A.W. Richard Sipe died this week, on Wednesday August 8, at the age of 85. He was a tireless crusader for justice within the Catholic Church, a bold and pioneering researcher, and an ally–often an expert trial witness–for survivors of sexual abuse. If you have watched Spotlight (2015), The Keepers (2017), or Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012), you have heard his words or seen his face. A new documentary about his life and work is forthcoming soon, according to his obituary in the New York Times.
Richard was more force of conscience, humanity, and will than simply of nature. He was also a friend to me, and to my work, in a way I did not foresee. I met him first in 2013, when I wasn’t sure that I was writing a book yet: I was just trying to locate and interpret records about a deceased, lost priest named Gilles Leduc, whose life story had intertwined with the story of altar boy and Eagle Scout Charles Whitman, who became the UT Austin sniper of 1966. The more I learned, the more I saw how complex and evasive church systems had evolved (devolved, really) for burying “problem priests.” So many of the patterns identified in his lifelong research unfortunately applied to the man whose picture came into focus.
Richard discovered his life’s work with feet fully planted in Catholic education and tradition. He was a former Benedictine monk and priest who became a psychotherapist and eventually authored six books, including Sex, Priests, and Power: Anatomy of a Crisis; Living the Celibate Life: A Search for Models and Meaning; and a 25-year ethnographic study of sexual behavior among priests, titled A Secret World: Sexuality and the Search for Celibacy. He also co-authored, along with Thomas P. Doyle and Patrick J. Wall, a book titled Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church’s 2,000 Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse.
In the last few years, he turned to more deeply personal expression, publishing two books of poetry: I Confess (2016) and Courage at 3 AM (2017).
At every turn, Richard’s work communicated to survivors, “You are not crazy. You are not alone.” He touched hundreds if not thousands of lives–even of people he would never meet personally–because he was willing to engage subjects that institutions suppress or push away, the very discussions that lead to true transformation.
The May revelations of abuse in the Diocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul, followed by the removal of Archbishop McCarrick from Washington DC, and the any-day-now report of the Grand Jury investigation in Pennsylvania are only the latest cases that vindicate Richard’s research and validate his call to disrupt if not eradicate the culture of secrecy.
Until the very end, Richard was perpetually available: to listen, to stand up, to ask questions, and to speak out. His example will endure. We can keep learning from what he shared and honor his memory in work we carry forward.
I am so grateful to have known him even a little bit. With Richard, even a small while was life-changing.
And boy, I will miss him.
But a footnote to Richard Sipe’s work is that he helped in the work to obtain a $1.6 million wrongful death settlement in regard to James Chevedden. The case questioned the risk management judgment of the former Jesuit Provincial, Rev. Thomas Smolich, a Stanford MBA – who ordered the victim Chevedden to live indefinitely in the same building as the perp.
The case involved an alleged cowardly sex abuse act (and subsequent retaliation) by one Jesuit upon another Jesuit and the suspicious death of Chevedden a few years later. Chevedden was in a wheel chair at the time of the abuse.
Thank you for sharing this powerful story and example, again, of Richard’s impact. It is more than a footnote, for sure.
The Richard I know – Shedding light on a Trailblazer
I had a unique relationship with Richard from the first day I met him. I suppose many of us who were fortunate enough to be in the presence of this remarkable person can say the same.
On Sep 9, 2002 our relationship took on a life of its own. Richard had a way of getting you to hold yourself in high regard. We spent countless hours together at his home creating a vehicle for his message of love, transparency, and information on the internet.
It was on Sep 9, 2002 I offered to work on Richard Sipe dot com. His website kept growing and growing every-time we met at his home. Reports, Essays, Speeches, Interviews and Documents kept pouring out of Richard. As time progressed Richard extended space on his website to trailblazers such as Tom Doyle, Patrick Wall and Sr. Maureen Turlish so they too could get their message out on the internet.
A high point for me in our relationship was when Richard accepted my invitation to be the keynote speaker at the 2003 DignityUSA National Conference in Las Vegas. Dignity is the oldest and largest LGBTQ Catholic organization and it was started here in San Diego by another trailblazer. I was national president at the time. Richard’s speech garnered a lot of publicity, as one might guess, and a standing ovation.
His passion for truth and transparency was infectious. I was frequently inspired by Richard to make his website as informative and useful as possible. All these years later his website continues to be a source of information, hope and courage to many. Richard took great pleasure in looking at his visitor statistics which validated his efforts.
When the movie Spotlight hit the screens in 2015 it shed a bright light on the crisis in the Catholic Church. That movie also placed Richard in the spotlight because of his many years of research.
Whenever I was with Richard I knew I was in the presence of wisdom. I shall always cherish my relationship with Richard and continue to make his voice heard loud and clear.
~ Thank you Richard with Love, your friend Pat McArron