RELIGION 201 – BROTHER CHUCK NEUMANN

Ex-Archbishop Ryan High president charged with theft

By Michael Matza

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

What began as an investigation into alleged financial fraud quickly snowballed, leading to criminal charges today that the former president of Archbishop Ryan High School, a Franciscan friar, sexually abused at least three students, stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in Archdiocesan and Franciscan funds, and gave at least $53,000 to a particular student with whom he had an affair fueled by drug-and-alcohol abuse, Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham said at a news conference.

An arrest warrant was issued for Rev. Charles Newman, 57, who became president of the high school in July 2002 and was fired in November 2003 following a forensic audit that revealed some of the thefts, Abraham said. LINK

Holy habits Batman!

Well what do I say to this after 11 years of Catholic School? What should I say after attending Archbishop Ryan High School for Boys? (When I attended Ryan it was still boys side and girls side). What should I think knowing that Brother “Chuck” was my sophomore year Religion teacher??? That’s right I had Brother Charles as my RELIGION teacher! Nice huh?

A few years ago another one of Ryan’s priests, Father Dave was found dead under circumstances that were not in line with his priestly vows. Father Dave was my JUDO teacher.

A lay teacher Mr. Kevin Rankin another Ryan staff member, was convicted of drug offenses and sent off to prison. He was known as “Crankin Rankin” while I went to school there.

Brother Chuck was like any other High School teacher. He wasn’t too hard or too easy. I remember actually liking his class because he made the subject interesting. Religion could be very boring for high school boys who weren’t thinking about becoming priests. He was well liked by the students he taught including me.

For the record I got kicked out at the end of Junior year. I chose to transfer rather than finish up at Ryan. All in all it was still a good school and I managed to get a good education there. I have no problem with the school per say.

I remember my years at Ryan fondly. It was a pretty good school and I had some great times there. The staff always seemed to have the best interest of the kids at heart. But clearly looking back, there were problems within the administration. Problems that should have been confronted, addressed and solved. They were not. Instead they were hidden away in the attic like a crazy aunt. They were denied, covered up, mishandled. And we know now that the problems were not isolated to Ryan H.S. These problems were widespread throughout the Catholic Church. Innocent kids suffered and in this case died because of it.

That in my book ladies and gentlemen, is the very essence of sin.

I’m not a Holy Roller by any stretch of the imagination. There are many other Bloggers who are way better at addressing religious topics and issues than I am. Big White Hat for example. But I am close enough to this story to chime in.

Being raised Catholic is pretty unique. There is a lot of emphasis placed on faith. A lot of issues that a young mind may not be able to wrap it arms around, a lot of things that an inquisitive youth wants to know, but are unknowable are often chalked up to faith. You need to have strong faith, after all, all will be made clear in the end. God works in mysterious ways. That’s powerful stuff. Especially when those delivering that message are authority figures. When the authority figures who control that message are unscrupulous, we have a toxic situation that can become a cauldron of immorality and abuse. That’s what has happened within the Catholic Church.

Now I don’t want to hear all of the defenders of Mother Church come crawling out of the woodwork shouting “How dare you!” Save it. The time for protest has long come and gone. The Church has admitted complicity in these crimes and it is a matter of record. I have zero sympathy for an organization that has become corrupted by the very devil they warn against. Because that’s exactly what has happened.

The Church has not only enabled these crimes, they have not only abetted these crimes, they have not only denied these crimes, they have covered them up and facilitated their continuation in many cases. And for the record lets be clear: we are talking about heinous crimes against CHILDREN. You think I’m pissed? You bet.

Week after week I trudged off to the 12:15 or the 10:30 mass. I had short stints as a Choir Boy and an Alter Boy. I sat there and listened to the sermons. I understood the messages and like most Catholics I felt guilty when I did something in my life that was in violation of Gods law. I went to Confession and confessed my sins. And I repented for them. I was truly sorry each and every time. I still am.

But that’s not the message I get from Mother Church when it comes to this subject. Bad priests who commit despicable acts were covered up for a generation by the same people who made me, at nine years old feel guilty for throwing eggs at another kid or something equally trivial. The hypocrisy of it all is galling. Priests whose conduct required immediate prosecution were transferred, retired, sent away.

What’s worse the victims were further abused by the Church by their strict legal, clinical handling of the cases. Little EMPATHY was extended toward the victims. Not much COMPASSION, or UNDERSTANDING, or JUSTICE, for those who had their FAITH SHATTERED by these monsters. Instead we saw PRIDE, VANITY, FALSE WITNESS, take their place as the Church tried to make it all go away.

And so a generation of Catholics like me have grown to see the religion they were taught crumble down in a slurry of corruption. We are the disillusioned who no longer fill the pews on Sunday. We are the “Cafeteria Catholics” who pick and choose what we believe from a long list of mixed messages. We are the next generation who aren’t necessarily raising their kids in the Church because we don’t want them exposed to such poor examples and hypocritical behavior.

Ironically we were some of her best students.