Posts Tagged accountability
Voice of the Faithful publishes 2023 diocesan financial and governance transparency reports
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Catholic Church Finances, church reform, financial transparency, Voice of the Faithful on December 19, 2023
December 19, 2023
Voice of the Faithful, a Catholic Lay Apostolate committed to promoting transparency in Church operations, has published its 2023 diocesan financial and governance transparency reports. This year marks the seventh year VOTF has reviewed all USCCB dioceses for their online financial transparency and the second year VOTF has studied their online governance transparency, as reflected by lay involvement in Diocesan Finance Councils. The overall results of both studies continue to be positive, report authors said, but much could be improved.
VOTF’s 2023 diocesan financial and governance transparency reviews of all 176 dioceses* comprising the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was conducted during the summer of 2023 by independent reviewers. The reports are “Measuring and Ranking Diocesan Online Financial Transparency: 2023 Report,” and “Lay Involvement in Church Governance Through the Diocesan Finance Council: 2023 Report.” These and all previous VOTF reports on diocesan online financial and governance transparency can be read by clicking here.
The 2023 financial transparency report showed that the number of dioceses posting current audited financial reports increased only incrementally from 115 last year to 116 this year. Posting current audited financial statements is the hallmark of diocesan financial transparency,” said Margaret Roylance, VOTF trustee and Finance Working Group chair.
The report also showed that a new high of 10 U.S. dioceses received a score of 100%, but despite this significant improvement in high-scoring dioceses, the overall average U.S. diocesan transparency score increased only 1%, from 70% in 2022 to 71% in 2023.
“The gradual increase in financial transparency scores over time,” the report said, “does not reflect gradual progress by each individual diocese, but rather significantly increased scores on the part of some dioceses and almost equal decreases in scores of others.” In 2023, the five dioceses losing the most points were responsible for a total loss of 158 points, which nearly erased the gain of 185 points by the five most improved dioceses.
Authors of both reports this year noted this phenomenon. Between 2022 and 2023, an increasing number of dioceses scored both within the passing range of 60%-100% and within the low performing range of 1%-20%.
“High transparency dioceses tend to increase their scores over time, reflecting a commitment to transparency,” The governance transparency report said. “Other dioceses make no progress or fall backward. It appears that the leadership of these lower scoring dioceses have decided that sharing financial or governance information with lay members of their dioceses is not a priority. The VOTF Governance review is a detailed examination of diocesan financial governance which is one aspect of diocesan financial transparency. It is, therefore, not surprising that similar trends may be observed in both studies,” the governance report said.
The ten highest scoring dioceses in VOTF’s financial transparency report, each of whom received the maximum score of 100%, are Bellville, Illinois; Charleston, South Carolina; Erie, Pittsburgh, Scranton and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania; Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas; Lexington, Kentucky; Orlando, Florida; and Rochester, New York. Also noteworthy among the next highest scoring dioceses was Youngstown, which not only scored 96% in 2023, but also gained 24 points over its 2022 score of 72%. As pointed out in previous transparency studies, size and financial resources do not appear to be key for achieving financial transparency.
The dioceses with the most improved scores from 2022 to 2023 are Helena, Montana, 30% to 70%; Spokane, Washington, 52% to 92%; Fairbanks, Alaska, 35% to 70%; Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama, 57% to 92%; and Springfield, Massachusetts, 25% to 60%. All these dioceses posted audited financial statements this year for the first time since VOTF began these studies in 2017.
The lowest scoring diocese are Steubenville, Ohio, 22%; Reno, Nevada, 20%; Tulsa, Oklahoma, 20%; Shreveport, Louisiana, 19%; and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, 17%. None of these dioceses posted audited financial statements in 2023.
VOTF’s 2023 diocesan financial transparency report authors made the following recommendations:
- VOTF encourages Catholics whose dioceses do not post audited financial reports to communicate their concerns to parish and diocesan leadership, and if leadership says you must request the information, do so.
- VOTF encourages Catholics who cannot find any useful financial information on their diocesan websites, including information about the Diocesan Finance Council, to communicate their concerns to parish and diocesan leadership.
- VOTF encourages Catholics whose dioceses do post audited financial statements to use VOTF’s online guide, “What to Look for When Reviewing Diocesan Financial Statements.”
The objective for VOTF’s governance transparency review was to determine diocesan compliance with Canon Law relating to DFCs, based on information displayed on diocesan websites. VOTF is particularly interested in DFCs because of the importance of lay membership. Under Canon Law, DFC members have duties of “consent” and “consult.” DFC members also are to be “competent” in matters, for example, of finance, law and real estate. These are competencies that few members of the clergy possess, making lay membership vital.
Also, Canon 1277 requires consent from DFCs for bishops to pay “extraordinary” expenses. “I could easily argue that secret settlement payments to victims of clergy sexual abuse are ‘extraordinary’ and that, if bishops had obtained consent from their DFCs, the scandal of child sex abuse would have been discovered much sooner,” said Margaret Roylance, VOTF trustee and Finance Working Group chair.
This year, the governance transparency review saw a 60% increase in the number of dioceses receiving passing scores, 29 dioceses in 2023 compared to 18 in 2022, but the 2023 overall average score was 34% compared to 31% in 2022. “In our opinion,” the governance transparency report’s authors concluded, “evidence of compliance with Canon Law by the Diocesan Finance Councils remains disappointingly low,” even with the increase in the number of dioceses receiving passing scores.
For VOTF’s 2023 governance transparency review, the six top-scoring dioceses are Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, 100%; Lexington, Kentucky, 100%; Rochester, New York, 100%; Memphis, Tennessee, 95%; Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington, 95%; and Youngstown, Ohio, 95%. Among the lowest scoring dioceses are Shreveport, Louisiana, 0%; Lubbock, Texas, 5%; and 33 dioceses tied at 7%.
VOTF’s 2023 report authors emphasized again this year, as they have every year these reviews have been conducted, that, “if the Church had been transparent about payments made to silence victims of clergy sexual abuse, the horror of clergy sexual abuse, although not prevented, would have been reported, not covered up, abusers would have been called to account for their crimes and victims of serial abusers would have been protected.”
*The dioceses of Anchorage and Juneau merged in 2022, so the total number of dioceses in the USCCB went from 177 in 2022 to 176 in 2023.
Voice of the Faithful®: Voice of the Faithful’s® mission is to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the Faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church. More information is at www.votf.org.
A cardinal is convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in a major Vatican financial trial / Associated Pres
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, financial transparency, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on December 18, 2023
The trial focused on the Vatican secretariat of state’s 350 million euro investment in developing a former Harrod’s warehouse into luxury apartments. Prosecutors alleged Vatican monsignors and brokers fleeced the Holy See of tens of millions of euros in fees and commissions and then extorted the Holy See for 15 million euros to cede control of the building.
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press
“A Vatican tribunal on Saturday convicted a cardinal of embezzlement and sentenced him to 5½ years in prison in one of several verdicts handed down in a complicated financial trial that aired the city state’s dirty laundry and tested its justice system.
“Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the first cardinal ever prosecuted by the Vatican criminal court, was absolved of several other charges and his nine co-defendants received a mixed outcome of some guilty verdicts and many acquittals of the nearly 50 charges brought against them during a 2½ year trial.
“Becciu’s lawyer, Fabio Viglione, said he respected the sentence but would appeal.
“Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi said the outcome ‘showed we were correct.'”
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press — Read more …
Voice of the Faithful Focus News Roundup, Dec. 15, 2023
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful, VOTF Focus News Roundup on December 14, 2023
Dec. 15, 2023
TOP STORIES
Catholic school, Augustinians settle sex abuse lawsuit for $2M; activists file complaint against Chicagoland dioceses
“Anti-abuse activists lodged a Vatican complaint Thursday (Nov. 30) in response to a $2 million lawsuit settled by a New Lenox Catholic school and the Augustinian religious order, alleging that the ‘actions and inaction’ by Chicagoland Catholic leaders in handling the accused priest is endangering kids. Former Providence Catholic High School student Robert Krankvich filed a lawsuit in April 2018 alleging the school’s longtime principal and president, the Rev. Richard McGrath, repeatedly raped and abused him. Krankvich was between 13 and 15 when he was abused in the school’s gym and wrestling room in the mid-1990s, the lawsuit alleged.” By Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, on news.yahoo.com
‘The devil was in that building’: New Orleans church orphanages’ dark secrets: Survivors of institutions run by Catholic diocese recall litany of sexual abuse as bankruptcy process keeps documents hidden
This is the final installment of a three-part series exploring how the archdiocese of New Orleans’s bankruptcy stands apart from other cases of its kind. The first installment ran on Wednesday 29 November 2023, and the second installment ran on Friday 1 December.
“Call her Sheila. She doesn’t want her name used because of court testimony she has given as a state social worker which helped put men who abused their families in jail. She’s retired now, but still a rescuer by nature. On a recent afternoon she went back to Madonna Manor, the Catholic orphanage in a Spanish colonial revival building, now shuttered, several miles across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. ‘A reverent place,’ she sighed, ‘but it’s also a crime scene.’” By Jason Berry, The Guardian
Pope meets Council of Cardinals to discuss Church’s feminine dimension
“As the Pope announced on 30 November, during an audience with the International Theological Commission, the Council of Cardinals is focusing its reflections on the ‘feminine dimension of the Church.’ ‘The Church is woman,’ said Pope Francis on that occasion. ‘If we do not understand what woman is or what the theology of womanhood is, we will never understand what the Church is.’ He also described the ‘masculinizing’ of the Church as a ‘great sin,’ which has yet to be resolved. The Pope appealed to a distinction proposed by Jesuit theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, who described a ‘Petrine’ or ministerial principle, and a ‘Marian’ or mystical principle.” By Vatican News
- Pope, Council of Cardinals discussed the role of women in the church, By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service, in National Catholic Reporter
Diocese of Sacramento filing for bankruptcy in new year amid hundreds of sexual abuse allegations, lawsuits
“The Diocese of Sacramento announced Saturday (Dec.9) that it will file Chapter 11 bankruptcy next year following hundreds of sexual abuse allegations and lawsuits. ‘It is now clear to me that this is the only way available to me to resolve these claims as fairly as possible,”’ said Bishop Jaime Soto in a statement. ‘There are many victim-survivors awaiting compensation for the reprehensible sins committed against them.’” By Jeannie Nguyen, ABC-TV10 News
TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
When can a pope fire a bishop?
“Pope Francis’ recent moves against two prominent conservative American churchmen, Cardinal Raymond Burke and Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland, raise questions about the authority of the pope to fire or remove a bishop. Both men have made clear their disagreement with Francis’ policies. Most recently, Burke said in a panel discussion in Rome as the Synod on Synodality got underway that the global gathering of bishops and laypeople at the Vatican risked ‘confusion, error and division’ among the faithful. In May, Strickland went so far as to accuse the pope in a tweet of ‘undermining the Deposit of Faith’ — the body of scripture and tradition that make up Catholic belief.” By Thomas Reese, Religion News Service, The Salt Lake Star Tribune
FOR A SYNODAL CHURCH: COMMUNION, PARTICIPATION AND MISSION
Council to ask Pope to authorize studies on key synod topics
“The council of the Synod of Bishops will ask Pope Francis to authorize studies on the need to update canon law, revise the rules for priestly formation, deepen a theological reflection on the diaconate — including the possibility of ordaining women deacons — and consider revising a document that provides norms for the relationship of a bishop with members of religious orders in his diocese. “These are matters of great importance, some of which need to be considered at the level of the whole church and in collaboration with the dicasteries of the Roman Curia,” said a statement from the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod.” By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
To understand Rome’s Synod of Bishops, look to Australia
“Greeting the crowds in St. Peter’s Square after being elected as the first pontiff from the Global South, the Argentine-born Pope Francis joked that it seemed the cardinals had gone ‘almost to the ends of the earth’ to find him. It appears the Vatican’s office for the Synod of Bishops opted for a similar approach when looking to shape Francis’ high stakes summit on the future of the Catholic Church. While less than 20% of Australia is Catholic, its church played an outsized role in shaping the global synod process.” By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
Essay raises important questions about Pope Francis’ synodal process
“Theologian John Cavadini, director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, penned an important article about the synthesis document that summed up the deliberations at the recently concluded Synod of Bishops in Rome. Unlike some of the recent commentaries I have seen, Cavadini’s raises important questions about the document and does so in a respectful and thoughtful way … Cavadini’s focus is on the ecclesiology of the document and, specifically, the way synodality constitutes an ongoing part of the reception of the 1962-65 Second Vatican Council and its teaching, specifically in Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church.” By Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
POPE FRANCIS
Francis, Strickland & Burke: the pope’s response to U.S. Catholic conservatism
“The year-long break between the first and second assemblies of the Synod on Synodality began with Pope Francis disciplining two of his most outspoken critics. First, he removed Bishop Joseph Strickland as head of the Tyler, Texas, diocese; days later, he reportedly ousted Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke from his Vatican-subsidized apartment and took away the salary Burke was receiving as a retired cardinal. As a procedural matter, the Strickland decision was a straightforward instance of following the measures the Church provides—in this case, an apostolic visitation—concerning the right of the people of God to be governed by the pastor of the diocese, and for ensuring the respect for all those, including clergy, under a diocesan bishop’s jurisdiction.” By Massimo Faggioli. Commonweal
Pope asks theologians to help ‘de-masculinize’ the church
“Asking pardon for speaking plainly, Pope Francis told members of the International Theological Commission that ‘one of the great sins we have had is ‘masculinizing’ the church,’ which also can be seen by the fact that only five of the commission members are women. The pope, who appoints the 28 members of the commission, said the church needs to make more progress in balancing such bodies because ‘women have a capacity for theological reflection that is different from what we men have.’” By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, in National Catholic Reporter
CARDINALS
Cardinal Gregory discusses synodality, Latin Mass at the Catholic University of America
“At The Catholic University of America to discuss the need for a diverse and welcoming Church, Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory fielded a wide range of audience questions while also reflecting on his own faith journey from childhood. The Dec. 6 talk, ‘Celebrating Diversity,’ on the eve of the 40th anniversary of Cardinal Gregory’s ordination as an auxiliary bishop of Chicago, touted the work of the Archdiocese of Washington’s Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach and its Catholic Civil Dialogue Initiative.” By Kurt Jensen, Our Sunday Visitor
Ex-cardinal McCarrick’s sex assault case in Wisconsin appears to be dead
“A Wisconsin prosecutor has declined to challenge a doctor’s assessment that disgraced ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick is incompetent to stand trial, making it more likely the only remaining criminal charge against McCarrick will be dismissed. McCarrick, 93, was charged with sexual assault in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor, for allegedly fondling an 18-year-old family friend at a Wisconsin lake in the 1970s. If convicted, he would have faced up to nine months in prison and a $10,000 fine.” By Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post
WOMEN’S VOICES
Pope Francis writes a letter to four German women – and surprises almost everyone
“It’s no secret that the German Catholic Church’s reform project, known as the ‘Synodal Path, is a thorn in Pope Francis’ side. He has criticized the process, which has brought forward ideas such as blessings for same-sex couples and the election of bishops, numerous times. But his latest comments on the project came as a surprise for just about everyone, except for four conservative German Catholic women … All of them are former members of the Synodal Path assemblies, who publicly announced their departure from the project last spring.” By Renardo Schlegelmilch, National Catholic Reporter
Exclusive: Synod felt ‘sorrow’ over church’s treatment of women, says Bishop Flores
“The bishops taking part in Pope Francis’ recent major Vatican summit on the future of the Catholic Church wanted to express ‘a certain amount of sorrow’ over how women have been treated by the global faith institution, said one of the American prelates who took part in the gathering … Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, said the delegates wanted to show recognition of ‘how the church has not, in her leadership or in the way it works … appreciated the sacrifice and [that] in so many parts of the world [what] continues to make the church viable is the work of women.’” By Joshua J. McElwee and Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
CHURCH FINANCES
Vatican trial, now ending, a remembrance of things we thought were past
“… All this comes to mind in light of an essay Melloni published Monday (Dec. 4), which echoes a point Magister first made last May: To wit, that a new fundamental law Pope Francis issued for the Vatican City State on May 13, 2023, contains an absolutely unprecedented claim about the pontiff’s temporal authority. The pope, the document asserts, is ‘called by virtue of the munus petrinum [Petrine ministry] to exercise sovereign powers over the Vatican City State.’” By John L. Allen, Jr., Cruxnow.com
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
Sex abuse survivors rarely disclose until adulthood. Kentucky law should reflect that.
“Twenty years ago, my partners and I achieved a historic settlement against the Archdiocese of Louisville on behalf of 243 men and women sexually abused during their childhood. In the months following the April 2002 filing of that lawsuit, these brave survivors stood tall before the cameras and shared their stories to an audience who initially refused to accept that these horrors were true … Because the Archdiocese of Louisville settled but did not admit liability, our community was left to see if our justice system could prevent further horrific abuses of children.” By Willam F. McMurry, Courier Journal
CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE
Court documents reveal Father James Jackson said he was sexually abused as a child
“New court documents reveal that Traditional Latin Mass priest Father James Jackson, who pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge in June, told authorities he was sexually abused as a child. Additionally, a statement from his sister filed with the court said that Jackson engaged in a life of drugs, alcohol, and ‘sexual wildness’ as a young person. Jackson signed a plea agreement in June admitting to a single charge of receipt of child pornography, while prosecutors moved to dismiss a second count of possession of child pornography.” By Joe Bukuras, Catholic News Agency
- Catholic priest sentenced to federal prison on child pornography charge, By U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Rhode Island
- Ex-Providence priest sentenced to prison for ‘egregious’ crimes. What to know. By Katie Mulvaney, Providence Journal
CALIFORNIA
Bishop explains ‘difficult decision’ for Diocese of Sacramento to file for bankruptcy
“Amid hundreds of lawsuits accusing clergy of sexual abuse, the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento announced on Saturday (dec. it intends to file for bankruptcy. Bishop Jaime Soto said he believes it is the most transparent, fair and respectful way to address all the claims.” By Lysée Mitri, KCRA-TV3 News
ILLINOIS
Advocat4es for clergy sex abuse survivors want priest added to all Chicago-area dioceses’ predator clergy lists
“After being secretive for years, the Augustinian Catholic order has promised to publish early in 2024 a list of priests credibly accused of abuse. On Thursday (Nov. 30), an advocacy group called for the Rev. Richard J. McGrath, a priest accused of child sex abuse, to also be placed on predator priest lists kept by all Chicago-area dioceses where he worked. At a news conference outside the Hyde Park friary where McGrath once lived, clergy sex abuse survivor advocates demanded that his name also be added to the lists of the Chicago, Joliet and Rockford dioceses.” By David Struett, Chicago Sun-Times
He says a priest sexually abused him. When he told the diocese, he was traumatized again.
“The memories of what happened to him more than 60 years ago are somewhat hazy. But the shock, trauma and emotional scars are as clear today as they were then. He was 6 years old when he says he was sexually assaulted by a group of men that included Father Patrick Brennan, a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria. The abuse decades ago has shaped the rest of his life in grueling ways. Isolation from other children, alcoholism, suicide attempts, marital problems and emotional trauma embedded in his psyche.” By J.J. Bullock, Peoria Journal Star
KENTUCKY
Sexual predator was associate pastor at my Catholic school and parish
“A Louisville Courier-Journal Op Ed piece ran the other day about how Kentucky law does not really allow victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests to file lawsuits because of statute of limitations requirements. Many of the victims do not report the abuse until well into the 40’s or older. I noticed in the opinion piece that the Louisville Archdiocese settled a lawsuit over this very subject back in 2003. The Archdiocese admitted no liability, but a list of sexual predators who had served in Kentucky was published. I was shocked to find out that I knew one of those sexual predators — Father John Elder.” By DailyKOS.com
LOUISIANA
‘He controlled my life’: New Orleans archdiocese ignored woman’s claims before priest’s abrupt dismissal
“A Louisiana Catholic priest’s sudden dismissal from the church where he had been a popular pastor for the last several years has set off a fresh scandal in the embattled New Orleans archdiocese, the second-oldest in the US. As they tell it, local church leaders rescinded Anthony Odiong’s invitation to serve as a cleric in the region due to unspecified ‘concerns … about [his] ministry prior’ to his arrival in the archdiocese – ‘and quite possibly during his time’ there. As a result, the New Orleans archbishop, Gregory Aymond, told Odiong’s bishop in Nigeria to recall him to his home diocese ‘as soon as possible to address these concerns,’ officials said in a statement.” By Ramon Antonio Vargas, The Guardian
Trial date set for Lawrence Hecker, ex-New Orleans pries accused of raping teenager
“An Orleans Parish judge on Thursday (Dec. 8) set a March 25 trial date for Lawrence Hecker, the 92-year-old retired New Orleans priest accused of raping and kidnapping a teenager nearly 50 years ago. Hecker, who served in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, allegedly confessed in 1999 to church leaders that he had molested several teenagers over a span of 15 years, according to an investigation The Guardian published in June. The archdiocese allowed him to stay in the church.” By Jillian Kramer, Nola.com
Sex abuse lawsuit against Diocese of Lafayette goes to Louisiana Supreme Court
“The case of alleged sexual abuse against the Diocese of Lafayette and Saint Martin de Tours Catholic Church will be heard by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The court announced it would take the case and ordered the District Court and the Court of Appeal to send up the records of the case, in a release Tuesday (Dec.5) … The lawsuit originally filed in 2018 alleges the Rev. Kenneth Morvant abused Doug Bienvenu and other altar boys by giving them alcohol and using the ‘Power of God’ to prey upon them. Bienvenu, the only plaintiff named in the suit, said he was nine years old when the alleged abuse started.’ By Scott Yoshonis, KLFY-TV10 News
- Priests on the move: tracking the alarming transfers of Louisiana predator priests, By Adam Horowitz, adamhorowitzlaw.com
- Louisiana Supreme Court will settle ‘lookback’ law with Acadiana clergy sex abuse cases, By KADN-TV15 News
MASSACHUSETTS
Will a new day dawn for adult victims of clergy abuse?
“Early this year, a retired phys ed teacher left her ranch house in Easthampton and drove down the interstate to tell her story of clergy abuse. It wasn’t Nancy A. Dunn’s first time before the Springfield Diocese’s review board, which meets in the red-brick Maguire Pastoral Center to hear allegations of clergy misconduct. But it was her last. The board later informed Dunn she needn’t have come back. Why? The diocese had already written her a six-figure check, she says she was told, to compensate her for a priest’s misconduct in the 1990s.” By Larry Parnass, MassLive.com
- Therapist sees ‘two betrayals’ in Springfield diocese’s response to client, By Larry Parnass, MassLive.com
NEW YORK.
