Priests, Police And The People They Serve
What Minneapolis Can Learn From The Catholic Church
by Eric Elkin
Fr. James Janssen was one of the most aggressive pedophile predators in the history of the State of Iowa. For 42 years, he actively sought out, groomed, and manipulated young boys between the ages of 5-18 years old. He and four other priests kept and sexually abused a "stable of boys." The story of Fr. Janssen is one of the sickest I have ever heard.
In 1948, before he served a parish, The Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, was warned about Fr. Janssen. In 1958, he admitted to a bishop he had sexually abused several boys. Despite the warnings and admissions, he continued to receive new assignments. There is no indication he was even disciplined for his actions. As a matter of fact, he was placed on the Priest's Personnel Board and served as a Boy Scout chaplain.
It took the Catholic Church 56 years to defrock a person they knew to be a criminal. Bishops thought discipline would create bad press and a distrust of the Church. It took a hotly contested lawsuit to bring about substantive change. Eventually, the Diocese of Davenport settled for $37 million, declared bankruptcy, and "billed" each parish where Janssen served to cover their debts.
What does Fr. Janssen have to do with the Derek Chauvin trial? How the Catholic Church handled clergy sexual abuse is an appropriate lens to view this trial and its outcome. An examination of this ugly history might help those struggling to find clarity.
Bad priests bring down everyone. In our desire to make sense of criminal behavior, we look for people to blame. While the Catholic Church allowed Fr. Janssen to serve, Fr. Janssen was the problem. He was a bad priest. Only 4% of priests were involved in acts of sexual abuse. Yet, the perception remains all priests are predators.
Not all police officers are bad. The vast majority are good. We, the greater community, need bad police officers removed from the force. If they are not, trust in the entire police force is compromised. I believe a lack of trust makes police officers more vulnerable to attacks.
Leaders need to lead. Fr. Janssen was allowed to exist within the Catholic Church because leaders were afraid to lead. They failed to understand their mission was not to protect their own. Priests are called to serve the people. The motto of the Minneapolis Police Department is, "To Protect with Courage, To Serve with Compassion." Leaders did not need a trial to understand Derek Chauvin's failure to live up to this simple standard. In failing to supervise, leaders also did not live up to their own standards.
Listen to the victims. For years victims of clergy sexual abuse tried to get bishops to listen to their stories. For years they turned a deaf ear. Think how many lives would have been spared had Fr. Janssen been defrocked in 1958.
Derek Chauvin's entire life has been severely altered because he did not listen to his victim. If he had, he would not be going to prison. He would still be on the police force, and few would even know his name. More importantly, George Floyd would still be alive.
Abusers pick vulnerable targets. Sexual predators choose victims that tend to come from poor families and broken homes. They know people tend not to believe this type of person. The same is true of bad police officers. They play off of our racial biases. Here's a test of this theory, would you have believed Rodney King's story if you had not seen a video of it happening? I doubt many white people could answer "yes" to that question.
Peggy and I lived in a low-income, working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. Our community was caught up in a vicious cycle of drugs and drug-related violence when we lived there. To combat this problem, the police department increased the number of officers and arrests. Yet, they reached a point where this approach produced limited success.
The neighborhood transformed when police departments started building stronger relationships with organizations and people in the area. Their efforts developed an invested partnership with the community. We were all working together for a safer environment for everyone.
My hope is the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments will start taking this same approach. For this to happen, though, they need to start seeing all community members as people. All of our safety depends upon it.
Click to read 2 Corinthians 5: 16-20