Australian bishop calls on Catholic Church to take a serious look at sensitive issues

After years spent listening to the stories of sexual-abuse victims and leading the Australian bishops in their response, Bishop Geoffrey Robinson started writing.

The resulting book, in which the retired prelate from Sydney calls on the Catholic Church to take a serious look at sensitive issues such as mandatory celibacy, has not exactly been welcomed by many of his peers. Ditto his book tour, which began last month and features a stop in Seattle today.

Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett was among several American bishops who sent a letter asking Robinson not to appear. A cardinal at the Vatican requested he cancel his trip.

And Robinson's fellow Australian bishops issued a statement saying they had "doctrinal difficulties" with his book, central to which is "a questioning of the authority of the Catholic Church to teach the truth definitively."

In Seattle, Robinson's public appearance tonight at Roosevelt High School is being hosted by Call to Action Western Washington, an organization of lay Catholics advocating reforms such as ordaining women and married people.

Robinson's book, "Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus," fit into many of the group's goals, said co-chair Betty Hill.

Call to Action had hoped to arrange a meeting between Brunett and Robinson. But co-chair Tom Hill said Brunett told him in a letter it would not be beneficial to either of them to meet.

The group had also requested an ad in the Catholic Northwest Progress, the archdiocesan newspaper, to publicize Robinson's visit. That request was denied.

"I think it's a shame that [a bishop] of the Catholic Church cannot be welcomed into our diocese simply because the message he has to give is one that they don't want to hear," said retired King County Superior Court Judge Terrence Carroll.

Carroll served as chairman of a Seattle Archdiocese board that reviewed the cases of 13 priests accused of sexual abuse, and has subsequently been critical of the archdiocese for not releasing files related to abuse, among other things.

Carroll, who is not a member of Call to Action, hosted a lunch for Robinson Friday.

"The clergy abuse issue brought front and center for many Catholics the whole issue of the structure of the church hierarchy and the various parts of the faith that need to be open for discussion beyond the handling of this specific issue," Carroll said. "All of these things need to be talked about. That's all [Robinson] is asking to do."

Seattle Archdiocese spokesman Greg Magnoni said he was unaware of letters between Call to Action and Brunett about a meeting of the two bishops. He said the archdiocesan newspaper turned down the group's request for an ad because there was no official church agency that sponsored the event.

"I don't think anybody's opposed to open discussion," Magnoni said. But Robinson has "assumed positions that are problematic" because they are not in keeping with the church.

The bishops who wrote the letter asking Robinson not to come are "fearful it would've been a source of disunity among Catholics and would not be helpful," he said.

The archdiocese has adopted policies that are helpful, he said -- such as immediately reporting allegations of abuse to law enforcement, and requiring all church employees and volunteers to be trained in child-sex-abuse prevention.

But Robinson, who for years chaired the committee of Australian bishops addressing the sexual-abuse crisis, argues that there are underlying issues that need to be addressed as well.

"Sexual abuse is all about power and sex," he said in an interview earlier this week. "They are two subjects that need to be looked at fully."

That includes discussing topics such as mandatory celibacy, Robinson believes. He thinks three factors coming together can contribute to abuse: an unhealthy psychology, unhealthy ideas and unhealthy living environment.

Obligatory celibacy, "particularly when it's unwanted, can contribute to a lack of health in any of those three areas," Robinson believes.

Robinson praised Benedict XVI's meeting with victims during the pope's recent U.S. visit, while saying "he also said we must do everything we can do to understand and eradicate" child sexual abuse.

"That's what I look for now. I would like to know what he intends to do and when he intends to do it."

Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com