Hundreds of CVA cases in limbo due to flaw in Child Victims Act
“A potential flaw in the legislation that created New York’s Child Victims Act has led to legal turmoil in hundreds of cases filed by alleged sexual abuse victims in the Court of Claims, where the state attorney general’s office has waged a fierce effort to have many of the lawsuits that were filed against New York agencies dismissed. A central focus of the state’s litigation strategy has been to assert that in the Court of Claims — where litigation targeting state-affiliated individuals or entities is adjudicated — the rules require a claimant to provide the date and location of when and where an incident is alleged to have taken place.” By Brendan J. Lyons, Albany Times Union
Rockville Centre Diocese offers ‘best, final proposal, for sexual abuse survivors
“The Diocese of Rockville Centre has made its ‘best and final proposal’ for victims of sexual abuse. The offer announced on Tuesday (Dec. 5) totals $200 million in compensation, Diocese spokesperson Sean Dolan said, adding that the amended plan is the ‘most efficient and most effective means to immediately begin compensating all eligible survivors.’” By Jerry Barmash, Rockville Centre Patch
New lawsuit shows church has work to do in protecting adults from clergy abuse
“Legal action filed against a New York state diocese shows the Catholic Church in the U.S. has significant work to do in safeguarding adults from clerical abuse. The Diocese of Rochester, New York, announced on its news website, the Catholic Courier, that it had been served Nov. 16 with a civil lawsuit involving an adult and Father Matthew Jones. The action alleges that the 41-year-old Father Jones, then pastor of All Saints Parish in Corning, New York had sexually abused male parishioner in his 20s who had sought pastoral counseling.” By Gina Christian, OSV News, on angelusnews.com
WASHINGTON, D.C.
‘Accept responsibility’: survivor behind lawsuit against Washington Archdiocese wants closure
“A Maryland man behind a class action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Washington said the assault he endured as a child by a priest caused decades of substance abuse, shame and depression. ‘From age 15 until I was 40 … I used alcohol to cope with the pain, but all that did was turn me into an alcoholic,’ said the man identified in court filings under the pseudonym ‘Richard Roe.’ Roe is one of three men named in the filing, which asserts the archdiocese did little to prevent and protect them from abuse when they were children in the church.” By Tracee Wilkins, NBC-TV4 News
WISCONSIN
Milwaukee response to clergy complaint raises questions
“While Pope Francis has urged diocesan bishops to take more seriously the canonical discipline of clerics, the outgoing chairman of the U.S. bishops’ canonical affairs committee has not taken steps to address canonically reports of public cohabitation by a senior-ranking official in his archdiocese. A spokesperson for Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee told The Pillar that the archdiocese has ‘spoken with’ judicial vicar Fr. Mark Payne, who hired as a parish schoolteacher last year a layperson with whom he had maintained a public romantic relationship, and with whom he has shared a condo for decades.” By The Pillar
AUSTRALIA
Father David Lancini to appear in court on child sex abuse charges
“A Catholic priest with decades of service to church communities is facing allegations he abused a boy in historical sex crimes going back decades. Queensland Police allege Father David Lancini, a priest from Townsville in the state’s north, abused a boy under the age of 14 between 1969 and 1971. Fr Lancini now faces eight counts of indecent treatment of a boy under 14 and he will appear in Townsville Magistrates Court for the first time on December 5.” By Duncan Evans, news.com.au
‘It represents difficult stories’: survivors of clergy abuse ahead of George Pell’s funeral
“Victim-survivors of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy gathered outside St Mary’s Cathedral as the coffin of Cardinal George Pell returned to the Sydney church on Wednesday (Dec. 6) ahead of his funeral on Thursday. Since Monday, survivors and their supporters have been tying ribbons to the fence of the cathedral in memory of those victims who could not be there in person. Clergy abuse survivor Paul Auchettl has been leading a group tying ribbons to the church gates to represent the voices of those ‘who are gone, who are suffering, who have been harmed’ by child sexual abuse, he said.” By The Guardian on news.yahoo.com
BELGIUM
In Belgium, sexual abuse in Catholic Church sparks debate over state funding
“In Belgium, a recent documentary on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has caused shock and soul-searching, reigniting a debate about the way religion is funded in the country. Unlike in neighboring France, the Belgian state finances officially recognized religions, with representatives of the Catholic Church receiving the best pay. But the abuse scandal has seen many people demand a change in the rules. The justice ministry has asked the Church to remove members of the clergy guilty of sexual abuse from the list of those paid by the state, and a parliamentary inquiry is underway.” Our correspondent reports. By France24.com
Belgian priest seeking justice for sex abuse victims
“Since the broadcast of a shocking documentary about abuse in the Belgian Catholic Church awakened buried traumas, former priest Rik Deville has been overwhelmed by heart-breaking stories. One victim, an 86-year-old man, called Deville from his car where he had locked himself, in floods of tears. He finally told someone of the horrific abuse he suffered that even his nearest and dearest didn’t know. Deville devotes his life to providing support to victims of sexual abuse in the Church, carefully reading each victim’s story and taking their many phone calls.” By Matthieu Demeestere, Barron’s
CANADA
Avondale priest charged with sexual assault against an adult
“A Roman Catholic priest in Avondale has been charged with sexual assault against an adult. Thomas Offong, 49, was charged following an investigation by the RCMP in Holyrood, according to a press release issued by the police Friday (Dec. 1). He is scheduled to appear at provincial court in St. John’s on Feb. 6. Police provided no other information about Offong, the circumstances or the alleged victim, and told CBC News they wouldn’t comment further as the matter is now before the courts.” By Alex Kennedy, CBC News
P.E.I. priest sentenced to five years after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation
“A retired Roman Catholic priest on P.E.I. has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a teenage boy in the 1990s. Maurice Joseph Praught, 70, entered the plea in a Charlottetown courtroom Tuesday morning. He was arrested in 2022 following a joint investigation by Summerside police and the RCMP after the Diocese of Charlottetown reported the allegations. He was initially charged with six counts of sexual exploitation and four counts of sexual assault, but the remainder of those charges have been stayed or withdrawn.” By CBC News
369 people come forward with abuse claims against Archdiocese of St. John’s in bankruptcy case
“The final tally is in — 369 people have come forward claiming they were abused physically or sexually by people under the watch of the Archdiocese of St. John’s, including the Christian Brothers at Mount Cashel. Archbishop Peter Hundt delivered the message to parishioners during Roman Catholic masses on Sunday, saying each of those claims are now being evaluated by an independent claims officer to ‘provide both a determination of liability and a value for each claim.’ It’s the latest update in the archdiocese’s insolvency proceedings, which began when the organization filed for creditor protection on Dec. 22, 2021.” By Ryan Cooke and Alex Kennedy, CBC News
GREAT BRITAIN, SCOTLAND AND WALES
English priest sentenced after conviction for sexual abuse of a child
“Father Reginald Dunkling, a priest of the Diocese of Westminster in England, was sentenced Dec. 1 for a non-recent sexual abuse of a child. The Wood Green Crown Court imposed a 12-month community order, with additional requirements. The diocese said Dunkling, now 61, withdrew from ministry in May 2020, and since that time has had no role in public ministry. The church issued a statement saying that following his conviction, the priest does not, and will not, have any role in public ministry.” By Charles Collins, Cruxnow.com
IRELAND & NORTHERN IRELAND
Former priest, 72, pleads guilty to raft of sex abuse charges against young boy as he appears in court
“A former priest has pleaded guilty to a raft of sex abuse charges against a young boy. Eamonn Crossan appeared at Donegal Circuit Court facing a total of 96 sex-related charges. The 72-year-old was due to stand trial before a judge and jury. However, just moments before a jury was due to be sworn in for his trial, Crossan’s legal team informed Judge John Aylmer there could be progress in the case. After a short adjournment, it was indicated that Crossan was pleading guilty to a total of nine sample charges ranging from indecent assault to sexual assault.” By Stephen Maguire, The Irish Sun
Voice of the Faithful Focus News Roundup
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Focus news roundup, Voice of the Faithful, VOTF Focus News Roundup on November 29, 2023
Dec. 1, 2023
TOP STORIES
‘Excuse me, Your Eminence, she has not finished speaking
“Without doubt, the best line to emanate from the synod on synodality is ‘Excuse me, Your Eminence, she has not finished speaking.’ That sums up the synod and the state of the Catholic Church’s attitude toward change. In October, hundreds of bishops, joined by lay men and women, priests, deacons, religious sisters and brothers met for nearly a month in Rome for the synod on synodality. At its end, the synod released a synthesis report brimming with the hope and the promise that the church would be a more listening church. Some 54 women voted at the synod. Back home, women are still ignored.” By Phyllis Zagano, National Catholic Reporter
Pope Francis intervenes in German Synodal Way, says it threatens Church unity
“Pope Francis has expressed deep reservations about the direction of the Catholic Church in Germany, warning that concrete steps currently being taken ‘threaten’ to undermine unity with the universal Church. The pope made his criticisms in a letter to four German Catholic laywomen that was published in the German newspaper Welt on Nov. 21. ‘There are indeed numerous steps being taken by significant segments of this local Church that threaten to steer it increasingly away from the universal Church’s common path,’ the pope wrote.” By Jonathan Liedl, Catholic News Agency
Pope Francis meets with French abuse victims
“Pope Francis met Tuesday (Nov. 28) with a group of clerical sexual abuse victims from the French diocese of Nantes, a public appointment Francis kept despite a lingering bacterial infection that is causing inflammation of the lungs that has caused him to curtail his schedule significantly over the past few days and cancel a trip to Dubai for the COP-28 climate change summit, Dec. 1-3. Tuesday’s encounter between the pope and sex abuse survivors took place in the Casa Santa Marta guesthouse where Francis has lived throughout his pontificate. It followed a round of meetings the victims had with officials at the headquarters of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM).” By Cruxnow.com staff
In the U.S., Black survivors are nearly invisible in the Catholic clergy sexual abuse crisis
“As Charles Richardson gradually lost his eyesight to complications from diabetes, certain childhood memories haunted him even more. The Catholic priest appeared vividly in his mind’s eye — the one who promised him a spot on a travel basketball team, took him out for burgers and helped him with homework. The one, Richardson alleges, who sexually assaulted him for more than a year. ‘I’ve been seeing him a lot lately,’ Richardson said during a recent interview, dabbing tears from behind dark glasses.” By Tiffany Stanley and Lea Skene, Associated Press
TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
‘You’re only as sick as your secrets’: New Orleans clergy abuse bankruptcy is uniquely acrimonious
This is the first installment of a three-part series exploring how the archdiocese of New Orleans’s bankruptcy stands apart from other cases of its kind.
“The church is using legal tactics to prevent testimony from survivors and spur expensive inquiries into its critics … Many secondary schools, notably eastern college preps like Exeter Academy and Horace Mann in Manhattan, have weathered long-ago abuse cases. As Trahant’s school ties eroded, he took on a steadily increasing number of Catholic clergy abuse clients. He also lost his faith. Yet he never imagined the blowback that would come after the New Orleans archdiocese, facing many abuse lawsuits, sought federal bankruptcy protection in 2020.” By Jason Berry and Roman Antonio Vargas, The Guardian
FOR A SYNODAL CHURCH: COMMUNION, PARTICIPATION AND MISSION
Peru’s Cardinal Barreto on what the Amazon synod and Latin America can teach the entire church
“Cardinal Pedro Barreto, 79, the archbishop of Huancayo in the Central Andes mountains of Peru, rejoiced when the synthesis document of the first session of the Synod on Synodality recognized the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon as ‘an example of synodality,’ that is of ‘a mode of being church that integrates communion, mission and participation.’ In an exclusive interview with America’s Vatican correspondent on Oct. 30, Cardinal Barreto revealed that he had given a brief intervention at the synod on the synodal process that has developed in the church of the Amazon region over the past 10 years.” By Gerard O’Connell, America: The Jesuit Review
Franciscan bishop implements Jesuit pope’s synodal vision in Australia
“As more than 200 delegates participating in the first-ever synod for the Australian Diocese of Parramatta filed out of their opening Mass, they were discreetly given flyers by those questioning both the meeting and the bishop who had called it. Since his installation as the head of the diocese in the western suburbs of Sydney in 2016, Bishop Vincent Long has ruffled more than a few feathers for his support of LGBTQ Catholics, his advocacy in support of the country’s recent referendum on Indigenous representation, and his own personal testimony of being a victim of clergy sexual abuse.” By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
At the synod in Rome: waiting to find out where to go
“The synod did not turn out exactly the way anyone expected. Thanks be to God. Due to some good luck in scheduling, I was in Rome for the conclusion of the first general assembly of the Synod on Synodality, at the end of October. We had just finished an America Media pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome, spending time reflecting on the spirituality of both St. Francis and St. Ignatius and how they have informed the ministry of Pope Francis.” By Sam Sawyer, S.J., America: The Jesuit Review
POPE FRANCIS
Acting to end abuse in the Church is ‘non-negotiable,’ pope says
“The Catholic Church and all its members must end silence about clerical sexual abuse and ensure cases are no longer covered up, Pope Francis said, adding it is ‘non-negotiable.’ Meeting Nov. 18 with Italian diocesan and regional representatives of safeguarding programs and listening centers, the pope said it also is essential to ‘pursue the ascertainment of the truth and the restoration of justice in the ecclesial community, including in those cases where certain behaviors are not considered crimes by the law of the state, but are under canon law.’” By Catholic News Service
CARDINALS
Pope Francis to remove Cardinal Burke’s Vatican apartment and salary, sources say
“Pope Francis has punished one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by yanking his right to a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary in the second such radical action against a conservative American prelate this month, according to two people briefed on the measures. Francis told a meeting of the heads of Vatican offices last week that he was moving against Burke, because he was a source of ‘disunity’ in the church, said one of the participants at the Nov. 20 meeting.” By Associated Press in National Catholic Reporter
- Reports say Pope Francis is evicting U.S. cardinal from his vacation home, By Jason Horowitz and Ruth Graham, The New York Times
BISHOPS
U.S. bishops meeting shows united front on mission but no clear synod action plan
“For two days, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met in plenary assembly in Baltimore advancing key issues related to liturgy, living out the faith, including in the public square, and retooling the conference to better serve the church’s mission. However, the bishops’ Nov. 13-16 meeting, which took place nearly three weeks following the conclusion of the global Synod on Synodality, also concluded without a common game plan for how bishops could get consultative feedback from their local parishes with respect to the synod’s ‘halftime’ report before it reconvenes in 11 months.” By Peter Jesserer Smith, Detroit Catholic
- U.S. bishops’ meeting is a big snooze, By Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
Bishop Flores to U.S. bishops: the synod offers us ‘Catholic way’ to grapple with real-world problems
“Some might say that contentious questions are raised. I can say that many difficult issues were raised, but they were not discussed in a contentious way. This in itself is remarkable. At its most basic, the term synodality describes a properly ecclesial style that prioritizes regular conversational interactions among the people of God as decisions are made for the sake of the mission the Lord gave to the church. The ‘Conversation in the Spirit’ method utilized during our local gatherings and at the Synod of Bishops this last October is one effective way to promote this aim.” By Daniel E. Flores, America: The Jesuit Review
PRIESTS
A Catholic crisis: why priests in Ireland are fading into history and not being replaced
“In Ireland, where religion has played such a big place in its past, for better or for worse, fewer and fewer people are attending mass on Sunday, and even less are willing to commit themselves to the sanctified life of a priest. This, among other reasons, is leading these men of God to work well past retirement age while still trying to cover the work of churches all over the country. According to a survey conducted by the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) last year, 15% of priests are over 75 and still working, over 25% are aged between 60–75, and just 2.5% of serving Catholic priests in Ireland, meanwhile, are under 40.” By Rory Elliot Armstrong, Euro News
LAITY & THE CHURCH
Former president Mary McAleese criticizes Catholic bishops for ‘not listening’ to lay people
“Former president Mary McAleese has criticized the report published after the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican, saying many Catholic faithful are ‘disappointed and wounded.’ The retired professor of law is one of a number of academics and campaigners who have written to the Vatican criticizing Catholic bishops for ‘not listening,’ accusing them of a failure to ‘let go of their privileges’ and urging them to bring laity into the decision-making process.” By Sarah Mac Donald, Irish Independent
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
Maryland Child Victims Act gets legal challenge from Washington, D.C., church
“The Archdiocese of Washington D.C. is using an arcane legal maneuver to challenge the constitutionality of the Maryland Child Victims Act. The tactic uses a 2017 law that may have granted some immunity to churches for sexual abuse cases after victims turned 38. If the court accepts the statute, it could cause issues for future lawsuits brought by survivors. The Washington Archdiocese is facing a class action suit in Prince George’s County claiming that three boys were abused by clergy and employees.” By Scott Maucione, WYPR National Public Radio
French commission wants to remove statute of limitations for sexual violence against children
“A French commission examining sexual violence against children called Friday (Nov. 17) for removing all time limits on the prosecution of people suspected of raping or sexually assaulting minors. The Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence against Children, which is known by its French acronym CIIVISE, also recommended defining sexual abuse of children as a separate offense under the law when it happens within families.” By Associated Press in News Advocate
Statement from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland on Thursday’s Maine law court proceeding
“The diocese’s opposition to the 2021 retroactive change in the statute of limitations law, and the appeal to the Law Court, in no way reflects a desire to minimize the devastating effects of past sexual abuse by Church representatives. Before the law was changed, there were already no limitations on any claims after 1988. The diocese is committed to thoroughly investigating any report of abuse brought forth and to providing extensive support services to those who come forward with any allegation of abuse. It is our belief that this law is unconstitutional and will significantly impact the diocese’s ability to serve the Catholic community of Maine, including those most vulnerable.” By Diocese of Portland
ARIZONA
Arizona judge rules church leaders are not responsible for reporting sexual abuse
“Should religious leaders be held responsible for disclosing to law enforcement knowledge that church members are committing acts of sexual abuse? On Friday (Nov. 17), Arizona Judge Timothy Dickerson answered no. Dickerson’s end-of-week ruling dismissed a high-profile child sexual abuse lawsuit against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the basis of the state’s clergy-penitent privilege. Clergy-penitent privilege is a legal privilege that protects information from being disclosed in criminal proceedings, such as in a deposition, if that information was obtained during a confidential conversation between clergy and penitent.” By Baptist News Global
LOUISIANA
Sex abuse survivors fear hundreds of claims filed could unravel
“Sex abuse survivors say they fear hundreds of claims filed could be at risk of unraveling. Although legislation was passed offering a window giving survivors more time to sue, they say the clock is ticking for the Louisiana Supreme Court to rule if the legislation is constitutional. ‘I was an altar boy,’ Mike B. said. ‘Deacon George Brignac abused me in many different ways in many different places, anywhere between 50 to 80 different instances. For years, I couldn’t walk into a church without having an anxiety attack.’” By Aubry Killion, WDSU-TV6 News
MASSACHUSETTS
Western Mass. actor depicts clergy abuse survivor who rejects church settlement – like he did
“A play that opens Thursday (Nov. 30) at CitySpace in Easthampton, Massachusetts, tells the story of a man who was abused by a priest when he was a boy. ‘Unreconciled’ is based on the experience of western Massachusetts actor and playwright Jay Sefton, who co-wrote it with another survivor, Mark Basquill. James Barry directs the play. Sefton and others said the priest allegedly abused boys who played the part of Jesus in school plays.” By New England Public Media
MICHIGAN
Here’s where the Michigan AG’s sweeping Catholic clergy sex abuse investigation stands
“The Michigan Attorney General’s office announced earlier this month that after five years since the investigation into sexual abuse within the Catholic Church began, the office has wrapped up all active cases against clergy members with many incidents dating back decades. A total of 11 Catholic priests were charged in the statewide investigation. Back in 2018, the Department of Attorney General executed search warrants for all of Michigan’s dioceses, reporting that they seized 220 boxes of documents and more than 3.5 million digital documents.” By Anna Liz Nichols, Michigan Advance, on gandernewsroom.com
NEW YORK.
