Nine members of the group Call to Action stood outside the Cathedral of the Risen Christ Friday to call attention to Lincoln Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz’s refusal to participate in an annual sex abuse audit.

But they were upstaged by more than 100 local Catholics who came together on less than an hour’s notice to show support for the bishop.

Call to Action, a group calling for reforms in the Catholic Church, had petitions signed by more than 1,000 people nationwide asking Bruskewitz to comply with the annual study of whether local dioceses are compliant with church rules to prevent and respond to sex abuse.

But in about a day and a half, the group on the other side collected more than 1,400 signatures on a petition praising the bishop and thanking him for his service.

Rachel Pokora, president of Call to Action-Nebraska, had announced a prayer service for Friday afternoon outside the Catholic Chancery, but the group’s leaders decided to switch to a morning press conference after learning of a counter-demonstration planned by the bishop’s supporters.

Still, Mary Quintero, an organizer of the supporter group, was able to get 116 adults and children to pray and sing while the Call to Action people were talking.

Just as Pokora was starting to speak to reporters, the supporters, many dressed in red, walked by singing the hymn “Ave Maria.”

The Call to Action group joined in the singing for a few moments of unexpected togetherness.

Despite the greater numbers on the other side, Pokora said she believes Call to Action represents the majority of Catholics nationwide who want bishops to fully comply with the annual sex abuse study.  

“We are the church, and it is important that the voices of the faithful who are concerned about the children of the diocese are heard,” she said.

Bruskewitz has been identified as the only bishop of a Catholic diocese who declined to participate in the audits.

Bruskewitz has said the Lincoln Diocese is in full compliance with all civil and church laws regarding abuse of minors. The audit is not mandatory, and other bishops have upheld his right to opt out.

“There’s no requirement to do something that isn’t a law,” he said Friday. “If it were a law, we would obey it immediately, of course.”

Nevertheless, the non-participation raises questions, said John Krejci, a Call to Action member from Lincoln. “We have no guarantee that the children of this diocese are protected,” he said.

The counter-demonstrators, by contrast, said they supported  Bruskewitz’s decision and believe safeguards against abuse are working.

“We trust our bishop,” Quintero said. “He’s prayerful, he’s thoughtful, he’s vigilant. … We felt it was a great time to say thank you to the bishop for his faithfulness to the church and for the great job that he does.”

Asked about a case this week in which a seminary student at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography, Quintero said the fact he was identified and apprehended shows the procedures in the Lincoln Diocese are working.  That seminary is not under the jurisdiction of the Lincoln Diocese, but complies with its policies, she said.

The Call to Action members had planned to deliver the petitions to the bishop’s office, but several police officers were on hand to prevent them from crossing onto church property. Krejci said they would deliver them by mail or a delivery service.

“We were told that if we set foot on church property, we would be arrested,” Pokora said.

Friday afternoon, about 100 supporters gathered again outside the Chancery.  Many were still signing petitions, including a number of children who added signatures to the document expressing “our fervent support” for Bruskewitz.

The bishop came out and accepted the petitions, saying, “You are all very kind, more than kind.”

“We love our bishop,” Quintero said.

“I can see that,” Bruskewitz responded.

He asked them to pray for Call to Action members, that they return to the true Catholic faith. Bruskewitz considers the group anti-Catholic, although its members say they are faithful to the church’s teachings.

Doug Vandervort, who headed up the supporters’ petition campaign, noted that signatures came from people in Lincoln and several other states and were collected in 31 hours. Call to Action’s 1,000 signatures were collected over several months, he said.

Dan Daley, national co-director of Call to Action from Chicago, spoke at the morning news conference. Bishops in other dioceses said they could be trusted to prevent child abuse and deal with offenders, but abuse occurred and in some cases was covered up, he said.    

“Never again should the bishops be trusted when they say ‘Trust me’ on matters like this. That is why they (the U.S. bishops) formed the National Lay Review Board” and asked all bishops to participate in the annual audit, he said.

A local Catholic, Jack Sugrue, was among the bishop’s supporters.  

“We moved here from Dallas because of Bishop Bruskewitz, because of his dedication to practicing the faith faithfully,” he said.

Sugrue said he was not concerned about the bishop’s non-participation in the audit because the Lincoln Diocese has policies in place for preventing abuse.

“We haven’t suffered the problems other dioceses have.  He hasn’t taken a hands-off approach.”

Reach Bob Reeves at 473-7212 or breeves@journalstar.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.