Answer: Contact Mr. Gray’s office immediately by calling 740-937-2054 and report the incident. If you signed a mandate, Mr. Gray will intervene to defend your rights. If you did not sign a mandate, his office will work with you to find a solution.
Answer: Absolutely not. In fact, Philip Gray tells us that he believes that it is part of our baptismal call to act. When someone in the church with great authority has acted in such a harmful manner and is ineffective at bringing souls to Christ, it is our right (and our obligation) as the laity, to act. Pope Francis has given us a process and canon law protects our right to pursue this process. As long as we do what Christ teaches and pursue the process given to us by the Church, it is neither sinful, nor it a violation of Church teaching.
Answer: Scandal is sometimes confused with notoriety, which is not the case here. Scandal has to do with an attitude or behavior that leads someone to sin. The Cathecism for the Catholic Church outlines this in articles 2284-2287 (found here).
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2287 Anyone who uses the power at his disposal in such a way that it leads others to do wrong becomes guilty of scandal and responsible for the evil that he has directly or indirectly encouraged. “Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!”89
Answer: Mr. Gray does not send the mandates to the Bishop. He does not send them to any third party. He sends them only to the Holy See in a sealed box. It is not the usual protocol for Rome to send material to the Bishop. It is not impossible that the Bishop will see the mandates, it is improbable and would take a considerable effort for him to obtain the names. That being said, if you are truly fearful, you should sign the mandate and have it authenticated, and write “CONFIDENTIAL” across the top of the mandate, and a brief explanation of why you are afraid written on the back. Mr. Gray will provide a copy to Rome with names and street addresses blacked out. Rome will probably not consider these to be valid mandates, but they will be valid evidence of the fear caused by the Bishop in his exercise of ministry. In this way, you may not be counted as a mandator, but you would be a witness to the harm of the Bishop and your confidential mandate would provide that evidence.
Answer: NO. You have no obligation to admit that you signed a mandate. They are intended to authorize Mr. Gray to pursue a petition to the Pope to remove Bishop Olson. They cannot be used to determine if you are suitable for pastoral ministries in your parish, or to otherwise judge your character. You have a right to sign a mandate and ask for Bishop Olson’s removal without fear of reprisal (Canons 212§3, 213, 215, 216, 221)