A final wave of sex-abuse lawsuits as one-year window closes in New York
“In the year since a one-time window opened in New York State allowing people to file sex-abuse lawsuits even after the statute of limitations had expired, more than 3,000 civil suits have been filed. Before the deadline on Thanksgiving, a flurry of attention-grabbing suits were filed against politicians — like former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams, the mayor of New York — and celebrities, like Sean Combs, the producer and music mogul, who had just settled a separate suit filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan accusing him of rape.” By Hurubie Meko, The New York Times
Cost to settle sex abuse claims will be ‘painful’ for diocesan community
“This is the first installment of a three-part series looking into the Diocese of Buffalo’s recent suggested contribution to settle hundreds of childhood sexual abuse cases, how some devout Catholics responded to the news, and what the future might look like once the bankruptcy case in completed … The Diocese of Buffalo sent shock waves through the Catholic community last month, when it suggested $100 million to settle hundreds of childhood sexual abuse cases. The suggested contribution, which is exclusive of any insurance proceeds, would ‘need to be funded by monetary contributions sourced from across our Catholic community, including from the Diocese, parishes, and other affiliated Catholic entities,’ the Diocese said in a brief announcement posted on its website.” By Daniel Telvock and Luke Moretti, WVIB-TV4
New lawsuits accuse nine priests, two religious brothers of sexual contact
“Lawsuits filed under New York State’s Adult Survivors Act allege sexual contact by nine Catholic priests and two religious brothers in Western New York.” By WKBW-TV7 News
7 News I-Team files brief in Buffalo Diocese sex abuse documents case
“The 7 News I-Team joined an amici curiae brief Tuesday (Nov. 14) in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo’s lawsuit against the State Attorney General’s Office. The brief was filed in support of the AG’s office determination to release 25,000 pages of documents subpoenaed during its investigation into the diocese’s handling of child sexual abuse. It was filed jointly with The Buffalo News and its reporter Jay Tokasz.” By Sean Mickey, WKBW-TV7 News
OHIO
Ohio Catholic priest sentenced to life for sex trafficking boys, manipulating opioid addictions
“An Ohio priest was sentenced to life in prison Friday (Nov. 17) after he was convicted of grooming three boys and taking advantage of their opioid addictions to force them into commercial sex, according to the U.S. Justice Department. In May, a federal jury in Toledo found the Rev. Michael Zacharias, a Roman Catholic clergy member, guilty of five counts of sex trafficking in allegations that spanned 15 years, from July 2005 to August 2020. Prosecutors said he abused his role as a teacher and priest at a Toledo parish school to groom the three boys into adulthood, force them into sex and enable their addictions to pain medications and heroin later in life.” By Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today
- Ohio priest who sexually abused boys is sentenced to life in prison, By Eduardo Medina, The New York Times
TENNESSEE
Jury acquits Catholic priest in Tennessee who was charged with sexual battery
“A jury has found a Catholic priest in Tennessee not guilty of sexual battery against a woman who was a church member. Jurors handed down the verdict late last week in the case against Father Antony Punnackal, who was suspended from his role as pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Gatlinburg after being indicted in January 2022 on two counts of sexual battery. The charges centered on allegations from February 2020 regarding Punnackal’s actions toward the parishioner. A lawsuit by the woman remains active.” By Associated Press
CANADA
Edward English, notorious Mountr Cashel abuser, arrested by Vancouver police
“Edward English, who was once sentenced to 10 years in prison for abusing boys at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John’s, has been arrested once again. CBC News has learned English was arrested Wednesday (Nov. 22) at his home outside Moncton, N.B., by members of the Vancouver Police Department. English was arrested in connection with allegations of sexual abuse involving two students at Vancouver College — a Catholic boys’ private school — in the 1980s, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. English was not in custody when reached by CBC News on Thursday morning.” By Ryan Cooke, CBC News
Cergy sex abuse survivor Irene Deschenes co-founds new group to help victims
“A London, Ont., woman who is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse by a Roman Catholic priest is now heading a new organization aimed at delivering speedier justice for victims. This month, Irene Deschenes helped found Outrage Canada, a national non-religious advocacy group with a mandate to hold the church accountable for sexual abuse by the clergy. The group proposes the federal government set up a national reporting center to gather and investigate reports of clergy abuse. Deschenes said the current system re-victimizes people who file abuse allegations with the church.” By CBC News
COLOMBIA
International warrant issued for arrest of Mexican priest: ‘after he abused me, he would get up to pray like nothing had happened’
“The more time passed, the harder it became temper the deep sorrow gnawing at his soul. For almost twenty years, José Leonardo Araujo Araque had kept silent about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child. At times, he could hardly put his own thoughts straight — he felt like a hook was stuck in his throat.” By Diana López Zuleta, El Pais
FRANCE
A French bishop is accused of attempted rape in latest scandal to hit Catholic Church in France
“AFrench bishop has been given a preliminary charge of attempting to rape an adult man a decade ago, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Nov. 20. It is the latest of a growing number of accusations of sexual abuse by clergy in France. The Bishops’ Conference of France said the accused bishop, Georges Colomb, contests the charge and deserves the presumption of innocence. He has asked the Vatican to step aside from his duties as bishop of La Rochelle and Saintes in western France to prepare his defense.” By Associated Press in National Catholic Reporter
SPAIN
How a Spanish newspaper tackled the taboo of Church abuse
“Five years ago, Soledad Gallego-Diaz challenged Spain’s last great taboo: sexual abuse inside the Roman Catholic Church. The newly appointed editor of the left-leaning daily El Pais launched an investigation into allegations of abuse by clergy and lay people against children. Unlike in the United States, Ireland and France, the Spanish Church had not sought to address this issue. Echoing The Boston Globe’s 2002 investigation of child abuse in the Catholic Church, El Pais’ probe sought justice for survivors of abuse.” By Graham Keeley, VOANews.com
Voice of the Faithful Focus News Roundup, Nov. 17, 2023
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful, VOTF Focus News Roundup on November 16, 2023
Nov. 17, 2023
TOP STORIES
Texas bishop loudly critical of the pope is removed
“Pope Francis fired on Saturday (Nov.11) a bishop in Texas who was one of his loudest American critics within the Catholic Church, a highly rare dismissal that appeared to reflect the growing rift between the Vatican and a more conservative wing of the church. The Vatican did not cite a reason for the dismissal of the bishop, Joseph Strickland, saying in a statement only that the pope ‘relieved’ Bishop Strickland from the governance of his diocese in Tyler, Texas.” By Ruth Graham and Jason Horowitz, The New York Times
- Pope Francis axes firebrand Texas Bishop Strickland, darling of right-wing Twitter, By Brian Fraga, National Catholic Reporter
- Bishop Strickland removed from diocese after accusing pope of backing ‘attack on the sacred,’ By OSV News
- Vatican removes Texas bishop critical of Pope Francis’ reforms, By Jason DeRose, National Public Radio
- Strickland’s removal hangs over the U.S. bishops’ fall meeting, as it should, By Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
Religious superiors from around the world meeting in Rome to prevent abuse
“The Unions of Superiors and Superiors General (UISG-USG) have organized an in-person workshop taking place in Rome from Nov. 6–10 with the aim of ‘creating a culture of protection within religious congregations.’ A total of 132 representatives of the 90 male and female religious congregations are participating in the event and are members of the Union of Superiors General and the International Union of Superiors General.” By Andrés Henriquez, Catholic News Agency
A good start for the Synod … but still too much of the ‘rabbi, father, teacher’
“In this past Sunday’s (Nov. 5) Gospel, Jesus addresses the people and his disciples: ‘You must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi…. You must call no one on earth your father … Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers…’ Do not be guided by those like the scribes and Pharisees: ‘All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels … As scripture scholar Brendan Byrne writes in his book Lifting the Burden: ‘Scarcely any injunction of the Lord has been so ignored as this ruling out of titles and, by extension, accoutrements of dress and ceremonial.’” By Frank Brennan, Commonweal
- Archbishop Broglio and Cardinal Pierre offer competing visions of synodality at bishops’ meeting, By Michael J. O’Loughlin, America: The Jesuit Review
- Vatican ambassador urges U.S. bishops to embrace synod on synodality, By Brian Fraga, National Catholic Reporter
The biased spotlight on sex abuse in Catholic Church
“In the realm of sexual crimes, a stark contrast exists in the level of media attention and public awareness when the perpetrators wear different hats, specifically, the robes of the Catholic Church versus the more secular attire of public school teachers or individuals from diverse spiritual beliefs. When allegations of sexual misconduct arise within the Catholic Church, the media responds with a resounding uproar that reverberates globally. Cases involving Catholic priests make headlines, sparking international outrage, and prompting discussions about accountability and reform.” By UCANews.com
TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
GOP legislator blocks bill requiring clergy to report child sex abuse
“An Arizona Republican is refusing to require clergy to report confessions of child abuse despite a horrific case involving the Mormon Church. A Bisbee father of six admitted to his bishop during a counseling session that he was raping his then-5-year-old daughter, but court records show that Bishop John Herrod, and then his replacement Bishop Robert “Kim” Mauzy, were advised by attorney Merrill Nelson not to alert anyone outside the church — and the man then started raping his 6-week-old daughter, reported the Arizona Republic.” By Travis Gettys, RawStory.com
- An Arizona child is raped. The clergy stays silent. Then comes the truly shocking part, By Laurie Roberts, Arizona Republic, on AZCentral.com
FOR A SYNODAL CHURCH: COMMUNION, PARTICIPATION AND MISSION
Australia’s Archbishop Costelloe: Cardinal Newman’s ‘development of doctrine’ is key to understanding the Synod
“‘I don’t think we experienced the inversion of the pyramid model of the church at the synod; rather we experienced a different model altogether of the church,’ the Australian archbishop Timothy Costelloe, S.D.B., one of the president delegates of the synod, told America’s Vatican correspondent in this exclusive interview in Rome on Oct. 30 … In this interview, which has been edited for clarity and length, he described ‘being a synodal church’ as ‘an experience’ that ‘we have to live in order to understand it.’’ By Gerard O’Connell, America: The Jesuit Review
The synodal journey continues, but course corrections are needed
“The first assembly of the Synod on Synodality in October left us with some important certainties as well as a few uncertainties. One of the certainties is that synodality is not an experiment (even if the form of the recent assembly is somewhat experimental). Indeed, synodality is a long-forgotten way for the Church to gather, listen, and make decisions in the service of the Gospel. It is a moment of ressourcement in the tradition of the Church—a reconnection with an important and very real part of its past.” By Massimo Faggioli, Commonweal
Synodal surprises: the rise of Catholic Africa / a sign of things to come
“As stated, in a previous article in July, ‘regardless of how the Synod of Synodality turns out, disappointment is the only certain outcome for all involved.’ And considering the responses from those hoping for significant change within the Church, the above statement appears prophetic, or at least partially so. Of all the contingents involved, one seemed to exert an uncommonly strong influence over the final document released by Synod of Synodality (SoS). This group, with its strong commitment to Catholic orthodoxy and orthopraxy, represents the future of the global Catholic Church. This group also stands in direct opposition to the pro-sexual liberation/identity political crowd in Western Europe and their allies within the Church.” By Dennis Knapp, Patheos
Fifteen hidden gems in the Synod on Synodality report
“At the Synod on Synodality, the Western media focused on a limited number of hot-button issues — women’s ordination, married priests and blessing of gay couples. But hidden in the synod participants’ 40-page synthesis are some surprising gems that could lead to significant reform in the church. The first is a new stress on lay involvement. Compared with other Christian churches, the Catholic Church is very hierarchical. This synod, especially the conversations at roundtables, was structured so that lay voices, including women and young people, were heard and respected.” By Thomas Reese, Religion News Service
‘This is the Church we are called to dream’ – Synod analysis
“The document released at the conclusion of the first of the two-part climax to the Synod process points toward a profound shake-up of the Church. Its proposals include an expanded role for women in ministry, making lay involvement in decision-making mandatory, an overhaul of the seminary system, and a revision of the Church’s Code of Canon Law. On women deacons, the Synod agreed that this issue needs more discernment and asked that the findings of previous papal commissions on the issue be presented to the concluding assembly in October 2024.” By Christopher Lamb, The Tablet
Synod on Synodality report is disappointing but not surprising
“For Pope Francis, the first session of the synod on synodality was never about resolving the controversial issues facing the church. Even so, there were those who hoped for forward motion on married priests, women deacons and LGBTQ issues. They will be disappointed by the final report issued by the synod on Oct. 28. For Francis, it was not about the hot-button topics. It was always about the synodal process, which he hoped would overcome divisions in the church and recommit us to the mission of Jesus — of proclaiming the Gospel of the Father’s love and compassion for all of humanity and the Earth.” By Thomas Reese, National Catholic Reporter
Synodality, hierarchy, and the clericalizing of the laity
“Leveling hierarchical distinctions in the Church without removing them entirely has emerged as a principal objective of Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality. That is perhaps the chief conclusion to be drawn from the first session of the Synod, which took place October 4-29 at the Vatican … Advance speculation had focused on whether the Synod would address hot-button issues like ordaining women and giving blessings to same-sex couples. But although these topics were discussed—though no consensus was reached—the Synod’s more immediate goal was the less dramatic, but in the long run arguably more significant, objective of cutting back on clergy-only hierarchy.” By Russell Shaw, The Catholic World Report
10 top takeaways from the synthesis report and why they matter
“The Synod on Synodality’s first session at the Vatican has concluded, with its results wrapped up in a 41-page ‘half-time report’ for the entire church to digest, reflect on and give feedback ahead of the synod’s final session in Rome next October. The report, a synthesis of the Oct. 4-29 meeting, is fundamentally an instrument for discernment, and it is designed to elicit further reflection and response from the whole church. The synod’s next session in Rome will have the task of making decisions about what concrete proposals to present before the pope. Ultimately, the pope will decide what to implement coming out of the Synod on Synodality.” By Peter Jesserer Smith, The Catholic Review
POPE FRANCIS
Pope Francis’ approach to theology continues reception of Vatican II
“Pope Francis recently issued a short apostolic letter motu proprio titled ‘Ad Theologiam Promovendam.’ The text introduces new statutes for the Pontifical Academy of Theology and, in so doing, captures some of the essential reforms Francis has initiated. In a sense, this document achieves at the theoretical level what the Holy Father said in a more specific form in his recent responses to some dubia submitted by five intransigent cardinals … The pope’s intention is clear: Theology, like doctrine, must serve the church’s primary goal, the salvation of souls. To achieve this, it must be engaged in the world it seeks to evangelize, and not just engaged intellectually.” By Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
Pope calls for ‘contextual theology’ that responds to modern questions
“Calling for a major push toward developing a ‘fundamentally contextual theology, capable of reading and interpreting the Gospel in the conditions in which men and women live each day,’ Pope Francis has approved new statutes for the Pontifical Theological Academy … In an apostolic letter issued ‘motu proprio,’ on his own initiative, Nov. 1, Pope Francis said that in a ‘synodal, missionary and outgoing church,’ theologians must also dialogue with other sciences and with members of other religions and that helping Catholics have a deeper understanding of the faith will be possible only if theology grapples with their questions and concerns.” By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, on CatholicChicago,com
Pope Francis talks Synod on Synodality and homosexuality in new interview
“Pope Francis answered two questions about the Synod on Synodality, including on the topic of homosexuality, in an interview with Italian state television RAI on Wednesday (Nov. 1). Asked about the synod assembly’s discussion of homosexuality, Pope Francis said: ‘When I say ‘everyone, everyone, everyone,’ [I’m speaking about] people. The Church receives people. Everyone. And it does not ask how you are. Then, inside, everyone grows, but from a Christian belonging.’” By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency
CARDINALS
Cardinal Pierre on why U.S. bishops are struggling to connect with Pope Francis
“Cardinal Christophe Pierre has been apostolic nuncio to the United States since 2016 and, at Pope Francis’ request, he will continue in this role for the foreseeable future, he told America’s Vatican correspondent in an exclusive interview in Rome in early October. The newly created cardinal described Francis as ‘a man of vision’ and ‘a man of prayer’ and as the one ‘chosen by the Holy Spirit’ to lead the church at this moment in history. He also spoke about his experience as nuncio in the United States. Cardinal Pierre said he was ‘shocked’ to learn that many U.S. Catholic bishops did not know that synodality had developed in South America in the last few decades and are still struggling to understand what it is.” By Gerard O’Connell, America: The Jesuit Review
BISHOPS
https://apnews.com/article/catholic-bishops-unity-baltimore-meeting-bb937e3e22f2034c20184954cc9df5d6 “Catholic leaders called for peace in a war-torn world and unity amid strife within their own clerical ranks on Tuesday (Nov. 14), as U.S. bishops gathered in Baltimore for their annual fall meeting. The meeting came soon after two actions by Pope Francis that illustrated the divisive challenges facing the Catholic Church – removing one of his harshest conservative critics from his role as bishop of Tyler, Texas, and releasing a document conveying a more welcoming stance to transgender people than the official positions of the U.S. bishops.” By Tiffany Stanley and Peter Smith, Associated Press
- The U.S. bishops’ elections were a mixed bag for ‘Team Francis,’ Michael Sean Winters, By National Catholic Reporter
Vatican ambassador urges U.S. bishops to embrace synod on synodality
“The Vatican’s ambassador to the U.S. urged the nation’s Catholic bishops on Nov. 14 to step out of their ‘comfort zones’ and embrace the open-ended discussions at Pope Francis’ Synod of Bishops as the way forward for the global church. In a 20-minute opening address to the bishops’ annual fall assembly here, Cardinal Christophe Pierre told the prelates that Francis’ vision of a synodal church where all members listen to one another is ‘essential to evangelization.’” By Brian Fraga, National Catholic Reporter
Bishops open fall assembly with prayer, reflection, Mass for peace
“Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, led his brother bishops in prayer for wisdom as they began their fall plenary assembly in Baltimore Nov. 13 with a Mass for peace. The archbishop was the homilist for the Mass at the historic Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first Catholic cathedral in the United States. The Mass followed a morning of prayer, reflection and confession.” By OSV News
Synod expected to be major discussion item at U.S. bishops’ fall meeting
“A little more than two weeks after Pope Francis wrapped up the first of his two major Rome summits on the future of the Catholic Church, the U.S. bishops will meet for their fall assembly in Baltimore Nov. 13-16 and are expected to discuss the four-week event. The American prelates will have a packed agenda for their gathering, which also includes a vote to implement a new framework for Indigenous ministry, reauthorizing their anti-racism committee, and likely approval of parish bulletin inserts about Catholics’ responsibilities in political life, for use ahead of the 2024 presidential election.” By Brian Fraga, National Catholic Reporter
Podcast: Does the Synod threaten bishops’ authority
“The Synod on Synodality has major implications on the Catholic church’s structures and its hierarchical nature. One of the synod’s goals is to implement the vision of the church laid out at the Second Vatican Council, and to ask what structural changes might be necessary to make that vision a reality, and how the formation of people at every level of the church needs urgent review. Ecclesiologist and theologian Catherine Clifford, a professor at the University of Ottawa, was a full, voting member of the Synod on Synodality, representing North America. She joined host Colleen Dulle in Rome near the end of the synod to explain what happened and what is coming over the next 11 months.” By Colleen Dulle, Inside the Vatican, America: The Jesuit Review
- Interview: if the synod is done right, it will strengthen bishops’ authority, By Colleen Dulle, America: The Jesuit Review
PRIESTS
Notre Dame program aims to help priests, seminarians minister to abuse victims
“A new offering from the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life aims to help seminaries and dioceses strengthen formation programs, particularly in pastoral ministry to victim-survivors of sexual abuse. ‘Fully Equipped for Every Good Work: A Proposal of Twelve Core Competencies in Ministering to Survivors of Sexual Abuse for Seminary,’ outlines twelve competencies for seminaries to adopt for seminarians to demonstrate before they’re ordained.” By John Lavenburg, Cruxnow.com
Major survey finds ‘conservative’ and ‘orthodox’ priests on the rise
“The new analysis of a study that claims to be the largest national survey of Catholic priests conducted in more than 50 years has found, among other things, that priests describing themselves as ‘progressive’ are practically going ‘extinct’ among U.S. seminary graduates, with the vast majority of young ordinands describing themselves as conservative and orthodox.” By Jonah McKeown, Catholic News Agency
- New analysis shows younger U.S. priests are more theologically conservative, By Gina Christian, Our Sunday Visitor
The joys and sufferings of a priest, and how laypeople can help
“As a psychologist, I primarily work with priests, and I am constantly fascinated by how different their lives are yet how normal their struggles are. The research available on clergy mental health is quite mixed. Some research suggests priests’ mental health is in a state of crisis, while others state they are psychologically thriving. Research from Msgr. Stephen Rossetti suggests priests are happy in general but experience high stress, and their rates of mental health problems are probably like the general population.” By Jim Langley, Denver Catholic
RELIGIOUS
How has the synodal process affected Catholic sisters?
“The Synod of Bishops on synodality just completed the first of two major assemblies. The synodal process has the potential to impact the entire church, including women religious. For the final question to this panel, Global Sisters Report asked: How has the synodal process affected you, your parish, or your community? What hopes do you have for the synod? Responses have been edited for clarity. We will debut a new crop of panelists later this month.” By Life Panelists, Global Sisters Report, National Catholic Reporter
- Religious share how synodality shapes their decisions, common life – and can help the wider church, By Kimberley Heatherington, Global Sisters Report, National Catholic Reporter
‘Process is key’: sisters respond to document from synod’s first session
“The first Vatican session for the synod on synodality, Pope Francis’ multiyear summit on the future of the Catholic Church, was both fruitful and profound, women religious say, but it also had missed opportunities … ‘I won’t use the term success, but it has been fruitful. It’s a new state in the experience of synodality — there was a lot of grace, it was a time of joy,’ said Xavière Missionary Sr. Nathalie Becquart, an undersecretary of the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops office, which made her not only a voting participant but a member of the synod itself.” By Dan Stockman, National Catholic Reporter
WOMEN’S VOICES
Women played an unprecedented role at the Pope’s synod. Will it make any difference?
“Last month, some four hundred and fifty Catholic leaders from around the world—cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests and nuns, professors and students, laymen and women—came together in Rome for four weeks of structured conversations. It was one phase of an effort that began with national surveys of Catholics, in 2021, and will conclude in Rome next fall. The whole thing is known as the Synod on Synodality, after a Greek term for coming together. Pope Francis, who called for the synod, opened and closed the proceedings with Masses at St. Peter’s’s Basilica and, on many days, joined the conversations, which were held in the Vatican audience hall.” By Paul Elie, The New Yorker
A Tribute to the Women of the Synod
“For the first time in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, women participated as co-equals with their ordained brothers and voted at the Synod. This is a moment that will forever change the Church as it opens itself to the richness of women’s faith, courage, and love. May their work and memory live on!” By FutureChurch
Synodality is impossible without women’s voices and vote
“On April 6, I had the privilege of joining a group of 70 people for a private audience with Pope Francis in Rome. This delegation was organized jointly by Catholic Extension and St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. This delegation comprised cardinals, lay people, Hispanic women religious serving in impoverished dioceses in the United States, as well as people invited by the Catholic Extension team. On the same day as the private audience with the pope, hours later, the Vatican released the groundbreaking news. Pope Francis declared that women and laypeople would be allowed to participate with voice and vote during the Synod of Bishops in October, signifying a momentous change.” By María Elena Méndez Ochoa, Global Sister Report, National Catholic Reporter
CHILD PROTECTION
Independent audit finds diocese in full compliance with child protection guidelines
“For the 21st consecutive year, independent auditors have found the Diocese of Allentown in full compliance with national guidelines designed to protect children from abuse. The Charter for Protection of Children and Young People was adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002. Among other things, it calls for annual audits to ensure that dioceses are meeting its strict requirements. Auditors from StoneBridge Business Partners of Rochester, New York, recently completed their inspection of the Diocese’s actions, procedures, policies, and records.” By Diocese of Allentown on ad-today.com
FUTURE OF THE CHURCH
What African theologians will mean to the future of the Catholic Church
“In August 2014, I had the opportunity while working as an editor at Orbis Books to attend the second of three annual conferences in Nairobi, Kenya of the Theological Colloquium on Church, Religion and Society in Africa. After the first of those conferences, A. E. Orobator—one of the event’s organizers—noted in America that among those participating in the conference, ‘the majority received their doctorates in theology less than five years ago. This means that a new generation of African theologians has emerged, primed to receive the mantle from the more seasoned generation of theologians who negotiated the transition from a colonial church to a truly African church, but ready to steer this church in a new and exciting direction.’” By James T. Keane, America: The Jesuit Review
CHURCH FINANCES
Catholic dioceses are declaring bankruptcy. Abuse survivors say it’s a ‘way to silence’ them
“In Oakland, California, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Christ the Light is difficult to miss. Towering over Lake Merritt in the heart of the city, its modernist glass dome reflects the East Bay sun in all directions. The building, which was completed in 2008 and financed by the Roman Catholic diocese of Oakland, cost $175m. But that price tag confounds Joseph Piscitelli. In the 1970s, Piscitelli attended a Catholic high school in nearby Richmond, where, from the age of 14, he experienced repeated sexual abuse at the hands of his vice-principal, an ordained priest. For decades, Piscitelli experienced nightmares and panic attacks. Friends who had also been abused turned to drugs and alcohol, and several took their own lives.” By Robin Buller, The Guardian
Baltimore’s Archbishop Lori: bankruptcy was the only way to compensate abuse victims and continue our ministries
“In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed me archbishop of Baltimore, the oldest diocese in the United States. I consider it an honor and a privilege to have been entrusted with the spiritual care of the faithful of what is known as the birthplace of Catholicism in the United States … On Sept. 29, (2023), I announced the historic decision to seek Chapter 11 reorganization under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code … But in the end, the decision was easy because it was the only clear path that will allow the archdiocese to both equitably compensate victims (though no compensation can fully undo their pain) and continue its ministries, as is my canonical responsibility to ensure.” By William E. Lori, America: The Jesuit Review
Financial investigation taking place in Catholic Diocese of Youngstown parishes
“The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown announced in a press release Sunday (Nov. 12) that there is an ongoing review of financial irregularities at two Youngstown Diocese parishes: Saint Joseph Parish in Alliance and Divine Mercy Parish in Massillon. The release states the investigation began in December when concerns were uncovered at Saint Joseph Parish related to the time that Father Maciej ‘Matthew’ Mankowski was pastor from 2011 to 2021 but then expanded to Divine Mercy Parish, where Father Mankowski was then the pastor.” By Laurel Stone, WKBN-TV27 News
CELIBACY& MARRIED PRIESTS
Priests must be like fathers and not spinsters, say Pope on celibacy
“Pope Francis has said that a change in the Catholic Church’s rule on celibacy will not solve difficulties in the Church because the deeper problem is of priests behaving like spinsters instead of fathers … He reminded Italian journalist Gian Marco Chiocci, director of Italy’s TG1 television channel, that celibacy is a discipline rather than a doctrine and can therefore be changed.” By The Catholic Herald
VOICES
The Catholic synod offers little hope for real change in the Church
“The Roman Catholic Church made history this year by allowing women to vote in a synod for the first time in 2,000 years. This ‘victory’ was dubious, as the voting was on a consensus document that did not advance anything and even managed to backburner several important issues, like LGBTIQ+ inclusion, that figured in the reports leading up to the meeting. At a conference of progressive Catholics held in Rome at the same time, former president of Ireland Mary McAleese observed: ‘Equality is a right, not a favor. The women attending the Synod on Synodality are there as a favor, not as a right.’’ By Mary E. Hunt, WomensMediaCenter.com
‘Why do I stay?’ A young Catholic feminist on a church plagued by scandal
“My first thought: ‘Why do I, a young woman and a feminist, stay in a church mired in scandal?’ Two days later, on Oct. 27, the Vatican admitted that there were “serious problems in the handling of the Fr. Marko Rupnik case” and lifted the statute of limitations on his alleged abuses to allow a review process to take place. That is all well and good—I pray that justice is done—but it does not change the fact that Father Rupnik’s case is an all-too-familiar instance of the ugliest kind of clericalism.” By Delaney Coyne, America: The Jesuit Review
Can the entire church be run like a religious order? Should it?
