Friday, Oct. 7, 2005
Loquitur The
Features
Madden on the minds of Cabrini students page 8
Cabrini College’s Student Newspaper
www.theLoquitur.com
Radnor, Pa.
A&E
Celebrities give helping hand page 10 Vol XLVII, Issue 5
New sexual abuse allegations surface, Cabrini reacts ANDREW MATYSIK EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AJM722@CABRINI.EDU As new cases of sexual abuse continue to surface following the Philadelphia grand jury report on the pattern of concealment by Catholic officials, the faith and trust of lay people and innocent priests are tested. Those watching the tragic reports unfold are divided on how to respond. During the past week alone, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported around five to 10 sexual abuse allegations surfacing each day. Officials are still determining whether the allegations are valid or not. To many religious, supplementary reports of sexual abuse will only cause additional pain to an injury that damaged an entire nation of Catholics. The locality of these incidents has created a huge impact on parishioners of the Philadelphia area. Being a college in the suburbs of Philadelphia, connections between members of the Cabrini community and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia run very deep. Kevin McDevitt, a Cabrini sophomore, has been enrolled in Philadelphia Archdiocese schools
since childhood. McDevitt recalls being caught off-guard by the extensive allegations provided in the jury report. “It’s funny because I remember receiving the sacraments when I was younger and actually being excited for when Cardinal Bevilacqua would come to my school. Now, I’m not sure what to think of him,” McDevitt said. “It’s just scary to read about all these disgusting acts,” Nicole Niedermeier, a senior education major, said. “I went to Philadelphia Catholic schools all my life, so have my parents and basically all my relatives.” Although Niedermeier recalls having a relatively positive experience with the Catholic school system, she admits it was difficult to hear close family members speak about accused clergy members whom they were connected with in different ways. “It was weird, at a recent family party, everyone sat around talking about which priests in the grand jury report they knew,” Niedermeier said. It is evident that discussions of the grand jury report have occurred in various forums throughout the area. Whether it was a family party, a
DIANA ASHIJAN/A&E EDITOR
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul is the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
telephone call or a discussion about it at mass, opinions and disputes have been frequent. The abuse allegations have tested current clergy members more than ever before. Cabrini students agree that apologetic concern has been the tool many clergy members are using to handle the discussions. “I am sure that many good faithful people are upset and saddened by the disclosure of such deeds and horrified that they were carried out by priests…they do not know how to respond to it as I do not know how to respond
to such a lack of accountability,” Cabrini Chaplain Father Michael Bielecki said. Dealing with such a substantial problem will be quite a task for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Roman Catholic Church as a whole. It is noted that this sexual abuse problem has not just affected the Philadelphia area. “Such concealment not only happened in Philadelphia, of course, but has been publicly identified throughout dioceses in the United States and Canada over a period of the last 15
years,” Dr. Leonard Norman Primiano, associate professor of religious studies, said. The Philadelphia Inquirer also reported that Charles F. Gallagher, the Philadelphia prosecutor handling the sexual abuse cases, claimed there are many more allegations to come. If such an allegation turns out to be true, the loyalty of parishioners to the Church could grow even weaker. “Forgiveness of their immorality is needed by everyone, but that is obviously a tremendous challenge at this time in the face of such blatant hypocrisy,” Primiano said. There is no doubt that some members of the Church will chose to take another path and leave the Roman Catholic Church behind because of the disturbing allegations. A recurring theme, however, among many faithful believers is that the true Catholic Church is in the pews of the Church, not the altar. The initial faith is in God and not the institutional Church. “These people realize that one case is one too many, but not all priests are predators and many priests do good work in God’s vineyard,” Bielecki said.
Residents angry over CAC restraints Inside DENNIS VALERIO STAFF WRITER DEV722@CABRINI.EDU
Ever since the final days of last school year, students living in the CAC, or Cabrini Apartment Complex, have been fenced in with one entrance and exit due in part to the recent construction of West Residence Hall which, if all goes as planned, should be finished by next fall. The way that the fencing is set up has caused a majority of the students that reside in the apartments this school year a great deal of problems, some as early as when they first moved in this semester. A primary issue raised is parking problems on campus. “When moving into the apartments, the fences and gates were a huge inconvenience because we had to go around them and it was difficult,” Allison Sachs, a junior business major, said when asked if the fences around the apartments are a problem. “It was difficult and annoying to walk around them when carrying large things in such as TV’s, refrigerators etc.” Junior marketing major Becca
Sports
Tennis team update page 14
JESS WEBB/PHOTO EDITOR
There are three gates that block all access to the CAC making it difficult for residents to unload groceries and other things.
Gallagher also feels that the fences are a problem. “They are really frustrating. I hate it when I have to walk around the fences when I am carrying in my groceries,” she said. In addition to students having issues with carrying large or heavy objects in to their apartments, the fences seem to be causing problems with student
parking as well. Unlike last year, students that live in the apartment complex do not have the luxury of parking their cars right outside of the apartments due in part to the fences. Since construction on West Residence hall has started, it has taken away dozens of potential parking spots for students living at the apartments.
Where West Residence Hall now sits used to be the front parking area which contained a good number of parking spots that were available for students who lived in the apartment complex. As for the parking spots on the side of the apartments, they, too, are fenced off and are now being CAC restraints, page 3
Perspectives
Parking causes problems page 7