Posts Tagged catholic priest
Pope Francis defrocks Italian priest convicted of child sex abuse / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on June 30, 2017
“On June 28, the priest’s diocese of Crema in northern Italy released a statement saying the pope had made a “definitive ruling” that Inzoli, also known as Don Mauro, should be dismissed from clerical duties.” (National Catholic Reporter)
Pope Francis has defrocked an Italian priest who was found guilty of child sex abuse, three years after overturning predecessor Benedict XVI’s decision to do the same after allegations against the priest first came to light.
“Mauro Inzoli, 67, was initially defrocked in 2012 after he was first accused of abusing minors, but Francis reversed that decision in 2014, ordering the priest to stay away from children and retire to ‘a life of prayer and humble discretion.’
“On June 28, the priest’s diocese of Crema in northern Italy released a statement saying the pope had made a ‘definitive ruling’ that Inzoli, also known as Don Mauro, should be dismissed from clerical duties.
“Bishop Daniele Gianotti of Crema said the Vatican body responsible for church doctrine informed him of the pope’s decision, which Gianotti described as “the worst punishment” to be imposed on a priest.”
By Josephine McKenna, Religion News Service, in National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Prosecutor wants ex-priest declared ‘sexually dangerous’
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on July 31, 2015
A prosecutor’s motion to keep in prison an ex-priest convicted of child sexual abuse highlights how civil rather than Church authority continues to try to hold perpetrators accountable.
Prosecutors move to have ex-priest declared ‘sexually dangerous’
A former Catholic priest who was at the center of the sexual abuse crisis in the Boston Archdiocese could remain in custody even though he has completed his prison sentence, as Essex prosecutors push for him to be declared a dangerous sexual predator.
“Ronald H. Paquin pleaded guilty in 2002 and received a 12-to-15-year sentence for repeatedly raping a Haverhill altar boy between 1989 and 1992. He completed the sentence for three counts of rape of a child in late May, officials said, but remains in confinement until his status is resolved.
“Facing the possibility that Paquin would be released, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office is moving to have the 72-year-old Paquin declared a ‘sexually dangerous person.’ Blodgett filed a petition to keep Paquin locked up in the spring, before his sentence actually ended, the district attorney’s office said.”
By John R. Ellement, The Boston Globe — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Disclose the names of clergy abusers / America
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on June 25, 2015
A survivor of sexual abuse perpetrated by a Catholic priest hesitates to report his abuse, thinking that he will not be believed. Another survivor knows that she was not the cleric’s only victim but worries that she will be the only person to report his behavior. And many Catholics complain that their church has allowed the media and survivors’ organizations to control, and even manipulate, information in order to make all clergy seem suspect and all bishops seem insensitive.
“Would full disclosure of the names of clergy offenders help these survivors and the countless other men and women who have still not reported their abuse to come forward? Would such disclosures provide comfort to those survivors who were not believed by church officials when they reported these incidents years ago?
“For the past decade, arguments have been made for and against mandated disclosures, and there have been disclosures made and disclosures withheld. Nonetheless, the debate continues.”
By Kathleen McChesney, America — Click here to read the rest of this commentary. McChesney is a former executive director of the the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and former F.B.I. executive.
The Francis revolution
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on March 6, 2015
In only two years, Pope Francis has changed the face of Catholicism by radically reimagining how it presents itself to the world. From the moment he stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s (March 13, 2012), he has presented a different style of being pope and a new set of priorities for the church.
“The change in style was what first caught people’s attention. He rejected the usual papal finery of silks and firs and presented himself to the people of Rome in a simple white cassock. A simple greeting of “Good evening” were his first words, and before he blessed the crowd in St. Peter’s Square, he bowed his head and asked them to pray over him.
“This was quickly followed by his decisions not to live in the papal apartments but in Casa Santa Marta; to celebrate his first Mass as pope in St. Ann’s, the small parish church of Vatican City; and to celebrate Holy Thursday in a prison for young male and female offenders whose feet he washed.
“These early gestures of the pope garnered him worldwide attention, but more importantly, they were symbolic gestures that communicated his vision for the church. He realizes that the Gospel is preached not just in words, but in actions. As St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel always, use words when necessary.”
“The pope’s early actions were a direct assault on clericalism in the church by modeling what it means to be a good bishop, a good priest, a good Christian.”
By Thomas Reese, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this article.
Sentence in Philly Clergy Sexual Abuse Case Stuns Courtroom
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on June 12, 2013
In a sentence that stunned the packed courtroom, a Philadelphia judge today sentenced a Catholic priest to 6 to 12 years in prison, and a former parochial teacher 8 to 16 years, for the serial sexual assault of a 10-year-old altar boy in the late 1990s.” By Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Joseph Slobodzian
Voice of the Faithful
A lay movement for governance reform in the Roman Catholic Church, responding to the clergy sexual abuse scandal and supporting survivors.
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