“The Synod on Synodality has worked its way through the questions set for it to consider by the people of God. The responses by participants to the consultations initiated by Pope Francis two years ago are now being read and studied. Now might be an opportune time to consider what unasked questions may be raised by how our conception of synodality is developing. One theme that has been emerging is the extent to which the synod looked toward the church’s great religious institutes such as the Jesuits, Benedictines, Franciscans and Dominicans as models of what synodality within the universal church may look like.” By Scott Smith, America: The Jesuit Review
Father James Martin: the good (and bad) spirits I experienced at the Synod
“My experience of the synod was far more than the thrill of sitting with church leaders from around the world. It was also a spiritual journey, some of which I’d like to share—without breaking confidence. I’ve already written about what happened exteriorly, but I thought I might share what it was like from an interior point of view and how I experienced the ‘good spirits’ and the ‘evil spirits,’ to use some Jesuit terminology (or ‘counterspirits,’ a phrase I heard last month) at work. I offer this … to bring you into the spirit of the month. So here are eight words that I feel best evoke the spiritual movements that I felt during the Synod of Bishops.” By James Martin, S.J., America: The Jesuit Review
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
Maine’s Catholic church, victims of child sex abuse argue law’s constitutionality before state’s Supreme Court
“But they weren’t there for a jury trial. Instead, they watched as seven Maine Supreme Judicial Court justices questioned their lawyers about a 2021 state law that scrapped the statute of limitations for civil claims of childhood sexual abuse and allowed them to file dozens of lawsuits against the church leaders and the institution itself. ‘I don’t think I’ve seen this many people in the courtroom before for Law Court arguments,’ Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill said at one point.’ By Emily Allen, Portland Press Herald
CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE
Abuse charges against U.S. ecclesial movement leader deemed credible
“An ecclesial movement has just admitted its former U.S. leader has been credibly accused of sexual and psychological abuse against young adults and minors over more than two decades. Christopher Bacich, who headed up Communion and Liberation in the U.S. from March 2007 until August 2013, was the “sole perpetrator” of abuse against “multiple victims,” according to an Oct. 31 statement issued by Father Michael Carvill, the movement’s current head, and Steve Brown, president of the New York-based Human Adventure Corporation, a nonprofit that coordinates the movement’s activities in the U.S.” By Gina Christian, OSV News, on UCANews.com
ARIZONA
Legislator wants to change the right of confession to allow priests to disclose child abuse by parishioners
“A first-term Democratic lawmaker wants to enact an exception to state laws that allow clergy to refuse to disclose what was told to them in confession or similar confidential communication. But Rep. Stacey Travers of Phoenix has so far run into a procedural wall. Rep. Quang Nguyen, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, where her bill was assigned earlier this year, refused to even give it a hearing. And the Prescott Republican told Capitol Media Services that he’s not prepared to allow the bill to proceed in 2024, even if it deals only with cases of child abuse and neglect.” By Howard Fischer, White Mountain Independent
CALIFORNIA
Bay area priests accused of child molestation remain in active ministry
“A San Mateo priest accused of molestation in a lawsuit is one of two accused clergy who remain in active ministry with the Archdiocese of San Francisco as the church faces renewed questions over how it responds to sexual abuse allegations. The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County in November 2022, alleges Father Linh Tien Nguyen sexually abused a former altar boy and student of St. Pius Catholic Church and School in Redwood City between approximately 2005 and 2008.” By Alex Hall, KQED.org National Public Radio
Calaveras DA’s decision to drop charges against Catholic priest under review by attorney general
“The Office of the California Attorney General said Monday (Nov. 6) night that it will review the Calaveras County district attorney’s decision to dismiss sexual assault charges against a Catholic priest. In a letter sent to CBS Sacramento, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said the victim’s mother requested an official review after District Attorney Barbara Yook dropped all charges against Father Michael Kelly. The move came after the victim Kelly allegedly abused died in 2016. Bonta’s office will now review that decision. Kelly was held liable for sex abuse in a separate civil trial back in 2012 when he was with the Stockton diocese. Kelly has since moved to Ireland.” By Richard Ramos, CBS-TV13 News
FLORIDA
Florida Supreme Court won’t hear South Florida priest abuse case
“The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday (Nov. 2) rejected a request by the Archdiocese of Miami to take up a dispute involving allegations that a priest sexually abused a child. Justices, as is common, did not explain their reasons for declining to hear the case. The archdiocese wanted justices to review a decision by the 3rd District Court of Appeal that allowed the alleged victim to pursue a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress against the archdiocese.” By CBS-TV News Miami
MARYLAND
Catholic archdiocese bankruptcy process moves forward as injunction pausing claims remains in place
“The Archdiocese of Baltimore will need to disclose more of its ‘third party’ assets like schools and parishes during its bankruptcy case. The Archdiocese filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September ahead of a new law that went into effect in October. The Child Victims Act eliminated the statute of limitations in child sexual abuse claims. ‘They need to be accountable for their lies,’ abuse survivor Teresa Lancaster said outside court Monday (Nov. 6). ‘It’s the church that made this happen that enabled the rapists to continue. The church, the property of the church, needs to be responsible.’” By Paul Gessler, CBS-TV News Baltimore
Clergy abuse victims ask Baltimore bankruptcy judge to reconsider ban on lawsuits against Catholic parishes, schools
“A committee representing clergy abuse survivors is asking a federal bankruptcy judge to reconsider her order barring lawsuits against Catholic schools and parishes as part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Parishes and schools are technically not assets of the archdiocese, despite Archbishop William E. Lori having control over whether they can be bought or sold, but were granted protection from lawsuits because the archdiocese insures them. In early October, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michelle Harner issued an interim injunction on lawsuits against entities covered by archdiocesan insurance policies (known as covered parties). Harner determined those policies are assets of the corporation that makes up the archdiocese, meaning any lawsuit would inevitably draw down on insurance monies in order to pay legal fees and settlements.” By Lee O. Sanderlin, Baltimore Sun, in The Frederick News-Post
St. Benedict Catholic Church will no longer hold Mass due to ‘limited number of clergy’
“A southwest Baltimore church will no longer hold Mass after nearly a century of worship. While St. Benedict Catholic Church is in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, it’s run by the Order of the Benedictines, which is said to be unable to find a new priest due to a ‘limited number of clergy.’ The decision comes as its longtime leader is under investigation for alleged sexual assault of a minor. Father Paschal Morlino, who served as St. Benedict’s priest for decades, was removed last month after news of a secret settlement surfaced involving allegations of inappropriate behavior.” By Tommie Clark, WBAL-TV11 News
- Archdiocese of Baltimore statement on limited ministries at St. Benedict, By Child & Youth Protection, Archdiocese of Baltimore
- Maryland church closes doors after pastor admits to paying ‘hush money’ to settle harassment allegations, By Associated Press on FoxNews.com
MASSACHUSETTS
Diocese adds new credible findings against late, defrocked priest Richard Lavigne
“The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield this week (Nov. 6) acknowledged new credible findings against the late Richard Lavigne, a convicted sex offender and former Shelburne Falls priest believed to have killed a 13-year-old altar boy in 1972. The diocese issued a statement on Oct. 31 to announce an update on Lavigne, as well as on the late Stigmatine priest Joseph E. Flood and the late Rev. J. Victor Carrier.” By Domenic Poli, Greenfield Recorder
MICHIGAN
Former Michigan priest sentenced to year in jail after pleading guilty to sexually abusing altar boy
“A former Michigan priest has been sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty to sexually abusing an altar boy more than three decades ago. A Washtenaw County judge sentenced Timothy Crowley, who must also serve five years of probation, on Wednesday (Nov.8). Crowley, 74, pleaded guilty in August to two felony counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct under a plea agreement that dismissed two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.” By Associated Press
MISSOURI
Archdiocese of St. Louis abuse victim speaks out after settling with church for $1M
“It was 1993, and Jonathan Dean was 10 years old when his world was no longer fulfilled by the things that make childhood carefree. He was a fourth grader at the Ascension Catholic Church in Chesterfield when he said he suffered sexual abuse at the hands of now ex-priest Gary Paul Wolken. Now an attorney based out of Chicago, Dean, 41, decided to speak out and unveil his identity that was concealed in 2018 as “John Doe,” when he first sued Wolten and the Archdiocese of St. Louis.” By Lacretia Wimbley, St. Louis Public Radio, National Public Radio
NEW YORK.
Final sentencing in former Hyde Park, N.Y., pastor’s sex abuse trial includes prison time
“After months of waiting for the resolution of the sex abuse case of Hyde Park and Poughkeepsie pastor Father James Garisto, the final sentencing was held Monday, November 6th. Hudson Valley community members and parishioners have been awaiting Garisto’s sentencing after his plea of ‘No Contest’ back in June of this year. Garisto served the St. Peter’s Parish community from 1998 to 2014.” By WRRV-FM News
AUSTRALIA
Victim of pedophile priest Vincent Kiss vindicated by potential record payout from Catholic Church
“An abuse survivor who will potentially receive one of Australia’s largest-ever compensation payouts from the Catholic Church says it is a ‘mind-blowing’ victory he hopes will give other survivors a ‘sense of hope.’ The civil case verdict in Victoria’s Supreme Court last Friday (Nov.10) related to child sex abuse committed by convicted pedophile priest Vincent Kiss in the 1960s and 70s.” By Conor Burke, ABC News, Riverina, Australia
Permanent Stay of Historical Child Sexual Abuse Proceedings: GLJ v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore
“Civil trials can be complex and challenging, especially when key witnesses or evidence are unavailable due to the passage of time. However, upholding the principle of a fair trial is paramount in the legal system. By majority, the High Court of Australia recently allowed an appeal, overturning a decision in the NSW Court of Appeal to permanently stay proceedings arising out of a claim for historical child sexual abuse.” By ClydeCo.com
Lawyers for witnesses of alleged historical sex abuse at Port Hedland Catholic school
“A Catholic primary school in WA’s north has become the target of a historical child sexual abuse investigation, with allegations two clergymen assaulted a student at the school more than 30 years ago. Maurice Blackburn Lawyers has made a public appeal calling for witnesses who attended St Cecilia’s Catholic Primary School and parish in Port Hedland in the 1980s and 1990s.” By Jane Murphy, ABC News Australia
BRAZIL
Brazilian bishop resigns at 62; accused of sexually harassing priests, seminarians
“Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Valdir Mamede of Catanduva, Brazil. The Brazilian newspaper Diário da Região reported that the 62-year-old prelate resigned after an investigation into allegations that he sexually harassed priests and seminarians. The investigation, the newspaper reported, was conducted by the metropolitan archbishop, Archbishop Moacir Silva of Ribeirão Preto. Police have not conducted an inquiry, according to the newspaper.” By CatholicCulture.org
CANADA
New national organization to hold the Roman Catholic church of Canada accountable for sex crimes
“Outrage Canada is a newly formed group of outraged Canadians committed to holding leaders of the Roman Catholic church publicly accountable for sexual abuse crimes past and present. Sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic church of Canada is well documented with a growing number of civil and criminal cases surfacing each year. Given the response to date however, Outrage Canada believes that the Roman Catholic church is more concerned with avoiding scandal and protecting their reputation than ending sexual abuse and finding justice for victims.” By Outrage Canada on finance.yahoo.com
GREAT BRITAIN, SCOTLAND AND WALES
Cardinal Nichols praises new National Tribunal for managing clerical sex abuse cases
“President of the England and Wales Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said Saturday (Noc. 4) was a ‘most significant day in the life of the Church in England and Wales, and indeed for the Church more widely’ due to the creation a new National Tribunal to apply the church’s criminal law. Nichols called the new tribunal ‘a focus of practical love and service,’ saying it was established to ensure that the ‘rights and obligations of all the Christian faithful are upheld, robustly and impartially, and that justice and equality prevail.’ While not its only purpose, the tribunal becomes the primary forum in the country for managing cases of clerical sexual abuse under the church’s own legal system, based on the Code of Canon Law.” By Catholic Herald
PORTUGAL
Church punishes priest who denounced 12 suspected pedophile colleagues
“The priest who denounced 12 cases of colleagues whom he suspected of having sexually abused children – some of them still priests today – has been punished by Portugal’s Catholic Church … At a point where this scandal within the Roman Catholic Church was finally being addressed by various countries, Nazaré also gave interviews to Expresso and RTP (at the time, his identity was kept secret). Among Nazaré’s list of names was that of a priest who for various years has been placed at the Sanctuary of Fátima but who was accused by the parents of a teenager who committed suicide in 1997 of having abused their son.” By Natsha Donn, Portugal Resident
SLOVENIA
Slovenian bishops distance themselves from incardination of Rupnik
“Both the alleged victims of Slovene Fr Marko Ivan Rupnik and the bishops of his native Slovenia have spoken out about the disgraced artist’s welcome into a new diocese. In the wake of Pope Francis’s decision on Friday (Nov. 3) to waive the statute of limitations in canon law, five of Fr Rupnik’s presumed victims signed and released a brief statement that was shared in Italian media, saying they were ‘very surprised’ by the announcement. They voiced hope that ‘this is a suitable step towards seeing the truth fully known,’ and said they are awaiting ‘further developments.’” By The Catholic Herald
SWITZERLAND
The report on abuse in the Catholic Church in Switzerland
“On the morning of September 10, 2023, the following news appeared on the website of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference: ‘Canonical Investigations into Suspected Concealment of Sexual Abuse by Members of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference.’ This news was a prelude to the publication, two days later, of the Report on the Pilot Project for the History of Sexual Abuse in the Context of the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland since the Mid-20th Century. What consequences will result from these investigations and when these investigations will be continued cannot yet be predicted.” By Hans Zollner, S.J., La Civiltá Cattolica
- What next after Swiss report on sexual abuse in the Church? By Clémentine Méténier, JusticeInfo.net
Voice of the Faithful Focus News Roundup, Nov. 3, 2023
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Focus news roundup, Voice of the Faithful, VOTF Focus News Roundup on November 2, 2023
Nov. 3, 2023
TOP STORIES
Pope’s major Vatican summit ends without action on women deacons, mention of LGBTQ Catholics
“Pope Francis’ high-stakes summit on the future of the Catholic Church concluded on Oct. 28 by postponing action on the possibility of ordaining women as deacons and failing to acknowledge deep tensions that surfaced in a month of debates over how the global institution should care for its LGBTQ members. A 41-page report, approved and published that evening, called for the results of earlier papal and theological commissions on women deacons to be presented for further consideration at the next assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in October 2024.” By Christopher White and Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter
- For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission Final Document, On USCCB.org
- Synod Report: A Church that involves everyone and is close to world’s wounds, By Vatican News
- Striving for consensus, Synod ends by soft-pedaling contested issues, By Elise Ann Allen, Cruxnow.com
- Synod synthesis shows agreement, divergences, including on ‘synodality,’ By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, in The Pilot
- Synod publishes final report and votes: calls for more discussion on synodality, women deacons and more, By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, in America: The Jesuit Review
- Exclusive: Cardinals Cupich, McElroy say ‘impossible to go back’ to synods without lay votes, By Joshua J. McElwee and Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
- Synod is a milestone in the reception of Vatican II, By Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
- Pope Francis closes synod with ‘dream’ of a church with open doors, By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service, in National Catholic Reporter
- Vatican deems bigger church role for women ‘urgent,’ but postpones major issues, By Jason Horowitz and Elisabetta Povoledo, The New York Times
Spain’s report on Catholic Church sex abuse estimates victims could number in hundreds of thousands
“Spain’s first official probe of sex abuse by clergy members or other people connected to the Catholic Church in the country included a survey that indicated that the number of victims could run into hundreds of thousands. The survey was part of a damning report by the office of Spain’s ombudsman, or ‘defensor del pueblo,’ following an 18-month independent investigation of 487 cases involving alleged victims who spoke with the ombudsman’s team.” By Ciarán Giles, Associated Press
High court decision opens way for claims on abuse
“The court yesterday (Nov. 1) overturned a permanent stay that had been granted by the NSW Court of Appeal. That stay had effectively stalled the efforts of a woman – referred to in the judgment as GLJ – to sue the Catholic Church over abuse she said she suffered at the hands of a priest who had since died. Institutions had previously successfully argued that claims should be permanently stayed because the deaths of the alleged perpetrators meant they could no longer be questioned about the alleged abuse. Three of the five High Court judges who heard the case found the reasoning of the lower court was wrong. Victim advocates say the Church and other institutions have used permanent stays to kill off cases and compel other claimants into financial settlements that would be lower than would other be the case.” By CathNews.com
TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
Catholic Church loses landmark case over tactics that shield it from Australian abuse claims
“The Catholic church has lost a landmark case over its controversial use of the deaths of pedophile priests to thwart survivors’ attempts at justice. The high court on Wednesday (Nov. 1) delivered a significant blow to the church’s use of permanent stays in historical abuse matters, where it has sought to argue that delay, the death of perpetrators, and the loss of records render it unable to receive a fair trial … The tactic is causing profound harm to an already vulnerable group.” By Christopher Knaus, The Guardian
FOR A SYNODAL CHURCH: COMMUNION, PARTICIPATION AND MISSION
Synodality works: a report from Rome
“In the early decades of the twenty-first century, historians will say, the Catholic Church sought a new way of operating that would allow it to travel into a new era. The clerical, centralist, hierarchical, authoritarian model, barely distinguishable these days from a corporation, was built to survive and even thrive in modernity. But it is no longer feasible in an era when modernity itself has collapsed. How, then, to reconfigure the Church’s inner culture to enable all to participate in its mission and to let the Spirit lead, as Jesus promised? By Austen Ivereigh, Commonweal
In world’s largest Catholic country, relatively little interest in synod process
“While fallout from Pope Francis’s Oct. 4-29 Synod of Bishops on Synodality continues to fuel Catholic debate in the West, arousing disappointment in some quarters and cautious optimism in others, most churchgoers in Brazil, the world’s largest Catholic nation, frankly don’t seem to have paid much attention to the whole synodal exercise. In the opinion of many analysts here, the unique realities of Brazilian culture, and of the Church in the world’s largest Catholic nation, may combine to make the synod seem less relevant to their situation.” By Eduardo Campos Lima, Cruxnow.com
Synod on Synodality report is disappointing but not surprising
“For Pope Francis, the first session of the Synod on Synodality was never about resolving the controversial issues facing the church. Even so, there were those who hoped for forward motion on married priests, women deacons and LGBTQ issues. They will be disappointed by the final report issued by the synod on Oct. 28. For Francis it was not about the hot-button topics. It was always about the synodal process, which he hoped would overcome divisions in the church and recommit us to the mission of Jesus — of proclaiming the gospel of the Father’s love and compassion for all of humanity and the earth.” By Thomas Reese, Religion News Service
In Vatican’s summit’s closing document, agreement that synodality is church’s future
“What many will take away about the Synod on Synodality, the monthlong summit on the future of the church, is that the 450 Catholic clergy and lay faithful called to the meeting skirted the key agenda items of women’s ordination, marriage for priests and acceptance of LGBTQ Catholics. On Saturday (Oct.28), after the synod released a tepid summary of its work, the Women’s Ordination Conference pronounced itself ‘dismayed’ by the failure of the synod to allow women to become priests. ‘A ‘listening church’ that fails to be transformed by the fundamental exclusion of women and LGBTQ+ people fails to model the Gospel itself,’ a statement read.” By Clare Giangravé, Religion News Service
Father James Martin: what happened at the Synod on Synodality
“‘We preach the gospel of friendships that reach across boundaries,’ said Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., during the retreat he led for members of the Synod of Bishops outside of Rome, a few days before our deliberations began. This image informed and illuminated my experience of the XVIth General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which concluded this weekend (Oct. 29): So the foundation of all we shall do in this synod should be the friendships we create. It does not look like much. It will not make headlines in the media. ‘They came all that way to Rome to make friends. What a waste!’ But it is by friendship that we will make the transition from ‘I’ to ‘We.’” By James Martin, S.J., America: The Jesuit Review
Cardinal Cupich on the synod, women deacons, giving bishops job reviews and why ‘LGBTQ’ was left out of the final doc
“Following the closing Mass of the first session of the Synod on Synodality in Rome this October, Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, spoke with America’s Vatican correspondent about his experience of the meeting and the synod’s synthesis document, published Oct. 29. Gerard O’Connell: What is your overall take on the synthesis document? Cardinal Cupich: The document is not as important as the experience that we had. I think the document tries to convey that experience. And it does a good job. But my hope would be that we are able to take that experience back home and share it with our people because that really is what the synod is about. It’s a new way of being church …” By Gerard O’Connell, America: The Jesuit Review
From the outside looking in: a look at the first session of the Synod on Synodality
“The year is 431. The Council of Ephesus, a gathering of bishops representing all of Christendom, is convened in order to reach a consensus on Church teaching, including a heated debate on whether the Virgin Mary should be designated Theotokos, ‘God-bearer’ or ‘Mother of God’ or Christokos, ‘Christ-bearer.’ The disagreements were split between two camps: Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who argued that Mary should be called Christokos, and Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, who advocated for the ‘Mother of God’ title.” By Junno Arocho Esteves, Our Sunday Visitor
POPE FRANCIS
Pope: Theology must interpret the Gospel for today’s world
“A Church that is ‘synodal, missionary, and ‘goes forth’’ needs a theology that ‘goes forth,’ too. That’s the thought behind Pope Francis’ new Motu Proprio Ad theologiam promovendam, dated 1 November 2023, which updates the statutes of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. Established canonically by Clement XI on 23 April 1718, with the brief Inscrutabili, the Academy aimed ‘to place theology at the service of the Church and the world.’ It has evolved over the years into a ‘group of scholars called to investigate and deepen theological themes of particular relevance.’” By Tiziana Campisi, Vatican News
Survivors, advocates voice skepticism over Pope’s about-face in Rupnik case
“In the wake of a surprise announcement Friday (Oct. 27) that Pope Francis has waived a statute of limitations in Church law to permit prosecution of Slovenian priest-artist and accused sexual abuser Father Marko Rupnik, survivors and advocacy groups are raising questions about why it took this long to act, and insisting that symbolic gestures aren’t enough. Victims ‘need justice, not talk,’ said Irish abuse survivor Marie Collins, a former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors who resigned in protest in 2017.” By Elise Ann Allen, Cruxnow.com
CARDINALS
Peru cardinal open to women deacons, wants ‘swift justice’ on abuse
“Following the close of last month’s Synod of Bishops, a leading Latin American cardinal has signaled openness in some cases to ordaining women deacons and also called for swift justice in sexual abuse cases, including the potential dissolution of a lay community in his own country currently under Vatican investigation. Cardinal Pedro Barreto made the comments in an Oct. 30 exclusive interview with Crux, prior to leaving for Rome’s Fiumicino airport to return to Peru following the close of the synod.” By Elise Ann Allen, Cruxnow.com
Cardinal Dolan: In defense of culture warriors
“The sobering reading from Ezekiel in the Liturgy of the Word from Sunday, Sept. 11, 2023, is still echoing in my head. You may recall it: The Lord is reminding the prophet that he, Ezekiel, is a ‘watchman,’ whose task includes warning God’s people, including telling them they will die if they do not change their ways in accord with the Lord’s commands. It is hard to dodge that call as anything but a challenge to be a ‘culture warrior.’ I might prefer ‘critic’ rather than ‘warrior,’ but the call is to speak for the Lord in sternly calling the people to fidelity. If not, the consequences are death, for both the prophet and the hearer. Rather somber!” By Timothy Michael Dolan, America: The Jesuit Review
BISHOPS
Two decades later, Catholic bishops still breaking their most important promise
“At one end of the spectrum, generally speaking, there’s SafeSport … At the other end of the spectrum, there’s the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) … In between are most US Catholic bishops. As a general rule, bishops whose dioceses are in states where victims have some legal rights have posted names of child molesting clerics on their websites. But for the most part, prelates whose dioceses are in states where victims have FEW legal rights are still not providing the names of predatory clergy, sometimes even clerics who have admitted guilt or been convicted in court.” By Adam Horwitz, AdamHorowitzLaw.com
PRIESTS
Father James Martin: What happened at the Synod on Synodality
“‘We preach the gospel of friendships that reach across boundaries,’ said Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., during the retreat he led for members of the Synod of Bishops outside of Rome, a few days before our deliberations began. This image informed and illuminated my experience of the XVIth General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which concluded this weekend: So the foundation of all we shall do in this synod should be the friendships we create. It does not look like much. It will not make headlines in the media. ‘They came all that way to Rome to make friends. What a waste!’ But it is by friendship that we will make the transition from ‘I’ to ‘We.’” By James Martin, S.J., America: The Jesuit Review
RELIGIOUS
‘Process is key’: sisters respond to document from synod’s first session
“The first Vatican session for the synod on synodality, Pope Francis’ multiyear summit on the future of the Catholic Church, was both fruitful and profound, women religious say, but it also had missed opportunities … For the first time since the establishment of the church’s Synod of Bishops in 1965, about 50 women were granted voting rights by the pope at the assembly … ‘I won’t use the term success, but it has been fruitful. It’s a new state in the experience of synodality — there was a lot of grace, it was a time of joy,’ said Xavière Missionary Sr. Nathalie Becquart, an undersecretary of the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops office, which made her not only a voting participant but a member of the synod itself.” By Dan Stockman, National Catholic Reporter
WOMEN’S VOICES
Pope’s meeting on church future says it’s ‘urgent’ to guarantee governance roles for women
“Pope Francis’ big gathering of Catholic bishops and laypeople said Saturday (Oct. 28) it’s ‘urgent’ to guarantee fuller participation of women in church governance and called for research on allowing women to be deacons to be released within a year. After a month of closed-door debate, Francis’ meeting on the future of the Catholic Church ended with the approval of a 42-page text on a host of issues that will now be considered at a second session next year.” By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, in The Seattle Times
LAITY & THE CHURCH
‘We will continue to be heard’: progressive Catholics react to synod report
“The 41-page synthesis report for the Synod of Bishops on Synodality disappointed several progressive Catholics and others who advocate for the Catholic Church to rethink its approach to issues such as the clergy sex abuse crisis, LGBTQ ministry, women’s roles in the church and the possibility of ordaining women to the diaconate. But while some of those Catholics said they were dismayed or angered at what the report glossed over or omitted, others said the document is just the latest milestone in a multiyear process that will continue with another Vatican assembly in October 2024 and a post-synodal apostolic exhortation sometime after that.” By Brian Fraga, National Catholic Reporter
CLERICALISM
Pope Francis reminds us – again – to reject clericalism
“While coverage of the conclusion of the first in-person part of the church’s synod on synodality is understandably garnering a lot of attention, especially as journalists and commentators begin to unpack the final synthesis document, I don’t want to lose sight of a notable intervention (the term for a ‘short speech’ at the synod) that Pope Francis delivered on Wednesday (Oct. 25) of last week, days before the close of this year’s session. In his remarks, the pope began by describing the church as ‘the faithful people of God, holy and sinful, a people convoked and called with the power of the beatitudes and of Matthew 25.’ This clear and simple, yet beautiful, statement follows from the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, which reminds all the faithful that the church is first and foremost the ‘people of God.’” By Daniel P. Horan, National Catholic Reporter
CELIBACY& MARRIED PRIESTS
Priests must be like fathers and not spinsters, says Pope on celibacy
“Pope Francis has said that a change in the Catholic Church’s rule on celibacy will not solve difficulties in the Church because the deeper problem is of priests behaving like spinsters instead of fathers. The Pontiff made his comment in a new wide-ranging interview, in which he confirmed plans to visit to Dubai for a UN climate summit in early December. The Holy Father also addressed current global conflicts, and weighed in on several hot-button issues touched on during last month’s Synod of Bishops on Synodality, including women’s ordination and priestly celibacy.” By Catholic Herald
VOICES
The synod meeting in Rome is done. What now?
