Voice of the Faithful’s bimonthly news roundup highlighting
issues we face working together to Keep the Faith, Change the Church
March 3, 2017
TOP STORIES
Abuse victim quits Vatican Commission, citing ‘resistance’
“A high-profile member of a commission advising Pope Francis on ways to protect minors from sexual abuse by the clergy resigned from the panel on Wednesday Mar. 1, citing what she called ‘cultural resistance’(link is external) from the Vatican. Marie Collins, who was molested by a priest in Ireland when she was 13, expressed frustration over what she called reluctance among the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy to implement the commission’s recommendations — even those approved by the pope.” By Elisabetta Povoledo and Gaia Pianigiani (Story quotes Voice of the Faithful)
— Sole abuse survivor on a Vatican sex-abuse panel quits(link is external), By Lisa Wangsness, The Boston Globe (Story quotes Voice of the Faithful)
Pope quietly trims sanctions for sex abusers seeking mercy
“Pope Francis has quietly reduced sanctions against a handful of pedophile priests(link is external), applying his vision of a merciful church even to its worst offenders in ways that survivors of abuse and the pope’s own advisers question. One case has come back to haunt him: An Italian priest who received the pope’s clemency was later convicted by an Italian criminal court for his sex crimes against children as young as 12. The Rev. Mauro Inzoli is now facing a second church trial after new evidence emerged against him.” By Nicole Whitfield, Associated Press
— Survivors denounce handling of Peru abuse case(link is external), By Associated Press on Cruxnow.com
— Is Francis actually backsliding on punishing abuse?(link is external) By Michael Sean Winters, Cruxnow.com
‘Criminally negligent’: Catholic archbishops criticize church’s handling of abuse scandal
“Australia’s most senior Catholic leaders have conceded that the church’s handling of the child sexual abuse crisis was ‘hopelessly inadequate,’(link is external) had catastrophic consequences, and amounted to ‘criminal negligence,’ Five of Australia’s metropolitan archbishops appeared before the child abuse royal commission and were asked to explain how the church had allowed the abuse of at least 4,444 children between 1980 and 2015.” By Christopher Knaus, The Guardia
An opportunity for deep reform in the church
“‘Sad to admit, the evidence is clear that the church in Australia is sick to its institutional core(link is external). It has a nasty, though treatable cancer that is being fed by a pervasive clericalism’ … Australia might also become a test bed for what needs repair and how it can be done in the Catholic Church. The facts are friendly. Those reported in La Croix International by Frank Brennan on Feb 14 are staggering statistics. Some of them are new and some are have been in the public domain for some years.” By Peter Day, La Croix International
— The Catholic wrap-up at the Australian government’s abuse inquiry(link is external), By Frank Brennan, La Croix International
Cardinal Burke presides over trial investigating Guam archbishop
“Cardinal Raymond Burke, a church law expert and former head of the Vatican’s highest court, arrived in Guam Feb. 15 as the presiding judge in a church trial investigating allegations of sexual abuse(link is external) leveled against Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agana. The Vatican press office confirmed a ‘tribunal of the first instance’ was constituted by the Vatican Oct. 5 and its presiding judge is Cardinal Burke.” By Cindy Wooden, Catholic New Service, in National Catholic Reporter
Founder steps down while SNAP considers new directions
“In a matter of weeks, an extreme makeover changed the face of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP)(link is external). Gone is David Clohessy, its national director and the relentless force behind the group’s advocacy efforts. Gone is Barbara Blaine, its president and the former Catholic Worker … What remains, SNAP says, is its wide network of volunteer leaders who perform “the vast majority” of its work outside public view, as well as its longstanding commitment to survivors of sexual abuse.” By Brian Roewe, National Catholic Reporter
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