Posts Tagged clergy
Shepherds’ accountability when the flock is abused / The New York Times
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 18, 2016
Thirteen years ago, as a national scandal raged over the rape and molestation of school children by hundreds of Catholic priests, a panel of leading laity appointed by the national hierarchy to look into church responsibility candidly warned “there must be consequences” for the bishops who led years of cover-up. The bishops’ marked failure to follow through since by investigating fellow superiors was brought home this month in a scathing grand jury report in Pennsylvania. It found at least 50 priests and other church employees sexually molested hundreds of children in central Pennsylvania parishes for over four decades while church officials and some civil authorities knew but worked to conceal the crimes.
“The report used the term “soul murder” to describe a conspiracy of silence that allowed the statute of limitations to run out and perpetrators to die while victims waited for justice.”
By Francis X. Cline, The New Times — Click here to read the rest of this commentary.
Vatican’s abuse commission needs proper funding / The Irish Catholic
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 18, 2016
“… Pope Francis established the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, because, he said, ‘Many painful actions have caused a profound examination of conscience for the entire Church, leading us to request forgiveness from the victims and from our society for the harm that has been caused. This response to these actions is the firm beginning for initiatives of many different types, which are intended to repair the damage, to attain justice, and to prevent, by all means possible, the recurrence of similar incidents in the future …’
“Marie Collins is reported to have said recently that the current funding arrangements were inadequate. It has also been reported that the commission has even been told to consider raising their own funds to complete the work. As she stated, ‘If the Church is saying that this is its highest priority, then they must be able to fund it and fund it properly,’ she said. ‘If you’re not properly funded, if you’re not properly resourced, then you can’t do the work that you need to do.’
“Proper funding is the key to the ability of an organization such as the commission to function. Many good initiatives have failed because they have been starved of the necessary funding.”
By Nuala O’Loan, The Irish Catholic — Click here to read the rest of this commentary.
Kane: Three clergy leaders enabled predator friar / Philly.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on March 15, 2016
State prosecutors on Tuesday (Mar. 15) accused three former leaders of an Altoona-area (Pennsylvania) Franciscan order of enabling a friar to sexually abuse scores of children during years of work at a Catholic high school and in the community.
“The felony conspiracy and child endangerment charges against Giles A. Schinelli, 73, Robert J. D’Aversa, 69, and Anthony M. Criscitelli, 61, mark the second prong of a longstanding investigation by the Attorney General’s office into clergy sex abuse in the Altoona-Johnstown area.
“The three men served in succession as Minister Provincial of the Franciscan Friars, Third Order Regulars, Province of the Immaculate Conception based in Hollidaysburg, and were the supervisors for Brother Stephen Baker, who abused possitbly more than 100 children in Ohio and central Pennsylvania before committing suicide three years ago.
“Prosecutors said Baker was enabled by leaders who ‘engaged in efforts to protect the image and reputation of the Franciscan Friars rather than act in the best interests of the children served by their organization to whom they owed a duty of care,’ according to a presentment made public Tuesday (Mar. 15).”
By Maria Panaritis, Philly.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
No statute of limitations for abuse / York Daily Record
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on March 10, 2016
The allegations contained in a grand jury report about child sexual abuse in the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese are beyond appalling. They are horrifying.
“For decades, the grand jury found, priests in the diocese sexually abused hundreds of children. Two bishops covered up the abuse, transferring priests accused of abusing children to other parishes. The grand jury found a shocking, and documented, pattern of criminal behavior that is simply unimaginable. That an institution that claims moral authority would behave so immorally is more than unsettling. It is terrifying.
“And yet, that wasn’t even the worst of the grand jury report. The worst is that, despite the evidence, authorities and victims had no recourse. The statute of limitations has expired for prosecuting any of the cases and for victims to seek recompense in civil court.”
By the York Daily Record Editorial Board on YDR.com — Click here to read the rest of this editorial.
Pope’s abuse accountability tribunal going nowhere fast / Associated Press
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 9, 2016
Pope Francis’ proposed Vatican tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for pedophile priests is going nowhere fast.
“Despite fresh focus from the Oscar-winning film ‘Spotlight’ on how Catholic bishops protected priests who raped children, Francis’ most significant sex abuse-related initiative to date has stalled. It’s a victim of a premature roll-out, unresolved legal and administrative questions and resistance both inside and outside of the Holy See, church officials and canon lawyers say.