“What now? The first session of the two-year synod in Rome has finished its work and published a final document. It offers ideas to guide the church in the next 11 months before the second session gathers in Rome next autumn. What does the task look like for the church here in the United States? The final document has some very specific proposals, and the section on formation especially has some clues about how to proceed.” By Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
ILLINOIS
Retired priest, Father William Killeen, removed from ministry pending investigation of a 40-year-old allegation
“Today (Oct. 28), Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, notified eight parishes that he had asked Fr. William Killeen to step aside pending investigation of an allegation of child sexual abuse received this week. Father Killeen denies the allegation. The abuse is alleged to have occurred approximately 40 years ago at St. Patricia Parish in Hickory Hills.” By Archdiocese of Chicago
- Retired priest William Killeen being investigated for alleged sex abuse at Hickory Hills church, By ABC-TV7 News
MASSACHUSETTS
Former North Attleboro altar boy receives settlement after disclosing abuse by Father Porter
“A former altar boy at St. Mary’s Church in the 1960s has reached a financial settlement with the Diocese of Fall River for sexual abuse he suffered form now notorious Catholic priest James Porter. The 72-year-old man, who now lives on the North Shore of Boston, recently reached a financial package in the ‘mid-five figures,’ Boston lawyer Mitchell Garabedian said during a press conference Wednesday (Nov. 1).” By David Linton, The Sun Chronicle
MICHIGAN
Decades-old sex assault claims may soon see their day in Michigan courts
“Survivors of decades-old sexual assaults may soon get a two-year period to bring civil cases against their alleged abuser while also seeing the actionable window for bringing a claim expanded under moves made by House lawmakers Tuesday (Oct. 31). Members of the House Criminal Justice Committee voted along party lines to advance legislation – HB 4482 through HB 4487, referred to as the “Justice for Survivors” package – which seeks to primarily allow victims of childhood sexual abuse the ability to bring forward their claims long after the act has occurred.” By Jordyn Hermani, MLive.com
MINNESOTA
Former southern Minnesota priest convicted of sexually assaulting adult male
“A former Catholic priest was convicted Thursday (Oct. 26) of sexually assaulting a man in Winona County in December 2020. Ubaldo Roque Huerta, 51, was found guilty after a three-day trial on fifth-degree criminal sexual assault charges for performing sexual acts on a victim without their consent. Huerta is expected to be sentenced in January.” By Trey Mewes, Star Tribune
OHIO
Former St. John’s teacher added to list of priests with ‘established allegations’ of abuse
“A priest who taught at St. John’s High School in the 1990s and early 2000s has been added to the list of Jesuits with ‘established allegations’ of sexual abuse of a minor, according to a letter from the school. St. John’s officials said Father Francis E. Canfield, who died in May, was accused by a former student who said the abuse happened during the 1999-2000 school year.” By WTOL-TV11 News
- Former SJJ faculty member accused of sexual abuse in 1999-2000, By WTVG-TV13 News
SOUTH DAKOTA
Rapid City billboard calls attention to pedophiles among Catholic clergy
“Speaking of Catholic priests, an eager reader notes that someone in Rapid City has been advertising his desire to see the Catholic Church held to greater account for sexual abuse committed by clergy …” By Cory Allen Heidelberger, Dakota Free Press
AUSTRALIA
Woman can sue church for abuse in ‘monumental’ ruling
“Institutional child abuse survivors will have a better chance of securing compensation after a woman alleging historical abuse by a Catholic priest won the right to sue. Three out of five judges in the nation’s top court on Wednesday ruled to overturn a NSW appeal court’s decision to permanently stay the woman’s case, which sought damages for personal injury due to the alleged sexual abuse. The decision is expected to have a wider impact on institutional abuse cases across Australia.” By Jack Gramenz and Peter Bodkin, Yahoo News
IRELAND & NORTHERN IRELAND
Man’s abuse of boys at school in Kilkenny and Offaly continues to cast shadow over many lives
“Nearly 25 years since the Portarlington pedophile Donal Dunne was jailed for offenses against young boys, his deeds continue to cast a shadow over many lives. He had a 45-year teaching career and left the Christian Brothers in 1957, his abuse of boys having spanned both his time in the order and subsequently. He began his teaching career in Dublin in 1940 at Scoil Mhuire in Dublin’s Marino and he held posts in a total of ten schools before retiring from the Sacred Heart School in Tullamore. At the age of 78, he received a two-year prison sentence at Tullamore Circuit Court in 1999.” By KilkennyPeople.ie
SPAIN
Spain ombudsman report on Catholic Church reveals more than 1 in 200 faced sexual abuse
“A report released by Spanish Ombudsman Ángel Gabilondo on Friday (Oct. 27) found that priests within the Catholic Church have abused more than 1 in every 200 Spaniards. The report was presented to the Spanish Parliament on Friday and aimed to ensure that the perpetrators are held responsible and accountable for their actions. The ombudsman also sought to create greater awareness about the issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.” By Amora Evans, Jurist.org
- President of Spanish Episcopal Conference rejects report on pedophilia: ‘the figures extrapolated by some media outlets are lies,’ By Julio Núñez and Íñigo Domínguez, El Pais
- Survey finds up to 440,000 people in Spain may have suffered sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, By Antonio Paniagua, SurInEnglish.com
- Spanish Church sex abuse affected 200,000 children, By Panay News
- Spain’s Catholic Church apologizes for sexual abuse, disputes scale of problem, By Reuters
Voice of the Faithful Focus News Roundup, Oct. 27, 2023
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful, VOTF Focus News Roundup on October 26, 2023
Oct. 27, 2023
TOP STORIES
General Assembly to the People of God: The Church must listen to everyone
Letter of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to the People of God
“Participants in the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops have approved a Letter to the People of God giving thanks for their experience, detailing the work of the past few weeks, and expressing the hope that in the coming months, everyone will be able to ‘concretely participate in the dynamism of missionary communion indicated by the word ‘synod.’” By Vatican News
Synod enters final week recalling Vatican II and the Church’s ‘living tradition’
“As Pope Francis’ major summit on the future of the Catholic Church enters its final week (Oct. 23), bishops and laity were reminded of the Second Vatican Council’s emphasis on the church’s ‘living tradition,’ including the participation and inclusion of all of the ‘people of God.’ As delegates commenced work on their hotly anticipated final document from the monthlong meeting, Australian Fr. Ormond Rush — one of the world’s leading scholars on Vatican II — encouraged the synod’s more than 450 members to be attentive to the ‘traps’ of ‘being drawn into ways of thinking that are not ‘of God.’” By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
Synod participants say it’s ‘too early’ to decide on women deacons
“Participants in Pope Francis’s Synod of Bishops on Synodality chosen to speak to the media said Friday (Oct. 20) that while various topics are being discussed, no decisions will be made on specific issues, and that it is too early in the process to rule on hot-button questions such as women deacons. Asked during an Oct. 20 press briefing whether it was time to make a decision on women deacons, Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo said there are ‘differences of opinions’ within the synod.’” By Elise Ann Allen, Cruxnow.com
Synod assembly to issue ‘Letter to the People of God’
“Members of the Synod of Bishops will issue a ‘Letter to the People of God’ at the close of the first session of the Synod assembly, which ends on Sunday (Oct. 29). The letter, the drafting of which was approved by the Synod assembly, will be discussed both during small group working sessions and among the entire assembly today after a Mass for Synod participants in St Peter’s Basilica, the Synod general secretariat announced.” By CathNews.com
High court to rule on Catholic church’s liability for abuse committed by pedophile priests
“The Catholic church has won the right to challenge in the high court a landmark Victorian ruling forcing the church to take on greater liability for the actions of pedophile priests within its ranks. In the past two years, the Victorian courts have delivered and upheld an unprecedented ruling that the Ballarat diocese was vicariously liable for the abuse of a five-year-old child known as DP at the hands of assistant priest Father Bryan Coffey.” By Christopher Knaus, The Guardian
Archdiocese of Baltimore files for bankruptcy to evade sexual abuse cases
“The archdiocese of Baltimore filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 29 to preempt child sexual abuse lawsuits which were expected to be filed once a new Maryland law removing the statute of limitations took effect on Oct. 1. This strategic move means that all claims against the archdiocese must be made as part of bankruptcy proceedings, effectively eliminating the opportunity for survivors to tell their stories in civil court, precluding legal accountability and insulating the archdiocese from scrutiny of its past mistakes.” By Michelle Onello, Ms. Magazine
Survivor group sends complaint to Vatican on Paprocki’s ‘secrecy and callousness’
“Four men who say they were sexually abused by clergy gathered outside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Thursday (Oct. 19) to announce their group sent a formal complaint with the Vatican, charging that Springfield’s bishop ‘harms his flock.’ The group also sent a letter to Bishop Thomas Paprocki asking that they be allowed to speak at a Diocesan gathering later this month. “We think that would be a long overdue, welcome gesture on his part, and we think that it would encourage other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward …’’ said David Clohessy, former national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and volunteer director of the Missouri group.” By national Public Radio Illinois
TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
Work still needed to bring justice to sexual abuse survivors, say advocates
“Despite more than two decades of efforts to transform the Catholic Church to bring justice to sexual abuse victims and ensure widespread abuse and its cover-up do not happen again, there is much to be done, advocates say. Barbara Thorp, a social worker and the former director of Office of Pastoral Support and Child Protection for the Boston Archdiocese, told the National Catholic Conference on Restorative Justice Oct. 6 that while great strides have been made in some areas, shocking examples of failure continue to arise.” By Dan Stockman, National Catholic Reporter
Victims of sexual abuse demand action from UN and Vatican
“Victims of clerical abuse have traveled to Geneva to urge the United Nations to force the Vatican to honor its international obligations. ‘It’s a pandemic and it has to stop,’ Adalberto Mendez, founder of Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday (Oct. 3). ‘It’s a huge problem, a human rights problem, not just in Europe, but all over the world.’ In Geneva, members of ECA and victims are due to hold talks on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council.” By SwissInfo.ch
FOR A SYNODAL CHURCH: COMMUNION, PARTICIPATION AND MISSION
At the synod, a new kind of conversation is evolving
“The naysayers about the synod, and those who insist that the synod reach specific decisions on specific topics, are both missing the boat. There is a revolution afoot at the synod, and it doesn’t have to do with who gets ordained or any particular hot-button issue. We are learning how to have a different kind of conversation within the Catholic Church, one that gives voice to all the baptized, avoiding the clericalism and ultramontanism of recent centuries. It is not clear why that worries some people or seems insufficient for others. What is happening in Rome is extraordinary.” By Micheal Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
Synod Diary: will synod members get to vote on the final document?
“Yesterday in the synod hall, delegates approved a two-page letter ‘to the people of God’ by applauding. This was a new method for the Roman meeting, and one that understandably ruffled some feathers. Synod members had voted last week overwhelmingly (355-11) in favor of publishing such a letter, in part as a way to answer the question they will surely face when they return to their communities: ‘What exactly have you been doing for the last month?’ After the letter was drafted, though, synod participants were invited to signal their approval of the document by applauding. The group applauded, and only after this ‘approval’ were synod delegates invited to contribute feedback or possible edits. It is not clear whether there will be any more voting or voting-by-applause to approve the final text. The letter is expected to be published tomorrow (Oct. 25).” By Colleen Dulle, America: The Jesuit Review
Hot-button topics may get public attention at the Vatican synod, but a more fundamental issue for the Catholic Church is at heart of debate
“High-ranking Catholics from across the globe have converged on the Vatican, where a landmark initiative is underway that will shape the future of the Catholic Church. Cardinals, bishops, priests and lay Catholics, both men and women, are meeting Oct. 4-29, 2023, as part of the Synod on Synodality: an effort Pope Francis launched in 2021 to generate dialogue among Catholics. More than two weeks into the synod’s first global assembly, participants are largely keeping quiet. Opening the synod, Francis called for a ‘fasting of the public word,’ encouraging delegates to focus inward and treat discussions as private.” By The Conversation
Francis wants the synod in every parish. Here’s how to bring it to yours.
“It is hard for result-oriented Americans to understand that, for Pope Francis, the synodal process is more important than any decision, report or document that comes out of it. We are eager to know what the synod will decide on specific issues like blessing gay couples, ordaining women as deacons or priests and authorizing married priests … Rather than focusing on these topics, Francis wants to overcome the polarization in the church so it can be a true sign and instrument of communion with God and with humanity. He wants the people of God to fulfill their responsibility to announce to the world the Good News of the Gospel, the love and mercy of God toward all humanity and indeed all creation. He wants the entire church to become synodal.” By Thomas Reese, Religion News Service
Theologian points to Vatican II’s ‘dynamic’ tradition in synod on Synodality speech
“Vatican II’s discussion of tradition is the authority for the Synod on Synodality’s reflections today, a theologian and Australian Catholic priest told delegates as the assembly’s final week kicked off Monday (Oct. 23). ‘Having listened to you over these past three weeks, I have had the impression that some of you are struggling with the notion of tradition, in the light of your love of truth,’ Father Ormond Rush said.” By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency
Synod Files: Pope Francis channels Paul VI by taking issues off the table
“Leaders probably ought to be judged not only by the problems they solve, but also the problems they avoid in the first place. The latter are sometimes harder to see, because by definition we’re talking about something that didn’t happen, but that doesn’t make the impact any less real. One participant in the ongoing Synod of Bishops on Synodality has suggested Pope Francis may be in line for just that second kind of credit right now, citing an interesting historical parallel from the Second Vatican Council.” By John L. Allen, Jr., Cruxnow.com
POPE FRANCIS
Pope Francis intervenes at the synod, calling clericalism a ‘scourge’ that ‘enslaves’ God’s people
“Pope Francis told members of the synod on synodality that they should respect and honor the faith of all baptized Catholics, including the women, trusting ‘the holy, faithful people of God’ who continue to believe even when their pastors act like dictators. ‘I like to think of the church as the simple and humble people who walk in the presence of the Lord — the faithful people of God,’ he told participants at the assembly of the Synod of Bishops Oct. 25. In a rare intervention as the assembly was nearing its conclusion, Pope Francis told members to trust the fidelity of the people they listened to in preparation for the synod over the past two years.” By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, in America: The Jesuit Review
Pope Francis: here are five times the Pontiff has split with the Vatican
“In an opening speech to a discussion on the future of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis expressed it needed ‘repair’ and that ‘everyone, everyone, everyone’ should be welcomed. During his address on Wednesday (Oct. 4) in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square, Francis said he recognized the divisions in varying ideologies but asked that people listen to the Holy Spirit. He stated that it was time to ‘rebuild’ the church.” By Niamh Cavanagh, News.Yahoo.com
CARDINALS
Pope gives Curia assignments to new cardinals
“Four days after creating new cardinals, Pope Francis gave an extra job or two to the 18 prelates who are under the retirement age of 80. All active cardinals, whether they lead a diocese far from Rome or head a department of the Roman Curia, are appointed members of Vatican dicasteries, tribunals and offices as part of their service to the pope and the universal church. The new assignments for the cardinals created Sept. 30 were published by the Vatican Oct. 4, and the cardinals with full-time Curia posts received multiple new tasks.” By Catholic News Service in National Catholic Reporter
BISHOPS
Bishops walking out, ‘tiresome’ listening: inside tensions at the synod
“It was less than two weeks into Pope Francis’ high-stakes Vatican summit on the future of the Catholic Church when multiple reports emerged about participating delegates storming out of the room. In one case, a bishop didn’t want to be photographed sitting next to a priest with whom he had numerous disagreements. In another, a cardinal believed that the Oct. 4-29 Synod of Bishops was a misnomer because it now included the equal participation of the laity — a criticism that has reverberated throughout the monthlong meeting.” By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
Polish bishop resigns after diocese is rocked by sex scandal
“A Polish bishop whose diocese has been badly tarnished by reports of a gay orgy involving priests and a prostitute resigned on Tuesday (Oct. 25), the latest in a long series of sexual and financial scandals in Poland’s Roman Catholic Church. Grzegorz Kaszak, the bishop of Sosnowiec in southwestern Poland, announced his departure after one of his priests was placed under criminal investigation in connection with reports last month that he had organized a sex party during which a male prostitute lost consciousness from an overdose of erectile dysfunction pills.” By Andrew Higgins, The New York Times
- Pope accepts resignation of Polish bishop after gay orgy scandal in diocese, By Associated Press in The Guardian
New leader of Canadian bishops says synodality is job number one
“When it was announced on Oct. 16 that Bishop William McGrattan of Calgary, Alberta, was elected the next president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, he was in Rome participating in the Synod of Bishops on Synodality, and he’s still there now. With that in mind, perhaps it’s not a coincidence that in a recent conversation with Crux on his priorities for the conference over his two-year term, many of his answers went back to applying lessons from the synod process, including structural changes to the CCCB governance model. In fact, he said applying the principles of synodality to the conference is the top priority.” By John Lavenburg, Cruxnow.com
USCCB candidates’ slate shows a divided conference
“The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced the slate of candidates for a new secretary of the conference and several committee chairs. The choices the bishops make when they gather Nov. 13-16 in Baltimore for their fall plenary assembly will be a good indication of the direction in which the body of bishops wish to go. The most important choice will be that of a new secretary for the conference. Not only will the bishop selected be a member of the executive committee, which is called upon to make a variety of administrative decisions, he will also serve as chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Priorities and Plans. In that role, among other things, the chair draws up the slate of nominees for these elections, so it is a very influential position.” By Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
PRIESTS
Why Catholic clergy in Poland are leaving the priesthood en masse
“Archbishop Gądecki took it upon himself to diagnose the issue. In his list to the archdiocese, he named, among other reasons, the quality of education available in seminaries as well as the poor level of pastoral work accessible to priests. He also cited certain factors in the priesthood that might be “limiting to their personal development,” which might have contributed to the high number of recent departures.” By BishopPatBuckley.blog
‘Beacons of Light’ report reveals potential priest shortage in Cincinnati archdiocese
“The Archdiocese of Cincinnati released its report on the ‘Beacons of Light’ after the first full year of it being in effect.” By WKRC-TV 12 News
RELIGIOUS
No joke, Sr. Jeannine Gramick just had a friendly meeting with the pope
“Jeannine Gramick just had a friendly meeting with the pope. In the not-too-long-ago, that might have been the punch line to a bad joke or a way of emphasizing that something was impossible. But Jeannine Gramick, a Loretto sister and a co-founder of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBTQ Catholics, did in fact just have a friendly meeting with the pope.” By Tom Roberts, National Catholic Reporter
Pope names sister as first woman secretary of dicastery for religious
“Pope Francis has appointed a woman for the first time to be the No. 2 official of the Roman Curia office that works with religious orders and their members. Consolata Missionary Sr. Simona Brambilla will be secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Vatican announced Oct. 7. According to Vatican statistics published in February, there are nearly 609,000 professed religious women in the world. There are just under 50,000 religious brothers and just over 128,000 religious-order priests.” By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, in Global Sisters Report, National Catholic reporter
WOMEN’S VOICES
Women will vote at a Vatican meeting for the first time
“When Helena Jeppesen-Spuhler, an advocate for the ordination of women, joined a major Vatican meeting this month, she was skeptical that an institution dominated by men for 2,000 years was ready to listen to women like her. The gathering of some 300 bishops from around the world also included for the first time nuns and 70 lay people, women among them, who have voting rights. It was called by Pope Francis to discuss the future of the Roman Catholic Church, including sensitive topics — married priests, the blessing of gay couples, sacraments for the divorced and remarried, as well as the role of women.” By Elisabetta Povoledo, The New York Times
Vatican summit tackles women’s ordination with a nod from Pope Francis
“Discussions about women’s ordination to the priesthood have become livelier in the waning days of the synod on synodality, Pope Francis’ monthlong summit to discuss pressing issues facing the church. While there’s a consensus that women’s roles need to be promoted, participants remain divided on how to achieve that goal … Few topics have captured the attention of attendants more than the question of women’s roles in the church.” By Claire Giangravé, Religion News Service, in The Salt Lake Tribune
I think I was a deacon … or not?
