Sexual abuse won’t be tolerated. Miami archdiocese needs to say it — out loud, again and again | Editorial

Given the Catholic Church’s history with sexual abuse, you might assume that the rape conviction last week of Father Jean Claude Philippe, parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Homestead, would be followed by a public statement of sympathy and anger on behalf of the victim from the Archdiocese of Miami.

That’s what the public needed — a loud and clear statement denouncing the criminal behavior of a priest and rejecting all forms of abuse.

Instead, we got this terse comment: “The Archdiocese of Miami has received news of the guilty verdict regarding Fr. Jean Claude Jean-Phillipe, CM. The judicial system is an important asset in our country and the archdiocese acknowledges its decision.”

The archdiocese acknowledged the conviction in public — but what about the victim? This is a parishioner who trusted Phillipe. He officiated at her wedding. He was her godfather — and her daughter’s. He accompanied her and church members on vacations.

He also invited her to his home in the rectory in October 2018, gave her a strange tea to drink and took her into his bedroom for a massage. She woke up naked in his bed, with the priest next to her, clad only in his underwear.

And later on, when she told another Sacred Heart priest, Silverio Rueda, about the assault, he drew his fingers across his lips, suggesting that she keep quiet. She said she felt betrayed, as though she were “surrounded by monsters.”

Archdiocese apologized

The archdiocese told the Editorial Board that the victim received a full apology as soon as it knew of the allegations, along with offers of counseling and other help. That’s important. And the archdiocese has a policy clearly stated on its website that it does not tolerate abuse or neglect of anybody — also important.

But a two-line public statement after the rape conviction that doesn’t even mention the victim or strongly condemn the crime shouldn’t be enough — for Catholics or the larger community. Especially coming from an institution that holds itself up as a moral leader.

This is a priest who apparently enjoyed the confidence of the church for decades — in his native Haiti, in the Dominican Republic and in various regions of Florida, ending up in Homestead, where he served Spanish and Haitian Creole-speaking congregants. People trusted him. He took advantage of that. He faces up to 15 years in prison for his actions. We hope the church is re-examining his behavior at his previous posts.

As we have said about the NFL and the Hollywood movie-making industry and any other institution, abuse is unacceptable, be it sexual or any other kind. But when it happens — as it did in this horrific instance — it needs to be rejected, publicly and with force.

That means saying the words out loud, over and over, no matter how much the offending institution wants to move on.

This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 2:02 PM.