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TRANSCRIPT
The priests and bishops who ushered in and sustained the clergy sex abuse scandal are, one by one, finding themselves standing before God to give an account of their lives.
The most recent is Bishop Emeritus Donald Trautman of Erie, Pennsylvania.
Church Militant’s Kristine Christlieb reports on the death of a bishop who now fully understands the prayer for “those most in need of God’s mercy.”
Attorney general Josh Shapiro, D-Pa. (in 2018, when he publicly released the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report): “Dozens of witnesses testified before the grand jury, detailing acts of sexual abuse by priests and how senior Church officials covered up their criminal conduct, prioritizing their institution over the safety and welfare of these young boys and girls.”
In 2018, Pennsylvania attorney general Josh Shapiro singled out for corruption Bp. Donald Trautman. He died Saturday in an Erie, Pennsylvania, nursing home.
Trautman served as priest, chancellor, vicar general and auxiliary bishop in his native Buffalo, New York diocese, one of the most scandal-ridden dioceses in the nation.
Speaking of Trautman’s role in clergy sex abuse while bishop of Erie, Shapiro said: “Trautman knew all about this abuse and … covered it up.” In response, Trautman claimed sex abuse victims would say he prioritized the protection of children over the Church’s image or a priest’s reputation.
That’s not the experience of at least one victim.
Dan Bauer, clergy abuse victim:
I think he always put priests above anybody. He did that when I was talking to him, personally, in his office in Erie. He went into very deep detail about how no matter what these priests did, they would be on his payroll, and he was the bishop of Erie at the time when he was saying this, that they would be on his payroll till the day they died.
Trautman also had harsh words for post–Vatican II reformers.
In 1995, at a Notre Dame conference, he told liturgists they would have to “teach, teach, teach” if they wanted to beat back traditional Liturgy.
Trautman sowed seeds of corruption throughout his priesthood. Now he is reaping what he sowed. In the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, Trautman’s name is mentioned 254 times.