“For women it is not only about being able to do baptism preparation, but to baptize. It is not just about doing marriage preparation but witnessing marriage. It is not only about teaching about the Gospels, but about breaking open the Gospel message during Mass. Once again, I quote Phyllis Zagano who says, ‘The benefit to the church, the people of God, if a woman — religious or secular — is ordained as deacon is that she becomes more clearly identified as acting and being in the image of Christ, the servant, as well as acting on behalf of the bishop.’” By Janet M. Peterworth, Global Sisters Report, National Catholic Reporter
LAITY & THE CHURCH
Redemptorist priest says times is right for more lay-led ceremonies in Catholic Church
“The time is right for lay people to be involved in delivering Church and funeral services. That’s according to Redemptorist Priest, Fr Larry Gallaher; who is in Listowel this week as part of a Redemptorist mission. He was reacting to comments from the Association of Catholic Priests, which said “lay-led” ceremonies will become more common in Ireland.” By Radio Kerry News
CHILD PROTECTION
Baltimore abuse revelations show urgent need for prevention
“The late-September decision by the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore to file for bankruptcy, ahead of an expected flurry of new claims from adult survivors of child sexual abuse, no doubt resurfaces trauma for the hundreds of people who experienced the abuse detailed by an exhaustive report by the Maryland Attorney General in April. The report highlights several changes institutions have made and needs to make to put the well-being of the children they serve first. It underscores how important it is for institutions to prevent abuse before it occurs and confront it effectively and honestly when it happens.” By Elizabeth Letourneau, Ph.D., Amanda Ruzicka, MA, and Mitchell Beer, Psychology Today
CELIBACY& MARRIED PRIESTS
In Kenya, married ex-priest follow Vatican synod’s discussion of clerical celibacy
“As a summit of Catholic bishops in Rome considers allowing priests to marry, a young Kenyan clergyman drew attention to the question of celibate priests on Sunday (Oct. 22) when he married a woman and was ordained in the Catholic Charismatic Church, a splinter tradition, on the same day. The Rev. Edwin Githang’i Waiguru, a former Roman Catholic missionary who had served in the United States and Haiti, said marriage was a dream come true for him. Before Sunday’s wedding, Waiguru had lived in an African traditional marriage and had become the father of two children. Though never ordained, Waiguru made headlines for publicly celebrating his journey.” By Fredrick Nzwili, Religion News Service
VOICES
Two Illinois parishes live on either side of a Catholic divide
“The Synod on Synodality, the sprawling meeting in Rome, has become a flashpoint among different factions of the church’s leadership. Women and laypeople are participating in the meeting for the first time. Attendees have a broad mandate to discuss the future of the church, including ordaining women as deacons and outreach to L.G.B.T.Q. people. Relatively progressive leaders, including those appointed by Pope Francis, see the synod as a hopeful moment that could lead to much-needed changes. Conservatives fear that the meeting will decay church standards and unleash chaos. They have compared it to Pandora’s box, and warn that it could cause a schism.” By Ruth Graham, The New York Times
What is the sound of a woman leaving the church?
“A famous Zen koan asks: What is the sound of one hand clapping? A contemporary spiritual riddle might inquire: What is the sound of a woman leaving? Neither has an answer. There is only silence. I reentered Catholicism with some trepidation, overpowered by a longing I could not name. Intellectually, I understood that what had exiled me in the 1980s had not changed. Popes come and go but misogyny remains entrenched. I came back anyway, drawn by light through stained glass, by music both beautiful and inspiring, by pews filled with goodhearted people who reflected our city neighborhoods, not just in ethnicity and color but in shades of gender, sexuality, physical abilities and gifts. In the decades of my absence it seemed the church had gotten much right. But not the whole gender equity thing. On that the hierarchy remains frozen. Intransigent. Unyielding. Unhearing.” By Geraldine Gorman, National Catholic Reporter
How the extraordinary became normal in Catholicism
“The Francis era in Roman Catholicism is a good example of how the abnormal and even extraordinary can come to feel, with enough repetition, old hat and status quo. The wildness of the last decade is undeniable: the first papal resignation in centuries, the elevation of a new pope who began casting about for the means to alter Catholic teaching, the attempted rebellions by that pope’s own cardinals, the growing threats of schism from both the traditional and progressive wings of the church.” By Ross Douthat, The New York Times
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
Boston Archdiocese opposes canceling civil statute of limitations for abuse claims
“Advocates say getting rid of the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse is a matter of moral justice, but the Archdiocese of Boston says the move will hurt its own efforts to help sexual abuse victims. The Massachusetts Legislature is considering eliminating the civil statute of limitations for adult victims of child sexual abuse. The current law allows victims to file civil lawsuits up to 35 years after the abuse.” By Damien Fisher, OSV News, in National Catholic Reporter
CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE
Update: Rupnik ‘presumed innocent’ until proven guilty, says diocese that welcomed him
“Father Marko Rupnik, the former Jesuit priest and mosaic artist accused of serious abuses against women, has been accepted for priestly ministry in a diocese in Slovenia. In a statement to CNA on Wednesday, the Diocese of Koper confirmed earlier Italian and German media reports that Rupnik was now incardinated there. The statement said that Rupnik was received into the diocese at the end of August.” By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency
10/23 statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis
“We’re here today outside a courthouse because this is where you go – if you were physically or sexually or emotionally abused in an institutional setting – this is where you go for justice, healing, closure, accountability and prevention, to the admittedly flawed but time-tested and transparent legal system. You find justice, healing closure, accountability and prevention in secular courts of law, not in the private offices of wrongdoers. This is especially true when it comes to institutions that are private, independent and secretive and when they posture as religious or educational.” By David Clohessy, volunteer Missouri director of SNAP, Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Delegates at Spirit Unbounded address issues facing the Church
“The source of the ‘plague’ of child sexual abuse in the Church is the ‘traditional devaluation of children,’ the theology of priesthood and mythical image of the priest promoted by Pope John Paul II, according to canon lawyer Dr Tom Doyle … Doyle, who has taught in a number of US seminaries and universities, told the Spirit Unbounded assembly of lay reform groups that he had ‘never heard’ of the concept of ontological change when he was in the seminary or for the first 30 years of his priesthood.” By Sarah Mac Donald, The Tablet
‘What if I’m not the only person?’ Survivor names priests who abused him decades ago.
“Derek McCarthy wants public to know that Spiritan priest with ties to two US cities was one of four men who sexually molested him at Irish boarding school. Some in the US cities of Pittsburgh and New Orleans knew Naos McCool as a Roman Catholic priest who worked with college students and first responders, and also officiated his share of weddings. But Derek McCarthy wants the public to know that McCool, a Spiritan priest, was one of four men who sexually molested him while attending an Irish boarding school – decades before he secured a six-figure settlement from the cleric’s religious order.” By Ramon Antonio Vargas, The Guardian
Survivor: abuse should be seriously addressed by the synod, or not at all
“While the doors of the Synod on Synodality, taking place in the Vatican Oct. 4-29, are closed to journalists and the public, a group of survivors of sexual abuse anxiously awaits news on how the assembly addresses the clerical sexual abuse that affected their lives so painfully. While OSV News sources say abuse has been mentioned a few times in the first synodal week — synodal groups spoke about abuse; none of the individual interventions have so far — it is not clear how and to what extent it will be brought into discussion.” By Paulina Guzik, Our Sunday Visitor
CALIFORNIA
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone won’t name his predators and won’t be honest about bankruptcy
“When a Catholic entity runs to federal court seeking bankruptcy protection, its head often posts a ‘FAQ’ (frequently asked questions) or a ‘Q & A’ section on its website, putting the church hierarchy’s spin on the decision. Usually, these postings are dreadfully disingenuous and dishonest. The Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s latest posting is perhaps the worst. It’s hard to know where to begin.” By Adam Horowitz, AdamHorowitzLaw.com
- San Francisco archbishop accused of ‘breathtaking lack of empathy’ in bankruptcy filing, By Matthew Kupfer, The San Francisco Standard
Priest pleads not guilty in child pornography case
“A Catholic priest who had served at an Oxnard church pleaded not guilty to a felony child pornography charge on Tuesday (Oct. 3) in Ventura County Superior Court. The Rev. Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara, 38, also denied a special allegation of aggravated possession involving more than 600 images of child pornography, court records show. Prosecutors have said some of the images showed minors younger than 12.” By VCStar.com
LOUISIANA
Why did church take so long to admit New Orleans deacon was a child abuser?
“More than 10 months after he pleaded guilty to child molestation and after his victim received a substantial financial settlement, the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans has at last acknowledged that deacon VM Wheeler was a credibly accused child molester. Wheeler, a prominent attorney and church benefactor who died this spring, was ordained in 2018 by the New Orleans archbishop, Gregory Aymond.” By Ramon Antonio Vargas, The Guardian
MARYLAND
Baltimore priest removed from ministry after settlement over claims of sexual misconduct surfaces
“The Archdiocese of Baltimore is confirming a settlement with a priest in Baltimore accused of sexual harassment. The archdiocese said it learned about the claims on Thursday (Oct. 12) involving Father Paschal Morlino, who is the pastor of St. Benedict Church in southwest Baltimore. Within 24 hours, the priest was suspended from any duties in public ministry. His removal was announced Sunday to parishioners … In a statement, the archdiocese said someone filed a complaint in 2018 with the archdiocese, citing multiple concerns, and that the complaint did not include any information about the issues that led to the settlement.” By Tommie Clark, WBAL-TV11 News
- Popular St. Benedict pastor accused of rape, fraud over $200K secret settlement, By Tim Prudente and Jessica Calefati, The Baltimore Banner
- A Baltimore priest has been dismissed over 2018 sexual harassment settlement, By Associated Press
A parent’s nightmare: 12 predator priests at same Maryland Catholic Church
“What if you learned, years later, that a dozen credibly accused abusive employees worked at the daycare where you sent your children? Or if you found out that a dozen predatory teachers taught at the elementary school, your youngsters had attended … Try to put yourself in this dreadful scenario. It’s really hard to imagine, isn’t it? Though it’s mind-blowing, it’s not theoretical. Hundreds of good parents who attended – and may still attend – St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Catonsville, Maryland, in the Baltimore Archdiocese find themselves in this frightening situation.” By Adam Horowitz, AdamHorowitzLaw.com
Archdiocese of Baltimore makes first appearance in federal bankruptcy court
“Baltimore Archbishop William Lori did not attend the hearing in person as the Catholic Church filed eight motions, all of which the judge granted, but only the time extension was granted permanently. Among the motions, the church’s team of private attorneys asked for more time, for continued access to cash and to keep most of the process secret. The other seven motions were granted on an interim basis.” By Kate Amara, WBAL-TV11 News
- Maryland childhood sex abuse lawsuits filed in days after new law lifts statute of limitations restrictions, By AboutLawsuits.com
- The Archdiocese of Baltimore declares bankruptcy just as new child sex abuse law passes, By Scott Maucione, National Public Radio
MASSACHUSETTS
Roman Catholic diocese settles with 70-year-old man over sex abuse he suffered as a child
“A 70-year-old man who recently reached a settlement with a Roman Catholic diocese in Massachusetts over sexual abuse he suffered at age 8 said Wednesday (Oct. 11) he is speaking out because ‘my voice was taken away from me for all those years’ and he wants to help others like himself. ‘There were a number of details that bring that memory back, painful details,’ Claude Leboeuf said at a news conference in Fall River. ‘I could feel muscle pain, sometimes emotional pain. I can visualize them. I can never know when those memories come flashing back to me. But that’s how it happens. It’s very real to me.’” By The Associated Press on WBUR-FM
- Former Attleboro man receives ‘five-figure’ settlement for sexual abuse by Father Porter, By David Linton, Attleboro Sun Chronicle
MICHIGAN
Former priest guilty of sex crime
“Aaron James Nowicki, 49, a former priest in Marquette, was arrested in 2021 after an undercover operation by the Genessee Human Oppression Strike Team, the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office, the Sault Ste. Marie Police Department, the Sault Tribe Police Department and TRIDENT. A press release from Chippewa County Prosecutor Robert Stratton says that the undercover operation saw law enforcement officials using the social media application Grindr to pose as a 15-year-old boy.” By Randy Crouch, Daily Press
NEW YORK.
Buffalo Diocese prepared to offer $100 million to child sex abuse victims
“The Buffalo Diocese is offering up to $100 million to settle child sex abuse claims in its federal bankruptcy case. As much as half of that would come from parishes, schools and other Catholic entities, while the diocese would also need to sell its Catholic Center on Main Street, the former Christ the King Seminary campus in the Town of Aurora and other properties. Those details were revealed in court papers filed late Monday (Oct. 23) in which diocese lawyers sought a preliminary injunction to keep all sex abuse lawsuits against parishes and schools grounded while mediated negotiations in the diocese bankruptcy case continue.” By Jay Tokasz, The Buffalo News
- Diocese of Buffalo ‘attempts to delay’ clergy sexual abuse lawsuits, seeks $100 million settlement, By WKBW-TV7 News
PENNSYLVANIA
Former Philadelphia priest Armand Garcia will plead guilty on sexual abuse charges against a minor
“Former Philadelphia priest Armand Garcia will plead guilty to sexually abusing a teenage girl in court on Monday (Oct. 23) … Garcia also committed unlawful conduct with the same girl in his home in Delaware County, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said. He first met the girl when she was a 13-year-old altar server at the Immaculate Heart of Mary’s Elementary School.” By Jessica Macaulay, CBS-TV3 News Philadelphia
- Philadelphia priest pleads guilty to sexually abusing a 16-year-old altar server who said she endured a ‘nightmare,’ By Rodrigo Torrejón, Philadelphia Inquirer
Former Pennsylvania Catholic priest faces multiple charges in child porn investigation: reports
“A Blair County man and former priest is facing more than 30 charges following a months-long child porn investigation, according to reports. Anthony Petracca Jr., 67, was placed on leave by the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown following allegations of misconduct in 2017. Then, cybertips were reported to the Office of the Attorney General during the summer of 2022.” By EmilyAnn Jackman, PennLive.com
TENNESSEE
A Tennessee man was abused as a boy. The priest who did it was never named – until now.
“When Turner Casey, 56, first spoke to a reporter at The Commercial Appeal about having been sexually abused as a child by a Catholic priest in Humboldt, Tennessee, he wondered who else had been abused by the same priest. ‘I’m 99.9% certain I couldn’t have been the only one,’ said Casey, who now lives in Louisiana. In the weeks following that phone call, as Casey spoke to friends and family about the possibility of his childhood abuse coming to light in an article, he learned something he’d never expected: His younger brother, who died in 2021, was likely also abused by the same priest.” By Katherine Burgess, Commercial Appeal
TEXAS
Priest who served in La Vernia charged with sexual assault
“The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Catholic priest who previously served in La Vernia and Stockdale, and charged him with aggravated sexual assault, a felony. Father George Mbugua Ndung’u, known as Father Wanjiru Ndung’u in the parishes where he served, was arrested Sept. 26. This followed an investigation by the Archdiocese of San Antonio, and further investigation by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. He is alleged to have sexually assaulted an elderly parishioner several times in the parish where he has most recently been serving, St. Rose of Lima in San Antonio.” By La Vernia News
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Archdiocese of Washington hit with lawsuit claiming decades of sexual abuse
“The Archdiocese of Washington is the target of a class-action lawsuit accusing Roman Catholic officials of allowing clergy to sexually abuse children for decades. The lawsuit was filed Monday (Oct. 2) in Prince George’s County Circuit Court, a day after Maryland’s Child Victims Act of 2023 took effect by lifting the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases. The Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for bankruptcy on Friday (Sept. 29), before the law was to take effect. The lawsuit was brought by three survivors of alleged abuse from Maryland counties who were between 9 and 12 years old when they say the abuse occurred.” By Mark A. Kellner, Washington Times
ARGENTINA
Mendoza court acquits nuns in Próvolo deaf children sex abuse case
“Two nuns and seven other female employees accused of complicity in years of sexual abuse of minors at the Antonio Próvolo Institute for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children in Mendoza Province were acquitted by a court Wednesday (Oct. 18) of sexual abuse and rape. The ruling, broadcast on public television, concluded a trial of two-and-a-half years in a case that has shocked the home country of Pope Francis.” By Buenos Aires Times
AUSTRALIA
Call for a national summit to address child abuse and neglect
“The Albanese Government is ‘dragging its heels’ on the need for a national summit to address endemic levels of child abuse and neglect, says Australian Catholic University child protection expert Daryl Higgins. The director of the Institute of Child Protection Studies at the Australian Catholic University said the ‘appalling’ findings of a national child maltreatment study earlier this year require a multi-disciplinary focus on prevention with support from political leaders.” By CathNews.com
Vatican report reveals grooming by ‘sexual predator’ bishop
“The Vatican is investigating allegations of sexual abuse and misuse of Church funds by the former Bishop of Broome, whose diocese covers a vast area of Western Australia’s tropical north and includes a large number of Aboriginal communities. A 200-page Church-commissioned report alleges 73-year-old Christopher Saunders sexually abused four Aboriginal youths and misused hundreds of thousands of dollars in Church and charity funds attempting to groom dozens more.” By Mark Bowling, The Tablet
- Broome Catholic bishop subject of Vatican investigation still in control of charities, By Tory Shepherd, The Guardian
BOLIVIA
Twenty victims of pedophilia denounce the Society of Jesus of Bolivia for covering up rapes
“A pedophilia scandal is cornering the Society of Jesus in Bolivia. Half a year after the publication of the diary of the late Spanish Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas, in which he admitted to having abused dozens of Bolivian children while his superiors looked the other way — and which triggered a series of accusations against a dozen priests in the Latin American country — a group of victims on Tuesday (Oct. 3) brought legal action against the Roman Catholic organization for covering up the abuse, for protecting pedophile clerics and for silencing the victims.” By Julio Núñez, El Pais
- Bolivia prosecutors ask Vatican for reports on ‘irregularities’ regarding abuse scandal, By Julieta Villar, Catholic News Agency
CANADA
Overshadowed by Mount Cashel: this school abuse survivor says grade 7 was a nightmare
“The sky over St. John’s on this October morning is thick with dark clouds as a blue sedan slowly pulls into an unremarkable parking lot on Patrick Street. The older man at the wheel is expressionless as he guides his car to a stop. He takes a second to compose himself, opens his door and plants his sneaker-clad feet onto the damp asphalt. Smartly, he stands erect. Looking to the back of the parking lot, where Holy Cross all-boys school once stood, he feels a chill unrelated to the threatening skies overhead.” By Terry Roberts, CBC News
Former N.W.T. priest gets two years jail for indecent assault against child in Fort Simpson 40 years ago
“A former N.W.T. priest began a two-year sentence Monday (Oct. 23) for a crime dating back four decades. Camille Piché pleaded guilty in N.W.T. territorial court to indecent assault against a child while working as a priest in Fort Simpson, N.W.T. According to an agreed statement of facts read in court on Monday, Piché was working at the Sacred Heart Church in Fort Simpson when he developed a friendship with the victim’s parents and made regular visits to their home.” By Natalie Pressman, CBC News
Former St. Anne’s nun 8th person charged for alleged abuses at that residential school
“Some were remembered only by their nicknames. They were brothers Big Nose and Pigskin, Hamburger Lips and Pinching Lady, sisters Grasshopper, Skunk and Pig — aliases and Cree epithets the children of St. Anne’s residential school in Fort Albany, Ont., gave their alleged abusers. They’re among 180 alleged perpetrators listed by 152 survivors in 61 lawsuits, filed against the Canadian government and Catholic Church in the early 2000s. But in some cases, like those above, the now-adult children could only recall the nicknames.” By Brett Forester, CBC News Canada
Family says Christian Brothers abuse led to death of loved one in Vancouver’s downtown eastside
“It’s been one year since Paddy Munro held her son as he shivered, emaciated, in a hospital waiting room. A full year since he slipped out of the observation room and back to a dilapidated hotel on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. One year since the worst day of her life — when she got a phone call saying her son was dead. Sean Munro fought to vanquish his intrusive thoughts for more than 20 years, his family says. He struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder, body dysmorphia, alcoholism and more. At the root of it all, his mother says, was what happened in a small office at a Vancouver private school in the 1980s — with a teacher who they believe never should have been there.” By Ryan Cook, CBC News
GREAT BRITAIN, SCOTLAND AND WALES
A priest from Charente indicted for sexual assault on a minor
“A 31-year-old priest from Charente was indicted for sexual assault on a minor under the age of 15, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned from the Versailles public prosecutor’s office and the diocese of Angoulême, which suspended from all functions on Tuesday October 24. The indictment, pronounced on Friday (Oct. 20) was accompanied by judicial review. The facts occurred between July 1, 2021 and August 5, 2023, ‘to the detriment of a single victim, a boy aged between 9 and 11 years old at the time of the events, one of the children of a family to whom the accused was close,’ declared the prosecution to AFP.” By David Sadler, Globe Echo World News
IRELAND & NORTHERN IRELAND
Christian Brothers agree to enter mediation in protracted historical child abuse case
“The congregation of the Christian Brothers has ‘effectively’ agreed to enter into mediation with a victim of historical child sex abuse, the High Court was told on Tuesday (Oct. 10). In a major development in a case where the congregation has, up to now, been refusing to put forward a nominee to represent it for the purposes of the litigation, mediation is set to begin with Frank Buttimer Solicitors acting for the current head of the congregation, Bro David Gibson, as well as 104 other members.” By Colm Keena, The Irish Times
JAMAICA
Roman Catholic priest appears in court charged with rape
“A Roman Catholic priest appeared in the Family Court in St Vincent and the Grenadines on Monday (Oct. 23) charged with two counts of sexual offenses. The priest, a foreign national, was arraigned on two counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault and appeared on camera before Magistrate, John Ballah … He has been granted and was granted bail to appear before the Family Court, whose president would conduct a preliminary inquiry.” By Caibbean.LoopNews.com
Work still needed to bring justice to sexual abuse survivors, say advocates / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on October 16, 2023
‘I’ve read many statements over the years, but this one (Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Sept. 27) statement was something,’ Thorp said. ‘One sentence struck me like a lightning bolt: ‘No one should have to beg for justice in the church.’ I’ll repeat it: ‘No one should have to beg for justice in the church.’
