Freeport, Maine