“The surprise proposal made headlines when it was announced on June 10 as the first major initiative of Francis’ sex abuse advisory commission. A Vatican communique said Francis and his nine cardinal advisers had unanimously agreed to create a new judicial section within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to handle ‘abuse of office’ cases against bishops accused of failing to protect their flocks from pedophiles.
“But the proposal immediately raised red flags to canon lawyers and Vatican officials alike.”
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press — Click here to read the rest of this story.
‘Payout chart’ for molstation: Secret archive held chilling details of clergy abuse / The Washington Post
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 4, 2016
A Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania announced Thursday (Mar. 3) that it will post the names online of priests credibly accused of sexually abusing children, a decision that came two days after a dramatic grand jury report alleged a decades-long cover-up.
“Advocates hope that the grand jury report, which was announced just two days after the movie ‘Spotlight’ focused national attention on child sexual abuse by winning the Oscar for Best Picture, will lead to new legislation permitting more prosecutions of abusive priests and those who supervised them …
“‘These findings are both staggering and sobering. Over many years hundreds of children have fallen victim to child predators wrapped in the authority and integrity of an honorable faith,’ the grand jury wrote.”
By Michelle Boorstein and Julle Zauzmer, The Washington Post — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Muller on ‘Spotlight’ cover-up: Most priests ‘bitterly wronged’ by abuse generalizations / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 4, 2016
Questioned on his reaction to the unveiling of systematic cover-up of priestly sexual abuse in the Oscar-winning film ‘Spotlight,’ the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, said that only a number of individuals not motivated by their priestly office but instead ‘disturbed or immature,’ have been proven guilty of sexually abusing minors …
“Meanwhile, Jesuit Fr. Klaus Mertes, the whistleblower who first unveiled the abuse in the Jesuit College in Berlin during his tenure as headmaster in 2010, has called for Müller to step down.
“Bishops who contribute towards covering up abuse cases should be removed from episcopal office or step down, Mertes told the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger …
“‘Instead of stepping down, Bishop Müller, who covered up and obscured sexual abuse when he was in the highest position in the church in his diocese, has climbed the hierarchical ladder just like that,’ Mertes said. ‘… He still continually speaks of ‘malicious press campaigns’ against the Catholic church. Not a sign of remorse and certainly not of a willingness to deal with the structural problems that the church has in connection with abuse. For him it is just the case of a few evil churchmen but otherwise everything is in order in the church and can remain as it always was.’
“‘In my opinion, that is intolerable — above all, intolerable for the victims,’ Mertes continued. ‘How can this man, who is the head of the Congregation finally responsible for abuse, of all things, ever again be credible?'”
By Christa Pongratz-Lippitt, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Pennsylvania diocese leaders knew of sex abuse for decades, grand jury says / The New York Times
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 2, 2016
Over four decades, at least 50 priests and other church employees molested hundreds of children in a small Roman Catholic diocese in central Pennsylvania, and in many cases their superiors knew of the abuses but did not remove the priests or notify law enforcement, according to a grand jury report released on Tuesday (Mar. 1).
“But none of the findings will result in prosecution, according to State Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane, whose office led the investigation, because the statutes of limitations on all alleged crimes have expired.
“The report names a dozen priests who admitted — to church officials, to the grand jury or both — that they had molested children, and other cases where church records made clear that their superiors believed they were guilty. None were taken to law enforcement, and in cases where police or prosecutors learned of allegations, the report says, church officials worked to hush them up.”
By Richard Perez-Pena and Laurie Goodstein, The New New York Times — Click here to read the rest of this story.
The history of the archbishop who’s concerned about Girl Scouts / The New York Times
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on February 26, 2016
Archbishop Robert Carlson’s recent caution to his parishes in St. Louis about the “troubling pattern of behavior” of the Girl Scouts is stirring stark recollections of the prelate’s past role in managing accusations against priests for sexually abusing children. In a deposition two years ago, he insisted that he was not certain sexual abuse of a child by a priest constituted a criminal act in 1984, when he was auxiliary bishop for St. Paul and Minneapolis handling sex scandal cases.
“‘I’m not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not,’ Archbishop Carlson testified when asked in the deposition about the 30-year-old case. ‘I understand today it’s a crime.’
“To the contrary, a document released by the alleged victim’s lawyers after the deposition showed the cleric’s clear concern for criminal law. He told his diocesan superiors in 1984 that the parents in another case were considering complaining to the police, noting the law’s statute of limitations was applicable for two more years …”
By Francis Clines, The New York Times — Click here to read the rest of this story.
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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