By Dan Stockman, National Catholic Reporter
“Despite more than two decades of efforts to transform the Catholic Church to bring justice to sexual abuse victims and ensure widespread abuse and its cover-up do not happen again, there is much to be done, advocates say.
“Barbara Thorp, a social worker and the former director of Office of Pastoral Support and Child Protection for the Boston Archdiocese, told the National Catholic Conference on Restorative Justice Oct. 6 that while great strides have been made in some areas, shocking examples of failure continue to arise. “Barbara Thorp, a social worker and the former director of Office of Pastoral Support and Child Protection for the Boston Archdiocese, told the National Catholic Conference on Restorative Justice Oct. 6 that while great strides have been made in some areas, shocking examples of failure continue to arise.
“‘The resistance to the necessary institutional changes to ensure justice are in many places not only glacial, but frozen,’ Thorp told several hundred attendees at the conference, which was held Oct. 5-7 at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. ‘Jesus said, ‘You are the light of the world,’ but in practice, it’s more like a 10-watt bulb flickering than the penetrating light of Christ.'”
By Dan Stockman, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Voice of the Faithful Focus News Roundup, Oct. 6, 2023
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful, VOTF Focus News Roundup on October 5, 2023
Oct. 6, 2023
TOP STORIES
Opening momentous Vatican summit, Pope Francis begs church to ‘not impose burdens’
“Pope Francis on Oct. 4 officially opened a long-anticipated Vatican summit on the very future of Catholicism, encouraging its participants — bishops and lay people alike — to reject the temptations of doctrinal rigidity and to embrace a vision of the church that is open and welcoming to all. ‘The blessing and welcoming gaze of Jesus prevents us from falling into some dangerous temptations: of being a rigid church, which arms itself against the world and looks backward; of being a lukewarm church, which surrenders to the fashions of the world; of being a tired church, turned in on itself,” Francis said in a homily in St. Peter’s Square that marked the start of the monthlong Synod of Bishops’ synod on synodality.” By Christopher White and Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter
- Pope Francis opens a big Vatican meeting on the Church’s future and says ‘everyone’ is welcome, By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press
Pope’s own abuse commission blasts system that leaves victims ‘wounded and in the dark’
“In a bold new statement, the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, an advisory body created by Pope Francis in 2014, has condemned what they described as a failure on the part of church authorities in abuse prevention, saying they will push leaders to do more. ‘Every day seems to bring forth new evidence of abuse, as well as cover up and mishandling by Church leadership around the world,’ a Sept. 27 statement from the commission said, issued ahead of a Sept. 30 consistory for the creation of new cardinals and a Synod of Bishops beginning Oct. 4.” By Elise Ann Allen Cruxnow.com
- Papal commission asks synod make safeguarding a bigger priority, By Carol Glatz, Catholic News System, in The Pilot
Sex abuse allegations against a deceased cardinal add to the German church’s troubles
“A scandal centering on sexual abuse allegations against a long-deceased cardinal has created a ‘very difficult situation’ for the troubled Catholic Church in Germany, a top German bishop said Monday (Sept. 25), hours after a statue of the late cleric was removed from its perch outside Essen Cathedral. The accusations against Cardinal Franz Hengsbach, who died in 1991, added to a long-running scandal over abuse by clergy that has shaken the German church.” By Geir Moulson, Associated Press
Papal commission incorporates global feedback in safeguarding guidelines
“Four months after soliciting public input on the development of safeguarding guidelines, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said it had reviewed 300 responses and 700 suggestions that ‘largely confirmed the approach adopted’ for establishing rules and procedures to handle abuse in the Catholic Church. The commission, which held its plenary assembly in Rome Sept. 20-22, began working on the second phase of its ‘Universal Guideline Framework’ which will ‘provide clear criteria for local churches on how safeguarding policies and procedures can become effective,’ it said in a statement released Sept. 23.” By Justin McLellan, Catholic News Service, in Our Sunday Visitor
Victims march to Rome to demand ‘zero tolerance’ on church abuse
“A group of Catholic Church abuse victims and their advocates on Wednesday (Sept. 27) called on Pope Francis to enforce ‘zero tolerance’ against clerical sex abuse, after completing a six-day pilgrimage to Rome carrying a large wooden cross. The 10 men and women walked 130 kilometres (81 miles) along the last stretch of the Via Francigena, a medieval trail that connects Canterbury, England, to Rome, ahead of a major Vatican summit on the future of the Church, starting next week.” By Reuters
Pope asks new cardinals to join Church ‘symphony’
“Coming from different parts of the world and having different experiences and talents, members of the College of Cardinals are called to create a ‘symphony,’ listening to one another and to the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis said. Creating 21 new cardinals from 16 nations Sept. 30, the pope used the biblical story of Pentecost to remind the prelates of the roots of their faith, and he invoked the image of a symphony to emphasize their call to be both faithful and creative.” By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, in Our Sunday Visitor
- Pope Francis has appointed 21 new cardinal – an expert on medieval Christianity explains what it means for the future of the Catholic Church, By The Conversation
TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
Clergy abuse survivors propose new ‘zero tolerance’ law following outcry over Vatican appointment
“Clergy sexual abuse survivors on Monday (Oct. 2) unveiled a proposed new church law calling for the permanent removal of abusive priests and superiors who covered for them, as they stepped up their outrage over Pope Francis’ choice to head the Vatican office that investigates sex crimes. The global advocacy group End Clergy Abuse unveiled the draft law at a press conference following days of protests around the Vatican, and before taking their complaints to the U.N. in Geneva.” By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, on Independent.co.uk
A Belgian bishop says the Vatican has for years snubbed pleas to defrock a pedophile ex-colleague
“A prominent Belgian bishop on Wednesday (Sept. 27) criticized the Vatican for failing to defrock a former bishop who admitted sexually abusing children, saying it had led to massive frustration with the highest Roman Catholic authorities. Disgraced bishop Roger Vangheluwe, who was brought down by a sexual abuse scandal 13 years ago, became a symbol in Belgium of the Roman Catholic church’s hypocrisy in dealing with abuse in its own ranks.” By Raf Casert, Associated Press
FOR A SYNODAL CHURCH: COMMUNION, PARTICIPATION AND MISSION
Synod Diary: taking the long view of the synod
“We’re off. Today (Oct. 4), Pope Francis opened the Synod on Synodality with a Mass in St. Peter’s Square with the synod delegates and new cardinals that he created over the weekend. I have been to papal events before, but this was my first time attending as an accredited journalist. This had me feeling a little bit of imposter syndrome but mostly excitement for a number of reasons, one of which is that I would be taking in the Mass from the Vatican press box.” By Zac Davis, America: The Jesuit Review
Nurturing authentic co-responsibility in the Church: a synodal challenge
“‘Co-responsibility,’ a theme proposed for discussion at the Synod of Bishops on synodality, raises questions about the nature of the hierarchy — clergy who serve in the most visible structures of the Church — and what Pope Benedict XVI called the plebs sancta — that is, the ‘holy people,’ who are members of the Body of Christ. Twin errors lead to misunderstanding the Church today. Those who make one error mistakenly identify the Church as consisting simply of the hierarchy.” By Our Sunday Visitor Editorial Board
The secret synod
“On Sept. 30, 464 people will gather in Rome to pray at the start of an unusual undertaking, the Synod on Synodality. Then, for the three days leading up to the actual meeting, they will be in a spiritual retreat. After that, the talking will begin. What will they talk about? That is the big question. Catholics who have heard about the synod are wondering what is happening. It is not supposed to be that way.” By Phyllis Zagano, National Catholic Reporter
National Catholic Reporter’s guide to U.S. participants at the synod on synodality
“When Pope Francis opens the first of two meetings of the synod on synodality Oct. 4 in Rome, the 363 voting participants will come from all over the world. For the first time, lay people — including 54 women — will have voting rights. More than a quarter of the voting members are not bishops. NCR has compiled a reference guide to the 24 Americans (or people with U.S. connections) who will be participating in the Oct. 4-29 synod. All participants — including appointed and ex-officio members — except experts/facilitators will be able to vote.” By Heidi Schlumpf, National Catholic Reporter
There should be voting at the synod.
“Almost anyone who has ever suggested forms of increased lay participation in the governance of the church, particularly in a public forum, has been challenged with a true, if perhaps misleading, slogan in response: ‘The church is not a democracy.’ This is true, in that the church’s governance is determined by its hierarchical, sacramental order, and so decision-making differs from the methods used in modern democratic entities. If anything, the church’s decision-making more often resembles that of a corporation or nonprofit organization and is increasingly in dialogue with and responsive to its membership and stakeholders.” By Brian P. Flanagan, America: The Jesuit Review
The Vatican Briefing podcast: Francis opens a synod that could change the Catholic Church
“‘The Vatican Briefing’ is a new podcast from the National Catholic Reporter, featuring two respected Vatican journalists and experts: Joshua J. McElwee and Christopher White. As Pope Francis is opening the hotly anticipated 2023 Synod of Bishops, they offer analysis and news updates, and interview some of the assembly’s key decision-makers. In their first episode, McElwee and White discuss the pope’s creation of 21 new cardinals of the Catholic Church, the Sept. 30 ecumenical prayer vigil for the synod in St. Peter’s Square, and some of the hot-button issues, such as women’s ordination and LGBTQ ministry, that the synod is expected to discuss.” By National Catholic Reporter Staff
What is a synod in the Catholic Church? And why does this one matter
“Even for a Roman Catholic Church rife with esoteric terminology that often defies comprehension by the uninitiated, this month’s Synod on Synodality at the Vatican — essentially a major workshop for church leaders and lay people on how to work together for the good of the church — has proved mystifyingly meta for many of the rank-and-file faithful. ‘I am well aware that speaking of a ‘Synod on Synodality’ may seem something abstruse, self-referential, excessively technical, and of little interest to the general public,’ Pope Francis said in August. But, he added, it “is something truly important for the church.’” By Jason Horowitz and Elisabetta Povoledo
Vatican assembly puts the church’s most sensitive issues on the table
“This month, starting on Wednesday (Oct. 4), (Pope) Francis’ desire for the church to discuss the concerns of its faithful, even the most sensitive topics, will culminate at the Vatican in an assembly of bishops from around the world that will allow, for the first time, lay people, including women, to attend and vote. The issues under discussion will include priestly celibacy, married priests, the blessing of gay couples, the extension of sacraments to the divorced and the ordination of female deacons.” By Jason Horwitz, The New York Times
The conservative Catholic ‘misinformation’ campaign against the Synod of Bishops
“In October 2022, viewers of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) were told by German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, formerly one of the Vatican’s highest-ranking officials, that Pope Francis’ plans for the Synod of Bishops represented a ‘hostile takeover’ of the Catholic Church … Sharp warnings, of the kind that have become more and more frequent in certain Catholic media circles in the months leading up to the Oct. 4 opening of the synod assembly, which will bring hundreds of bishops, priests, religious and lay persons to Rome to discuss a range of topics facing the church.” By Brian Fraga, National Catholic Reporter
5 suggestions to make the pope’s big Synod of Bishops actually mean something
“People ask me what I think is going to happen at the first assembly of the two-part Synod of Bishops in Rome this October. I have long had serious reservations about the whole process. My crystal ball is being repaired so I have no earthly idea … I offer a few friendly suggestions. If it is too late to implement some this year, there is always next October, and the October after that, and the one after that, which leads to my first suggestion …” By Mary E. Hunt, National Catholic Reporter
Vatican releases full list of synod participants: Chinese bishops in, Cardinal Ladaria out
“Two bishops from mainland China have been given permission by Beijing to participate in the Synod on Synodality, which opens at the Vatican on Oct. 4. The secretariat for the synod broke the news when it published the final list of the 464 participants at noon today, Sept. 21, along with a calendar of the main synod events … Today, it released that information, and more.” By Gerard O’Connell, America: The Jesuit Review
Culture warriors on the left and right can’t derail the synod
“The synod begins next week in Rome. In assessing its work, we need to identify and isolate the challenges to synodality coming from both the extreme right-wing and left-wing bleachers. The culture warrior mode — attack your opponent, never give in, seek victory at all costs — is the antithesis of synodality. That culture warrior approach may dominate some of the conversations outside the synod hall, but it will be deadly if it gets inside.” By Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
POPE FRANCIS
Pope signals openness to blessings for gay couples, study of women’s ordination
“Pope Francis has expressed openness to Catholic blessings for same-sex couples, under the condition they are not confused with marriage ceremonies for men and women, in what could be a watershed moment for the global Catholic Church. Francis has also suggested the question of women’s ordination to the priesthood, controversially prohibited by Pope John Paul II in 1994, could be open to further study.” By Joshua J. McElwee and Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
- Pope responds to cardinals on blessings for homosexuals, female priests, By Justin McLellan, Our Sunday Visitor
Pope Francis wants discernment to guide the synod, but it’s not easy – nor always successful
“Discernment of how the Spirit is leading the church is at the heart of Pope Francis’ plans for the Synod on Synodality, but anyone who thinks discernment is easy is bound to get into trouble. It is very easy for us to believe that our desires and opinions are inspired by the Spirit and that everyone else is wrong. Dialogue becomes that much more difficult when you feel that God is on your side.” By Thomas Reese, Religion News Service, in National Catholic Reporter
All society must address child sexual abuse: Pope
“The scourge of child sexual abuse must be addressed by society at large, Pope Francis said yesterday. ‘The abuses that have affected the Church are but a pale reflection of a sad reality that involves all of humanity and to which the necessary attention is not paid,’ said the Pope in his address on Monday (Sept. 25) to a Catholic Latin American interdisciplinary group involved in training priests and religious for the protection of minors. In his address, the Pope associated the suffering of abused children and of all vulnerable persons to that of the suffering Christ, recalling the ‘martyr child,’ St. Chistopher de La Guardia, celebrated by the Church in Spain yesterday.” By Vatican News on CathNews.com
CARDINALS
Five cardinals challenge pope to affirm church teaching on gays, women ahead of synod
“Five conservative cardinals from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas have challenged Pope Francis to affirm current Catholic teaching on homosexuality and women’s ordination ahead of a big Vatican meeting where such hot-button issues are up for debate. The cardinals on Monday (Oct. 2) published five questions they submitted to Francis, known as ‘dubia,’ as well as an open letter to the Catholic faithful in which they outlined their concerns. The cardinals said they felt duty-bound to inform the faithful ‘so that you may not be subject to confusion, error, and discouragement.’” By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, in National Catholic Reporter
- Same-sex blessings, women’s ordination and whether doctrine can change: what Pope Francis said to the ‘dubia’ cardinals, By Colleen Dulle, America: The Jesuit Review
Pope Francis creates 21 new cardinals on the eve of the Synod on Synodality
“As Pope Francis created 21 new cardinals in St. Peter’s Square today, Sept. 30, he told the college of cardinals—which now has 242 members from 91 countries, of whom 137 are under the age of 80 with a right to vote in the next conclave—that it is called ‘to resemble a symphony orchestra, representing the harmony and synodality of the church.’ He said he included the word ‘synodality’ not only because the first session of the Synod on Synodality opens on Oct. 4, but also because he felt ‘the metaphor of the orchestra can well illuminate the synodal character of the church.’” By Gerard O’Connell, America: The Jesuit Review
Pope Francis has put his stamp on the cardinals. Or has he?
“When Pope Francis anoints 21 new princes of the Roman Catholic Church on Saturday (Sept. 30), he will seem to have consolidated his grip on the powerful College of Cardinals — and on the direction of the church, possibly for decades to come … As a result, many observers say Francis has shaped the college to elect a ‘new Bergoglio,’ to use the pope’s family name: a socially liberal Latin American cleric who would keep the leadership of roughly 1.3 billion Catholics on a path of inclusiveness, doctrinal openness and non-Western leadership. But that is a hazardous prediction.” By Massimo Franco, The New York Times
Cardinal Mario Grech: central figure in pope’s plan to change Catholic Church
“In 2019, the Vatican announced that Grech had been named as secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, effectively serving as Pope Francis’ point person to not just organize and oversee synod meetings that take place in Rome every couple years on a particular theme — but to put synodality at the heart of the reforms taking place in the Francis papacy. Synodality, the cardinal would later explain, was becoming more than just an event, but a process and a new way of being church that would allow the global institution to become more consultative and listen to all of the people of God.” By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
BISHOPS
Are bishops instrumentalizing the clerical abuse crisis?
“The bishops of Switzerland continue to battle the fallout of a sexual abuse crisis in their country. On Saturday (Sept. 23), the president of the bishops’ conference, Bishop Felix Gmür of Basle gave an interview to the newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, stressing the bishops’ commitment to institutional reform after an independent report found evidence of mishandling and covering up of clerical abuse cases across Swiss dioceses.’ By Ed Condon, The Pillar
I am a U.S. bishop attending Pope Francis’ synod. Here’s how I am preparing.
“I look forward to October this year! While it entails being absent from my beloved Archdiocese of Seattle for four weeks this fall, there is something inside me which says the next two Octobers will be significant in my life and in the life of the church I love and serve. I will be attending the first assembly of the synod on synodality in Rome, being held from Oct. 4-29. I’m too young to remember much about the Second Vatican Council, and I am too old not to be concerned about so much of its vision yet to be addressed by our church.” By Archbishop Paul Etienne, Archbishop of Seattle
Ideological rifts among U.S. bishops in spotlight
“Early next month, the Vatican will open an unprecedented gathering of Catholic clergy and laypeople from around the world. The synod is intended to be a collegial, collaborative event … If there’s Exhibit A for how elusive consensus might be, it’s the United States’ participation. In effect, there are two high-level U.S. delegations widely viewed as ideological rivals — six clerics appointed by Pope Francis who support his aspirations for a more inclusive, welcoming church; five clerics chosen by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who reflect a more conservative outlook and more skepticism of Francis’ priorities.” By David Crary, The Associated Press, in Telegraph Herald
Bishop Flores: Synod hopes to help Catholic Church listen more to lay people
“October’s general assembly in Rome for the Catholic Church’s Synod of Bishops on synodality aims to address human reality — not abstractions — in order to more effectively share Jesus Christ and his Gospel with others, said Bishop Daniel E. Flores, a U.S. member of the global assembly’s preparatory commission. ‘If we do this right … in our own local churches we can develop a style of listening and decision-making that involves more hearing from people ‘in the trenches,’ so to speak,’ he said, such as hearing from ‘people who are struggling and who are dealing with families that are in crisis, or families that are struggling, that are split, because of controversial realities that are affecting their lives.’” By Maria Wiering, OSV News
WOMEN’S VOICES
A daring hope for Catholic women
“Next month, Catholics from around the world will gather in Rome to discuss and discern the future of the Catholic Church. It is part of an ongoing church-wide conversation, known as the Global Synod on Synodality, about listening to the Holy Spirit and renewing the church as a healing presence in communities, particularly in places like Boston, shaken by the clergy sex abuse crisis. Catholics in the United States are invited to be part of that ongoing discernment process … Among the many questions that will be discussed at the synod is how we should rethink women’s participation in the church.” By Kelly Meraw, The Boston Globe
Women’s voices and votes loom large as pope is set to open a Vatican meeting on church’s future
“A few years ago, Pope Francis told the head of the main Vatican-backed Catholic women’s organization to be ‘brave’ in pushing for change for women in the Catholic Church. Maria Lia Zervino took his advice and in 2021 wrote Francis a letter, then made it public, saying flat out that the Catholic Church owed a big debt to half of humanity and that women deserved to be at the table where church decisions are made, not as mere ‘ornaments’ but as protagonists.” By Nicole Winfield and Trisha Thomas, Associated Press
FUTURE OF THE CHURCH
CARA study shows positive signs Catholic belief in Eucharist, but underscores need for revival
“Almost two-thirds of Catholics believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but only 17% of adult Catholics physically attend Mass at least once per week, according to a newly published survey from Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. The survey also revealed a high correlation between belief in the Eucharist and weekly or even monthly Mass attendance.” By Maria Wiering, Our Sunday Visitor
- Only a symbol? Catholics are still confused about the Eucharist and church teaching, new survey finds, By Michael J. O’Loughlin, America: The Jesuit Review
Spiritus Christi Church offers all the sacraments to all categories of people (Part 3)
“According to a 2008 Pew Research study, one of 10 U.S. adults is a former Catholic. Some have moved on to other denominations, others have no church affiliation at all, still others have formed their own communities of former Catholics. In the final three parts of his five-part series, former NCR editor Tom Roberts looks at three different independent Catholic communities — how they came to be, and how they sustain themselves apart from the institutional church.” By Tom Roberts, National Catholic Reporter (Part 1: The Catholic diaspora: independent communities as the church’s ‘research lab’; Part 2: Demographic forces beyond hierarchical control are changing U.S. Church; Part 4: Community of St. Peter; Part 5: Spirit Catholic Community)
CHURCH FINANCES
Joliet bishop tight-lipped on priest sex abuse scandal’s financial impact as plans to close Catholic parishes move ahead
“In a report earlier this year by the Illinois attorney general, the Diocese of Joliet was criticized for continued secrecy over the extent of child sex abuse by priests and religious brothers who served in the ecclesiastical jurisdiction. ‘The diocese has demonstrated slavish adherence to off-the-books, unwritten policies that derail justice for abuse survivors and much-needed institutional transparency,’ Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in the May report, adding that the diocese’s ‘current approach to abuse allegations against a religious order priest who ministered in the diocese are particularly opaque and ill formed.’” By Robert Herguth, Chicago Sun Times
Archdiocesan Chapter 11 filing both ‘a death and a resurrection,’ says archbishop
“The Archdiocese of Baltimore announced Sept. 29 that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, ahead of Maryland’s Child Victims Act, which effective Oct. 1 repeals the statute of limitations for certain civil claims regarding sexual abuse. In a statement released Sept. 29, Archbishop William E. Lori said the decision, made ‘after consulting with numerous lay leaders and clergy,’ will ‘best allow the Archdiocese both to equitably compensate victim-survivors of child sexual abuse and ensure the local Church can continue its mission and ministries.’” By Gina Christian, Our Sunday Visitor
Lawyer in ‘trial of the century’ claims defendants treated Vatican bank ‘like a cash machine’
“A panel of Vatican judges overseeing the trial of ten defendants for extortion and other financial crimes, dubbed the Vatican’s ‘trial of the century,’ heard Wednesday (Sept. 27) from a lawyer representing the Vatican bank who complained that the accused had treated the bank ‘like a cash machine, which always had to respond positively to their requests.” By Cruxnow.com
- Defendants in Vatican ‘trial of the century’ faces $700 million in compensation demands, By Cruxnow.com Staff
CELIBACY& MARRIED PRIESTS
Celibacy is not a direct cause of sexual abuse, expert says
“Father Hans Zollner, a German priest and an expert in the fight against sexual abuse in the Church, said in a Sept. 26 interview with Infovaticana that celibacy is not a direct cause of this evil. The psychologist, who also holds a doctorate in theology, said that ‘celibacy is not a direct cause of abuse; what can become a risk factor is a ministry poorly lived and not fully accepted.’ ‘All scientific reports, including those commissioned by non-Church institutions, conclude that celibacy in itself does not lead to abuse,” he emphasized.” By Walter Sanchez Silva, Catholic News Agency, on AngelusNews.com
‘It’s time to abolish celibacy,’ says president of Swiss Bishops’ Conference
“The president of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference admits mistakes in dealing with abuse cases in the Catholic Church and advocates for the abolition of celibacy and the admission of women to the priesthood. In an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) am SonntagExternal link, Bishop Felix Gmür also said that the Catholic Church has been active in the topic of abuse cases for a long time. The prevailing conditions must be questioned, the Swiss Bishops’ Conference president explains. In his view, the time is ripe to abolish celibacy and to allow women access to the priesthood.” By SwissInfo.ch
VOICES
Synodality & Catholic Amnesia: the conciliarist tradition gets a new name
“Discussions of synodality are about the future—about charting a path forward for Catholicism, from the individual Catholic to the parish community to the universal Church. But these discussions inevitably appeal to the past: to the testimony of Scripture, the practice of the early Church, medieval triumphs and tragedies, and, most of all, to Vatican II and its contested reception. When the conversation turns to history, however, it is rarely acknowledged that the Catholic Church’s own tradition of synodal governance endured into the early modern era and functioned as a powerful counter-narrative to the centralized ultramontane model we live with today.” By Shaun Blanchard, Commonweal
Analysis: The synod is not Vatican III. It’s Pope Francis’ implementation of Vatican II.
