DOLORES ATWOOD…A VICTIM’S PROGRESS

But as I said earlier, institutional preservation, important as it is can become a stumbling block to justice. I am a Church Unity campaigner who also believes strongly that the church must refrain from shooting its wounded generals, of which Archbishop Burke count as one. But to say, as Archbishop Alaba Job, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, has been quoted as saying that the accusations against Bishop Burke are “unsubstantiated sexual allegation” which are “unfounded” and “has created confusion not only among the lay faithful but also the entire people of Nigeria,” is to stand the truth on its head. Not even Father Burke said that!

I have not met Dolores Atwood, the Nigerian woman at the centre of a child sex abuse controversy that led to the recent resignation of Archbishop Richard Burke of the Benin Archdiocese. But I cannot but salute her courage. You have got to be courageous to go public with that kind of story for several reasons.

For starters you have the cynicism of the general public to deal with. This was obvious from the way a sizeable percentage of commentators on virtually all on-line forums took her story with tonnes and tonnes of salt.

Next, you have the church establishment locally and internationally to deal with. These establishments have powerful machines at their disposal which they are never reluctant to use in furtherance of perceived institutional interest and against opposition. Anyone who has followed this issue with even passing interest will recall that it was to the Saint Patrick’s Missionary Society in Ireland, to which the cleric is affiliated, that Mrs Atwood first reported in December 2008. She only went public in October 2009, when the wheel of justice had snailed for ten months and didn’t seem anywhere near destination. And to illustrate how these things really work, it has emerged that the society actually interviewed the Bishop as early as January 2009, but mysteriously had yet tot complete investigation at the time Dolores went public. But easily the most brazen evidence of institutional support for “one of our own” came through a statement credited to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria during the week. I shall return to it presently.

It also takes tremendous courage to brace up for all the potential fall-outs of such a disclosure on her reputation and esteem within her family - nuclear and extended. But most important of all, it takes courage to, having done what she felt convicted to do, go on with your life without allowing the weight of yesterday to drag you down today. That is my fascination with the story and my admiration for the heroine of the story.
All available information leave one in no doubt that since settling down in Canada with her husband after a stint in Thailand, Dolores Atwood has simply been unstoppable these past twelve years. Indeed she has become a prominent member of her Yarmouth Town community in the Nova Scotia province of Canada.

Mrs Atwood serves on such town council committees as the Yarmouth Municipal Planning Advisory Committee, Tri-County Housing Authority and the Yarmouth Town and Municipal Heritage Committee. She is a public advocate for the Cancer Society and is a one-time president of the Business and Professional Women's Club both in Yarmouth Town and in the province of Nova Scotia. She once represented Nova Scotia on the board of CUSO Atlantic. The list of her local, provincial and national organisations also include the Children’s Aid Society. Prior to settling in Canada, she worked as and as a Child Welfare Officer in Thailand where she had responsibility for raising funds to establish rural childcare centres.

Dolores Atwood has not just been active on the social scene, she’s been involved in politics as well. She has her sight on service in public governance which she hopes to kick-start through membership of the provincial Legislative Assembly through the Liberal Party of which she’s a prominent member. She explained her motivation in these words : " Since coming to Yarmouth, I have want to make a difference, so I chose to roll up my sleeves and get involved…All three of my children were born here and I want to make sure that they have an opportunity to stay here and raise their families here."
Of her vision, she told an audience of electors recently : “From my experience, the challenges that Yarmouth is facing are similar to those in many rural communities around the world. They include the erosion of critical transportation infrastructure, out migration of youth and skilled trades people and a lack of support for small and medium sized business…Governments at all levels need to focus on growing rural economies by investing in critical infrastructure, encouraging industry and business development and cutting back on bureaucratic waste. The people of Yarmouth are looking for more than just the status quo from their elected officials. I will represent a new and bold way of thinking and will be a strong voice for Yarmouth”. She didn’t get the Liberal Party ticket to run this time, but, there sure is no stopping this woman of conviction and courage.

I have gone through all of these, dear reader, to demonstrate to someone out there with a baggage from the past trying to keep you down. You can say no! You can take a cue from this Nigerian graduate of International Relations, sexually abused as a 14-year-old by a priest she said she saw as a pair of available listening ears during a traumatic period when her parents’ marriage was going trying times. Like Dolores Atwood, you can pick up the pieces of your life and match forward to victory.

But as I said earlier, institutional preservation, important as it is can become a stumbling block to justice. I am a Church Unity campaigner who also believes strongly that the church must refrain from shooting its wounded generals, of which Archbishop Burke count as one. But to say, as Archbishop Alaba Job, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, has been quoted as saying that the accusations against Bishop Burke are “unsubstantiated sexual allegation” which are “unfounded” and “has created confusion not only among the lay faithful but also the entire people of Nigeria,” is to stand the truth on its head. Not even Father Burke said that!

His public statement was clear: Although “I was recently officially informed by the Society Leader of St Patrick's Missionary Society that, following their investigations in Nigeria, no corroborating evidence was found to support the allegations of child sexual abuse made against me”; but, “I have been unfaithful to my oath of celibacy. I am deeply ashamed of my behaviour…I take full responsibility for my actions. I wish to express my deepest sorrow for my inappropriate, irresponsible and repeatedly sinful conduct.”

Did Bishop Job and his colleagues read this or were they misquoted?