Archive for March, 2016
Kane: Three clergy leaders enabled predator friar / Philly.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on March 15, 2016
State prosecutors on Tuesday (Mar. 15) accused three former leaders of an Altoona-area (Pennsylvania) Franciscan order of enabling a friar to sexually abuse scores of children during years of work at a Catholic high school and in the community.
“The felony conspiracy and child endangerment charges against Giles A. Schinelli, 73, Robert J. D’Aversa, 69, and Anthony M. Criscitelli, 61, mark the second prong of a longstanding investigation by the Attorney General’s office into clergy sex abuse in the Altoona-Johnstown area.
“The three men served in succession as Minister Provincial of the Franciscan Friars, Third Order Regulars, Province of the Immaculate Conception based in Hollidaysburg, and were the supervisors for Brother Stephen Baker, who abused possitbly more than 100 children in Ohio and central Pennsylvania before committing suicide three years ago.
“Prosecutors said Baker was enabled by leaders who ‘engaged in efforts to protect the image and reputation of the Franciscan Friars rather than act in the best interests of the children served by their organization to whom they owed a duty of care,’ according to a presentment made public Tuesday (Mar. 15).”
By Maria Panaritis, Philly.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Pope Francis’ pontificate is now three years old
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on March 14, 2016
Pope Francis marked the third anniversary of his pontificate yesterday (Mar. 13). Here are a few perspectives from media stories over the weekend and today.
- At 3-year mark, Francis is a both/and pope in an either/or world, By John L. Allen Jr., Cruxnow.com
- Francis stresses mercy on his 3rd anniversary, By Associated Press on Cruxnow.com
- Pope Francis: Year four begins, By Robert Mickens, National Catholic Reporter
- Mercy, globetrotting and our global home: recapping Francis’ third year as pope, By National Catholic Reporter
- 12 of Pope Francis’ most inspiring quotes from the past 3 years, By Carol Kuruvilla, Huffington Post
- The seven major changes made by Pope Francis, By RomeReports.com
Vatican event calls for boosting women’s roles in the world and the Church / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on March 10, 2016
A recent Vatican conference heard strong calls for female empowerment in a world in which gender discrimination remains widespread, and in which, as one speaker put it, there are places where sexual violence and social bias is so pervasive that ‘it’s better to be a cow than a girl.’
“As part of that picture, speakers pressed the Catholic Church to live up to its own talk about the importance of women, moving from an ‘occasional’ to a ‘habitual’ commitment to seeing women in leadership positions, even if not as ordained priests.
“The gathering took place in the Casina Pio IV, home of the Pontifical Academy for Science, and marked the third consecutive year the Vatican staged an event in conjunction with the United Nations-sponsored International Women’s Day.
There were no Vatican officials in the lineup, but rather Catholic leaders and activists from around the world.”
By Ines San Martin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
No statute of limitations for abuse / York Daily Record
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on March 10, 2016
The allegations contained in a grand jury report about child sexual abuse in the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese are beyond appalling. They are horrifying.
“For decades, the grand jury found, priests in the diocese sexually abused hundreds of children. Two bishops covered up the abuse, transferring priests accused of abusing children to other parishes. The grand jury found a shocking, and documented, pattern of criminal behavior that is simply unimaginable. That an institution that claims moral authority would behave so immorally is more than unsettling. It is terrifying.
“And yet, that wasn’t even the worst of the grand jury report. The worst is that, despite the evidence, authorities and victims had no recourse. The statute of limitations has expired for prosecuting any of the cases and for victims to seek recompense in civil court.”
By the York Daily Record Editorial Board on YDR.com — Click here to read the rest of this editorial.
They Knew and They Let It Happen
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful on March 10, 2016
Many have already read this excellent Inquirer editorial but I wanted to post just in case someone missed it. Click here to read: “Time can’t heal sexual abuse by priests,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board, March 8, 2016
Excerpt: The grand jury recommended lifting the statute of limitations for sexual offenses against children and suspending the statute of limitations to file sexual abuse civil suits. Those are good steps. Some crimes are too heinous to ever avoid prosecution, or deny victims restitution.
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Pope’s abuse accountability tribunal going nowhere fast / Associated Press
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 9, 2016
Pope Francis’ proposed Vatican tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for pedophile priests is going nowhere fast.
“Despite fresh focus from the Oscar-winning film ‘Spotlight’ on how Catholic bishops protected priests who raped children, Francis’ most significant sex abuse-related initiative to date has stalled. It’s a victim of a premature roll-out, unresolved legal and administrative questions and resistance both inside and outside of the Holy See, church officials and canon lawyers say.
“The surprise proposal made headlines when it was announced on June 10 as the first major initiative of Francis’ sex abuse advisory commission. A Vatican communique said Francis and his nine cardinal advisers had unanimously agreed to create a new judicial section within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to handle ‘abuse of office’ cases against bishops accused of failing to protect their flocks from pedophiles.
“But the proposal immediately raised red flags to canon lawyers and Vatican officials alike.”
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Will Catholics Ever Get Angry About Cover Ups?
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful on March 7, 2016
Click here to read: “Law officers, clergy forged ties stymieing prosecutions,” by Caitlin McCabe and Maria Panaritis, The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 6, 2016
Editor’s Note:
Having faith and holding leadership accountable should not be mutually exclusive. We can have faith in God and send Bishops to jail. We can be Catholic and refuse to tolerate the cover up of clergy child sex abuse. How many Saints died for their faith? The least we can do is speak up to protect our Catholic faith from its morally and criminally corrupt leaders. Or, we can sit in Church and put our blinders on. After all, everyone makes mistakes. Just so long as a priest doesn’t make a child rape “mistake” with their own grandson or granddaughter.
This is where I’d like to insert a string of expletives but I’ll continue to use the vocabulary the Immaculate Heart Sisters taught me. Pope Francis…
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Has Archdiocese Put Community at Serious Risk – Again?
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful on March 4, 2016
Those who have followed Catholics4Change over the past few years are aware of my efforts concerning child safety and the St John Vianney Treatment Center located in Downingtown, Pa. In December 2012, I sat in my car in the Bishop Shanahan parking lot while school was in session, waiting for my then 13-year-old daughter to exit the building. I noticed a man come from the side of the school building, walk near the front doors of the school and then make his way past my car. His presence alarmed me and I followed him and watched him cross the street and return to Vianney. A patient from the treatment center found on the property of a school.
Some of the most notorious abusers from the Philadelphia Archdiocese and throughout the U.S., have cycled through this treatment center. A quick Google search in 2012 and I found that a priest who…
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‘Payout chart’ for molstation: Secret archive held chilling details of clergy abuse / The Washington Post
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 4, 2016
A Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania announced Thursday (Mar. 3) that it will post the names online of priests credibly accused of sexually abusing children, a decision that came two days after a dramatic grand jury report alleged a decades-long cover-up.
“Advocates hope that the grand jury report, which was announced just two days after the movie ‘Spotlight’ focused national attention on child sexual abuse by winning the Oscar for Best Picture, will lead to new legislation permitting more prosecutions of abusive priests and those who supervised them …
“‘These findings are both staggering and sobering. Over many years hundreds of children have fallen victim to child predators wrapped in the authority and integrity of an honorable faith,’ the grand jury wrote.”
By Michelle Boorstein and Julle Zauzmer, The Washington Post — Click here to read the rest of this story.
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