Springs men want apology for past sex abuse by priest

Not every Catholic is rushing out to welcome the pope.

Pope Benedict XVI is widely expected to discuss America's clergysex-abuse scandal, but it's not soon enough for the Murphy brothers, ofColorado Springs.

The Murphys hope to get a letter to Benedict demanding an apologyfor past sex abuse by a priest. John Murphy wrote to Pope John Paul IIduring Denver World Youth Day in 1993, but never got an answer.

"It's never going to go away," said Eddie Murphy, 59, this week. Hesays the late priest Leonard Abercrombie, a family friend, abused himand his two brothers when they were kids.

This week, Eddie Murphy was named the leader of a newly openedColorado Springs chapter of SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abusedby Priests. He says the abuse haunts his life and drove him from thechurch.

"Now I attend the church of north Cheyenne Canyon - I take a hike every Sunday in the mountains," he said.

The Colorado chapter of Dignity, an activist organization for gayCatholics, hasn't paid any attention to Benedict's upcoming visit, saidShari Miller, 69, who is on the outreach committee.

At recent board meetings, "It was never discussed," she said. "No one I know is going."

Miller added that she isn't hopeful the church's teaching thatdeclares homosexual behavior to be immoral would change soon. "It maytake 400 years," she said.

Another group is interested in Benedict - but looking four centuries the other way.

Members of the Society of St. Pius X are traditionalists who believethe Catholic Church erred in demoting the Latin Mass as formulatedabout 400 years ago.

They will be following Benedict's visit with interest, said Grider Lee, a member of St. Isidore the Farmer parish in Watkins.

That's because Benedict delighted disaffected traditionalists whenhe announced in 2007 that the Latin Mass would again be encouraged.

"There's a good feeling in our parish about the pope," Lee said."He's a conservative and took some steps John Paul didn't take - hefreed the Latin Mass."

torkelsonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5055