“As I watched the procession at the opening of the Synod on Synodality start from the bronze doors of the apostolic palace this morning, Oct. 4, and weave its way through the crowd of 18,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to the altar in front of the basilica, my mind went back to the images of a similar procession for the opening of the Second Vatican Council on Oct. 11, 1962. Those images connected that watershed moment in modern church history with today’s ecclesial event.” By Gerard O’Connell, America: The Jesuit Review
Editorial: May new life emerge out of the messiness of this synod process
“The synod on synodality is awkwardly named, expressive of a reality that is lightly modeled in the past while in the present described as a journey, a process in formation even as it is being used. The process itself is massive, global in scope and exhaustive in its attempt to hear voices from all quarters, at least at the start, without judgment or filters. No surprise, then, that it is messy and promises only to get messier before clarity emerges. It is understandably jarring to those educated to believe the church is immutable, that certain “moral teachings” defined in the catechism are beyond change, that tradition means stasis and that unity translates as uniformity.” By National Catholic Reporter Editorial Staff
Can Catholics be progressive? Absolutely!
“That is the answer I would give to the above question. It was posed by the facilitator of a focus group to eight Republicans. Each of them answered the question about whether a Christian or a person of deep faith could be politically progressive, and they each answered “No.” This segment on the PBS NewsHour featuring the work that Judy Woodruff is doing on the situation in our country disturbed me greatly. The reason it was disturbing is that I have just completed a project with Network, a national Catholic social justice lobby, where I served as executive director from 1982-1992.” By Nancy Sylvester, National Catholic Reporter
Why Pope Francis’ big Vatican meeting next month is so important
“In just over a week, nearly 450 people from around the world will gather in Rome for a month-long assembly, a Synod of Bishops on synodality, which is expected to discuss a range of important issues including women’s ordination, LGBTQ inclusion and ministry, and priestly celibacy … As we prepare for this momentous and historic gathering, NCR commissioned this video explainer — so that you are informed as deliberations begin. The video was produced by Chaz Muth.” By John Grosso, National Catholic Reporter
Bishops should get regular performance reviews.
“As we prepare for the next phase of the Synod on Synodality, we have heard much talk from the information-gathering process about greater inclusion and diversity in church governance. However, there has been little discussion about the shape of the church hierarchy, particularly with respect to accountability for performance. We often think of the accountability of the parish priest to the diocesan bishop or local ordinary … While the variety of these titles give the impression of a hierarchical structure, there really is none. At the level of diocesan leadership, the hierarchy flattens out.” By Paul D. McNelis, S.J., America: The Jesuit Review
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
Maryland’s Child Victims Act take effect: what to expect in the days ahead
“For the first time in Maryland, survivors of childhood sexual abuse can now sue perpetrators and the institutions that protected them without concern for how long ago the abuse happened. Maryland’s Child Victims Act, which eliminated the statute of limitations for civil sexual abuse claims, officially goes into effect Sunday, Oct. 1, though courthouses are closed until Monday. The victory for survivors was dampened, however, when the Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday afternoon. Though the Roman Catholic Archdiocese was expected to face a flood of lawsuits over clergy sexual abuse, the bankruptcy will put all litigation on hold and force survivors to pursue compensation in bankruptcy court, rather than through a lawsuit.” By Rachel Konieczny and Madeleine O’Neill, The Daily Record
CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE
Sanctuary of Sin: How a religious order became a haven for pedophile priests
“John Bellocchio tells a gut-wrenching story. Growing up in New Jersey, the Catholic Church played a major role in his community and family life. ‘The church was a central aspect, physically, as well as spiritually,’ he said. The compound in rural Missouri, Congregation of the Servants of the Paraclete, has alarmed residents over the years. Even lawmakers have struggled to get answers about what goes on inside. The order does not disclose the name of the residents on the property.” By Larry Potash, NewsNationNow.com
KANSAS
Victim-centered approach helps build trust
“Walking alongside those who have been abused by a Catholic Church representative is a collaborative effort for the archdiocesan office for protection and care (OPC). This summer, the office added two new team members to the mix. Jessica Crocker was hired as a victim care advocate in August, just a few weeks after Kristi Lam became the office’s new investigator/auditor. ‘These positions are critical to the ministry of the OPC,’ said director Jenifer Valenti.” By Moira Cullings, The Leaven
LOUISIANA
‘We can win’: New Orleans clergy abuse survivor secures settlement
“The estate of a wealthy Catholic deacon who admitted molesting a child and then died earlier this year has now paid his victim after he had previously tried to back out of a $1m agreement to settle a contentious lawsuit between them. It is believed to be one of the largest individual sexual abuse settlements ever paid in a case involving a cleric who served in the archdiocese of New Orleans during the organization’s decades-old sexual molestation crisis, though the crime to which the deacon pleaded guilty occurred before his ordination.” By Ramon Antonio Vargas, The Guardian
Aymond: Catholic parishes, schools must help shoulder cost of archdiocese sex abuse claims
“More than three years after the Archdiocese of New Orleans filed for bankruptcy court protection amid mounting allegations of child sex abuse by local clergy, the financial cost to the country’s second-oldest archdiocese is coming into focus. In a letter Friday to the clergy, religious and laity, Archbishop Gregory Aymond said for the first time that individual parishes, schools and charities will be asked to help cover the rising costs of abuse claims, which total nearly 500 to date. That number has grown dramatically over the course of the church’s bankruptcy.” By Stephanie Riegel, NOLA.com
MARYLAND
Clergy sex victims appeal to bankruptcy judge: seek transparency in the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s filing
“Attorneys for the Archdiocese of Baltimore characterized its history of abuse to a federal bankruptcy judge as the work of a few bad apples—-angering survivors who have battled for decades to break the Catholic Church’s silence. ‘It is not just a few bad apples,’ said Robert Schindler of the Maryland Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, “’hese are not a couple of bad actors.’” By Jeff Hagar, WMAR-TV2 News
Names of Maryland priests accused of sexual abuse revealed for first time after redacted report
“The identities of alleged abusers within the Archdiocese of Baltimore were revealed on Tuesday (Sept. 26) after the Maryland Office of the Attorney General issued a new version of a previously released report with fewer names redacted. The initial report was issued on April 15 but concealed the names of 10 church officials accused of abuse, as well as the identities of five archdiocese officials who were accused of failing to appropriately respond to abuse accusations. Additionally, the names of 31 people who played smaller roles in the situation, including the priests’ doctors, were also concealed, according to the Baltimore Banner.” By Madeline Fitzgerald, The Messenger
- Revised report on Maryland church sex abuse leaves 5 church leaders’ names still redacted, By Brian Witte, Associated Press, in National Catholic Reporter
Compensating all claims of abuse: archdiocese considers Chapter 11 reorganization
“In a Sept. 5 message to members of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Archbishop William E. Lori said that in light of the Oct. 1 implementation of a new law in Maryland that removed any statute of limitations for civil suits involving child sexual abuse approaches, the archdiocese was weighing its options to respond to potential lawsuits … Archbishop Lori said the archdiocese has several options to address the number of cases expected to be filed in October, including: challenging the constitutionality of the law, litigating each case separately, settling cases or reorganizing under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code.” By Christopher Gunty, Catholic Review
MASSACHUSETTS
DA drops charged against Msgr. Francis Strahan, Church investigation continues
“The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office has dropped the charges of rape and sexual assault against Msgr. Francis Strahan, but the Archdiocese of Boston plans to continue its own investigation into Msgr. Strahan’s alleged misconduct with a minor. The District Attorney’s Office’s filing, dated Sept. 20 and received by The Pilot on Sept. 27, states that the charges of forcible child rape and indecent assault and battery were dropped because the alleged victim declined to testify in court.” By Wes Cipolla, The Pilot
MICHIGAN
Former Marquette Diocese priest convicted of child sexually abusive activity
“A former Catholic priest was convicted by a Chippewa County jury Thursday of child sexually abusive activity. Aaron Nowicki, 49, of Cheboygan was arrested in an August 2021 child trafficking sting. He and two others were netted in the operation conducted by the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office, Sault Ste. Marie Police Department, and Soo Tribal Police.” By Nicole Walson, WNMU-FM National Public Radio
NEW YORK.
3 years later, few signs of life in state’s child sex abuse probe
“More than three years ago, the state attorney general’s office announced it was launching an investigation into the handling of child sexual abuse by New York’s Catholic dioceses. Since then, no cases have been pursued by the district attorneys who were encouraged at that time to pursue any related criminal allegations that were uncovered and fell within applicable statutes of limitations.” By Brendan J. Lyons, Albany Times Union
TEXAS
Catholic priest in San Antonio arrested on allegations of sexually assaulting woman in her 70s
“A priest who was reassigned to several different churches in the San Antonio Archdiocese was arrested Tuesday (Sept. 26) for an alleged sex crime involving a woman in her 70s, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said. The Rev. George Mbugua Ndungu, 42, also known as Father Wanjiru, is charged with aggravated sexual assault after a church employee and parishioner came forward to the archdiocese, which began an investigation before BCSO made the arrest, Salazar said.’ By KSAT.com
No charges filed against two Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse in Converse, Honey Creek
“No criminal charges have been filed against two Catholic priests in the San Antonio Archdiocese accused of sexual abuse against minors. Both priests were removed from their church duties last month by the archdiocese. According to San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, Father Alejandro Ortega, a priest at St. Monica’s Church in Converse, was accused of sexually inappropriate physical contact with a minor.” By Patty Santos, KSAT.com
AUSTRALIA
Patricia Jones was brutally abused as a child – but her trauma isn’t acknowledged by law
“Almost seven decades on, Patricia Jones still has nightmares about the cohort of brutal nuns who physically abused her as a child. In the dead of night, the long-dead Sisters of St John of God grabbed at her, dragging her from slumber and depriving her of peace. Nightmares are common for the 73-year-old, who requires medication to help cope with the lifelong trauma resulting from the eight painful years she spent at Holy Child Orphanage in Broome, Western Australia.” By Shannon Molloy, News.com.au
Australian bishop Christopher Saunders has ‘gone rogue’ in midst of sex abuse allegations. Here’s what might happen next.
“The slow-burn saga of Broome bishop Christopher Saunders has again hit national headlines with an independent report commissioned by the Vatican this week describing him as a sexual predator. Bishop Saunders strenuously denies any wrongdoing and has never been charged with an offence. But the Vatican will soon have to decide whether he remains an honored emeritus Bishop or is defrocked in disgrace.” By Erin Parke, ABC News Canada
- Australian bishops issue clarifications concerning investigation into Bishop Saunders, By Christopher Wells, Vatican News
- Broome bishop facing abuse claims told royal commission of church’s ‘massive failure’ over allegations, By Tory Shepherd, The Guardian
BELGIUM
Documentary series highlights sexual abuse of children by clergy in Belgium
“Residents in the Flemish region of Belgium are trying to break ties with the Catholic Church on Friday (Sept. 30) after public broadcaster, VRT, aired a documentary series that had confessions of children and their relatives who are victims of sexual abuse by the clergy. The documentary has politicians demanding the scandal and the finances of the church to be thoroughly investigated and discussed. The documentary created a ‘shock effect,’ and many have lined up to have their names deleted from baptismal records to sever their ties with the Church.” By Selen Temizer, and Mehmet Solmaz, Anadolu Network, on aa.com.tr
CANADA
Catholic bishops say $30-million reconciliation fund on track to meet new deadling
“Canadian Catholic leaders say they are almost halfway to their fundraising goals for a reconciliation fund formed after the church failed to meet previous financial obligations. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops held its annual meeting in Toronto this week, where church leaders were told the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund has raised $11.5 million so far, nearly 40 per cent of its goal.” By Kelly Malone and Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press
FRANCE
Paris prosecutors drop investigation of resigned archbishop
“Paris prosecutors have closed a sexual abuse investigation against the former Archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit, concluding that charges brought against him by a female parishioner had no foundation. The accusations, which Archbishop Aupetit has always denied, led to avid speculation about his private life and led Pope Francis unexpectedly to accept his perfunctory offer to resign.” By Tom Henneghan, The Tablet
NEW ZEALAND
Abuse survivor continues his ‘quest for justice’
“A sexual abuse survivor ‘relentless in his quest for justice’ has embarked on his second journey to Rome. Dunedin man Darryl Smith was sexually abused as a child at institutions in both New Zealand and Australia, including Marylands School in Christchurch.” By Tim Scott, Star News
PHILIPPINES
Confession of child abuse by Catholic Church, 2
“In the Philippines, the powerful ruling elites that controlled the passing of laws in the Congress blocked the efforts of child rights advocates for years to raise the age of consent for a child to have sexual relations from 12 years old to 16. When powerful congresswomen were elected in recent years, that changed. Only in March 2022, the age when a child could give consent was raised to 16 years of age. Any sexual act against a 16-year-old and younger is statutory sex abuse, according to Republic Act (RA) No. 11648.” By Father Shay Cullen, Panay News
SWITZERLAND
Church scandal: deputy bishop of Lausanne under investigation
“Bernard Sonney, the deputy bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, has temporarily vacated his office after two weeks in the job following allegations of abuse. An investigation is underway against him. Sonney had decided to take this step ‘following a report,’ journalists were told at a media conference in Fribourg on Friday (Sept. 29). The report was taken from a letter sent to the bishop, Charles Morerod, by an alleged victim.” By SwissInfo.ch
Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors issues call to action ahead of consistory and synod
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, church reform, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on September 27, 2023
September 27, 2023
On the occasion of the Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals and the first meeting of the Synod on Synodality (16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops), The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has issued a call to action for the Catholic Church finally to say “Enough!” to clergy sexual abuse. The Consistory takes place Sept. 30, and the Synod meeting begins Oct. 4. Below is the text of the Commission’s statement.
Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors
For immediate release, Sept. 27, 2023
A Call to Action on the Occasion of the Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals and the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
- Commission urges solidarity with victims and survivors in light of ongoing revelations of abuse.
- Commission calls on Church leaders to increase commitment and resources to promote safeguarding everywhere.
- Commission asks that safeguarding be given a priority in the Synod on Synodality.
Solidarity with those who hunger and thirst for justice
As the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, we express our deep sorrow and unwavering solidarity first and foremost to the victims and survivors of so many despicable crimes committed in the Church. Every day seems to bring forth new evidence of abuse, as well as cover up and mishandling by Church leadership around the world. While some cases are subject to intense reporting in the media, others are hardly known–if at all–leaving many countless people to suffer in silence. All abuse involves the anguish and pain of a terrible betrayal, not only by the abuser, but by a Church unable or even unwilling to reckon with the reality of its actions.
We hear and are disturbed by reports of the actions of individuals holding responsible offices within the Church, the cries of those impacted, as well as the legacy of atrocious behavior associated with lay and other movements and so many areas of the Church’s institutional life. We are profoundly shaken by the immense pain, enduring suffering and revictimization experienced by so many, and we unequivocally condemn crimes and their impunity perpetrated against so many of our brothers and sisters. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to work to ensure, as much as possible, such heinous and reprehensible acts are eradicated from the Church.
Recent publicly reported cases point to tragically harmful deficiencies in the norms intended to punish abusers and hold accountable those whose duty is to address wrongdoing. We are long overdue in fixing the flaws in procedures that leave victims wounded and in the dark both during and after cases have been decided. We will continue to study what is not working and to press for necessary changes so that all those affected by these atrocious crimes get access to truth, justice, and reparation. We also pledge to use our role to press other Church officials with responsibility to address these crimes to fulfil their mission effectively, to minimize the risk of further transgressions, and secure a respectful environment for all.
A Call for Conversion Among Church Leaders
Our Commission was established shortly after the election of Pope Francis in 2013. In harmony with the Council of Cardinals, the Commission has overseen a series of initiatives that have highlighted the reality of sexual abuse and the need for robust reforms in confronting both abuse and its mishandling by Church leaders. We are now in the process of aligning our efforts more closely with those of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and all those parts of the Roman Curia whose work impacts safeguarding around the world.
However, five years after the 2019 Summit on the Protection of Minors that gathered Church leaders from all over the world, deep frustrations remain, especially among those seeking justice for the wrongs done to them. No-one should have to beg for justice in the Church. The unacceptable resistance that remains points to a scandalous lack of resolve by many in the Church that is often compounded by a serious lack of resources. Pope Francis has warned that the inequalities in the world should not infect the Church.
There can be little effective change in this area without the pastoral conversion of Church leaders. As the College of Cardinals gathers in Consistory, we are encouraged by the Holy Father’s frequent reminder to those called to this special role that the blood they are called to pour out is their own and not that of those under their care. As a model of courageous self-sacrifice, the creation of new Cardinals is an opportune moment for reflection, repentance, and renewal of our unwavering commitment to safeguard and advocate for the most vulnerable, using all means possible.
We call upon all those in the Sacred College to remember victims and their families and to include as part of their oath of fidelity a commitment to remain steadfast in honoring those impacted by sexual abuse by uniting with them in the common pursuit of truth and justice. All bishops and religious superiors should echo this commitment.
Together with all those who are worn down by abuse and its consequences, we say: “Enough!”
A Catholic Call for Change
An important moment in furthering these efforts is found in the upcoming 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The reality of sexual abuse in our Church goes to the heart of the Synod’s agenda. It deals with who we are as a community of faith, founded on Jesus. It permeates discussions on leadership models, ministry roles, professional standards of behavior, and of being in right relationship with one another and all of creation.
We ask that sexual abuse in the Church permeates your discussions as they address teaching, ministry, formation, and governance. As a community of the reconciled, the Church’s sacred worship should also find adequate inclusion and expression of this most intimate of Church failures. While at times it may seem like a daunting set of questions to face, please rise to the challenge so that you may address, in a comprehensive way, the threat posed by sexual abuse to Church’s credibility in announcing the Gospel.
We urge you to dedicate meaningful time and space to integrate the testimony of victims/survivors into your work. Indeed, many if not all of the Synod’s participants have their own experiences of confronting or dealing with sexual abuse in the Church which could become an explicit part of your deliberations.
We urge you to work towards the day when all ministries in the Church become places of welcome, empathy and reconciliation for those impacted by abuse. Join with those who rail against the endemic complacency of those in the Church and society that silence these testimonies, minimize their significance, and stifle hope for renewal.
We urge you to work towards the day when our Church takes full account and full responsibility for the wrongs done to so many in its care.
We urge you to work towards the day when all children are protected by appropriate safety policies and procedures, ones that are known and verified.
We urge you to work towards the day when transparent and accessible systems of redress for wrongdoing by the Church’s ministers’ function well according to acceptable standards.
We urge you to work towards the day when all in our Church understand and take responsibility for robust safeguarding in dioceses and parishes and schools and hospitals and retreat centers and houses of formation and all the other places where the Church is present and active.
That day is yet to arrive. And for many it seems a long way away.
We make our own the message given to us by Pope Francis during our most recent audience. He said:
“[W]here harm was done to people’s lives, we are called to keep in mind God’s creative power to make hope emerge from despair and life from death. The terrible sense of loss that many experience as a result of abuse can sometimes seem a burden too heavy to bear. Church leaders, who share a sense of shame for their failure to act, have suffered a loss of credibility, and our very ability to preach the Gospel has been damaged. Yet the Lord, who brings about new birth in every age, can restore life to dry bones (cf. Ezek 37:6). Even when the path forward is difficult and demanding, I urge you not to get bogged down; keep reaching out, keep trying to instill confidence in those you meet and who share with you this common cause. Do not grow discouraged when it seems that little is changing for the better.
Persevere and keep moving forwards!”
We urge you to work towards these long-overdue goals not just for one or two days during your gathering, but to consider them throughout the entire Synod process. Their achievement will be a singular sign of the Synod’s success, a sign that we are walking with the wounded and the forgotten as disciples of the one Lord, in search of a better way.
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.
Voice of the Faithful- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
Voice of the Faithful ® 