Archive for February 16th, 2016

Church lifts ban on Indian priest convicted of U.S. sexual assault / CBS News

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on February 16, 2016

The Roman Catholic church in southern India has lifted the suspension of a priest convicted last year of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the United States more than a decade ago, a spokesman said Saturday (Feb. 13).

“The suspension of the Rev. Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul was lifted last month after the bishop of the Ootacamund Diocese in India’s Tamil Nadu state consulted with church authorities at the Vatican, said the Rev. Sebastian Selvanathan, a spokesman for the diocese.

“Bishop Arulappan Amalraj of Ootacamund had referred Jeyapaul’s case to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the suspension was lifted on the church body’s advice, Selvanathan said.

“‘After Jeyapaul’s release from the United States and his return to India, this matter was referred to Rome, and according to the guidelines of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the suspension against Jeyapaul was removed,’ Selvanathan said.

By CBS News — Click here to read the rest of this story.

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Abuse survivor on Vatican committee frustrated at Roman Curia / Catholic Herald

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on February 16, 2016

Marie Collins said the Curia has shown ‘great resistance’ to proposals made by the the Vatican’s Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The Curia is blocking improvements in the handling of abuse cases, according to a member of the Vatican’s Commission for the Protection of Minors.

“Marie Collins, who was abused when she was 13 by the chaplain at Dublin’s Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin in 1960, has been a member of the abuse commission for two years.

“In an interview with the Irish Times, she has expressed her frustration that little is being done by the Curia to push through proposals made by the commission, despite Pope Francis’s support for action.

“A Vatican tribunal was set up last year to hold bishops to account on the handling of abuse cases, but Collins says it’s implementation has been slow to materialize.”

By David V. Barrett, Catholic Herald — Click here to read the rest of this story.

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Papal commission: Bishops must report sex abuse charges / Cruxnow.com

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on February 16, 2016

A commission created by Pope Francis to advise him in the fight against child sexual abuse has reiterated that Catholic bishops have ‘a moral and ethical responsibility’ to report suspected abuse to civil authorities.

“The statement comes amid controversy over a Vatican training course for new Catholic bishops around the world held in September 2015, in which French Monsignor Tony Anatrella, a psychologist known for his views on homosexuality and ‘gender theory,’ told bishops they had no obligation to report abuse charges to law enforcement.

“Anatrella argued that the decision to report should be up to victims and their families, and that while bishops have the right to inform police and other public authorities, they are not required to do so under Church law.

“However, in a strongly worded statement Monday (Feb. 15), the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, a body created by Pope Francis in 2014 and led by Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, insisted that Catholic officials should make such reports.”

By Crux Staff on Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.

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