Archive for March, 2015
Women speak up about equality in the church from the heart of the Vatican / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful, Women, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on March 12, 2015
OK, I’m gobsmacked, as the Brits say (‘gobsmacked’: adjective, British, informal: utterly astonished; astounded). I spent four hours on International Women’s Day watching a Voices of Faith event ‘from the heart of the Vatican’ in which women shared stories ‘for a creative exchange of ideas from a female perspective.’ There were some amazing narratives.”
By Christine Schenk, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this article.
Archdiocese of St. Louis ordered to produce 20 years of documents on sexual abuse / St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on March 12, 2015
A judge has ordered the Archdiocese of St. Louis to produce two decades worth of internal documents on sexual abuse allegations.
“Thomas J. Prebil is only the second judge to attempt to compel the archdiocese to hand over such an extensive number of records.
“The order, released earlier this week (week of Mar. 9), is part of a civil lawsuit filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court involving the parents of a man from Florissant who sued the archdiocese over the suicide of their son …
“The documents are needed in order to show that the archdiocese had a pattern of reassigning problem priests, plaintiff lawyers argue.
“The records are also essential in proving that the archdiocese made such reassignments knowing they would almost certainly lead to further harm — the burden of proof plaintiff lawyers in Missouri need to meet in sexual abuse lawsuits involving priests such as (Bryan) Kuchar.”
By Lilly Fowler, St. Louis Post-Dispatch – Click here to read the rest of this story.
Court rules church can’t shield $60 million in abuse cases / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on March 10, 2015
In a blow to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in its ongoing bankruptcy, a federal appeals court on Monday (Mar. 9) put a $60 million cemetery trust fund back in play to potentially settle claims related to sexual abuse by priests.
“The ruling from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the church cannot use the First Amendment or a 1993 law aimed at protecting religious freedom to shield the funds.
“The court also said the judge who put the money off limits, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa, should have disclosed the fact his parents and other relatives are buried in a cemetery maintained by the trust fund. The court remanded the case to a different district judge.”
By Bruce Vielmetti and Annysa Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — Click here to read the rest of this story.
For women’s day, group takes a message to the Vatican / National Public Radio
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful, Women, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on March 9, 2015
Today (Mar. 8) is International Women’s Day, and the Vatican is opening its doors to a group of women from all over the world pressing for greater participation in the Catholic Church. Today’s event was inspired by Pope Francis’ statements that women should have a fuller role in the life of the church. NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli has the story.”
By Sylvia Poggioli, National Public Radio — Click here to listen to the rest of this story.
Women see themselves left out amid talk of change in Catholic Church / The New York Times
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful, Women, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on March 7, 2015
In the first two years of his papacy, Pope Francis has stirred great expectations for change among Roman Catholics who believe that the church has not kept pace with the social transformations of secular society.
“Nowhere are those hopes felt more keenly, perhaps, than among women, often the driving force behind local church communities, but who say that their voices remain marginalized.
“Though the pope has repeatedly cited the importance of women in the life of the church, critics say he has at times proved strikingly tone-deaf toward the sensitivities and needs of women (for example, describing five women he appointed to a committee as “the strawberries on the cake”).”
By Elisabetta Povoledo, The New York Times — Click here to read the rest of this story.
The Francis revolution
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on March 6, 2015
In only two years, Pope Francis has changed the face of Catholicism by radically reimagining how it presents itself to the world. From the moment he stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s (March 13, 2012), he has presented a different style of being pope and a new set of priorities for the church.
“The change in style was what first caught people’s attention. He rejected the usual papal finery of silks and firs and presented himself to the people of Rome in a simple white cassock. A simple greeting of “Good evening” were his first words, and before he blessed the crowd in St. Peter’s Square, he bowed his head and asked them to pray over him.
“This was quickly followed by his decisions not to live in the papal apartments but in Casa Santa Marta; to celebrate his first Mass as pope in St. Ann’s, the small parish church of Vatican City; and to celebrate Holy Thursday in a prison for young male and female offenders whose feet he washed.
“These early gestures of the pope garnered him worldwide attention, but more importantly, they were symbolic gestures that communicated his vision for the church. He realizes that the Gospel is preached not just in words, but in actions. As St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel always, use words when necessary.”
“The pope’s early actions were a direct assault on clericalism in the church by modeling what it means to be a good bishop, a good priest, a good Christian.”
By Thomas Reese, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this article.
U.S. priest tells Irish safeguarding meeting: Church is not haven for abusers / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on March 3, 2015
The Catholic church is “no longer a safe haven for child abusers,” said a top priest psychologist who advises the U.S. bishops on child sexual abuse. Msgr. Stephen Rossetti told hundreds of Irish delegates to the first national conference on safeguarding children that the Catholic church in the United States spent $43 million on child abuse prevention and education just last year …
“Rossetti, a professor at The Catholic University of America and a visiting professor at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, thanked Marie Collins*, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and a victim of clerical sex abuse, ‘and all those like you who have stood up and told your story. More than anything, this is what is turning the tide.’”
By Sarah MacDonald, Catholic News Service, in National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
*Marie Collins will be the featured speaker at the Voice of the Faithful 2015 National Assembly in Hartford, Connecticut, April 18.
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Voice of the Faithful
A lay movement for governance reform in the Roman Catholic Church, responding to the clergy sexual abuse scandal and supporting survivors.
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