Posts Tagged David Gibson
Reversal of Msgr. William Lynn’s Conviction in Philadelphia Conveys a Painful Lesson / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on December 30, 2013
“This week’s (Dec. 27) court decision that freed a senior cleric in Philadelphia who had been jailed for shielding an abusive priest was a symbolic setback for victims’ advocates but one with a substantial, and discouraging, message for their cause: None of the churchmen implicated in cover-ups during the worst decades of abuse will likely ever face charges …
“Nicholas Cafardi, a canon and civil lawyer at the Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh and former head of the Catholic bishops’ national review board on clergy abuse, said (Pope) Francis must broaden the mandate of the commission (on child abuse) to include his brother bishops.
“‘We have to insist that there be repercussions for any bishop who would re-assign or cover-up for a sexually abusive priest,’ Cafardi wrote in an email. ‘The church will never have closure on this issue unless the larger problem of hierarchical complicity is dealt with.’”
By David Gibson, Religion News Service, Analysis in National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of Gibson’s analysis.
As a person commented to an earlier post on the blog, Msgr. Lynn’s conviction was overturned on a legality. As reported in The New York Times on Dec. 27, the day the ruling was handed down: “The reversal of Monsignor Lynn’s conviction turned on disputed interpretations of Pennsylvania’s former child welfare law and does not have legal implications for other states.” The same Times article quoted the appeals court as saying that “the state had provided ‘more than adequate’ evidence that Monsignor Lynn ‘prioritized the archdiocese’s reputation over the safety of potential victims of sexually abusive priests.'” Click here to read Philadelphia Monsignor’s Conviction Overturned in Cover-Up of Sexual Abuse.
Pope’s New Commission to Tackle Clergy Sexual Abuse, Who Will Discipline the Bishops?
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on December 6, 2013
Religion News Service’s David Gibson has weighed in on Pope Francis’ announcement to create a commission to advise him on clergy sexual abuse by asking who will discipline bishops involved in the scandal. Gibson posed this question to Cardinal Sean O’Malley, archbishop of Boston and a member of the Pope’s council of eight cardinal-advisors, who announced the establishment of the commission:
… O’Malley acknowledged that Catholics were most keen to hear how and whether the pope and the new commission would tackle the question of disciplining bishops who have shielded abusive priests.
“Quite frankly that’s something that the church needs to address,” O’Malley said, noting that he wasn’t sure whether the commission, the Congregation for Bishops or the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — the Vatican department that has been handling most abuse cases — would take the lead on rogue bishops.”
Click here to read Gibson’s entire article.
Could Pope Francis Make Women Cardinals? / Religion News Service
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on October 21, 2013
Pope Francis has said repeatedly that he wants to see greater roles for women in the Catholic Church, and some argue that he could take a giant step in that direction by appointing women to the College of Cardinals – the select and (so far) all-male club of “Princes of the Church” that casts secret ballots in a conclave to elect a new pope.” By David Gibson, Religion News Service
Read the rest of Gibson’s article by clicking here.
Five Things We Learned about Pope Francis from His Blockbuster Interview / Religion News Service
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on September 23, 2013
Pope Francis’ comments this week on everything from gays to abortion (less talk, more mercy), the hierarchy (be pastors, not bureaucrats) and religious faith (doubt is part of belief) continue to reverberate through the church and the media.
“Here are five broader insights that this wide-ranging interview revealed about Francis — and why they will be keys to reading his pontificate, and perhaps the future of Catholicism.” By David Gibson, Religion News Service
Read the rest of David Gibson’s article on Pope Francis’ interview by clicking here.
Where Is Pope Francis Taking the Church & How Do We Feel About It?
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on August 7, 2013
Here are two recent telling commentaries on the direction of Pope Francis’ papacy.
Pope Francis’ Ecclesiology Rooted in the Emmaus Story
During his July 22-29 visit to Brazil, Pope Francis’ homilies and addresses had a simplicity and directness that inspired the faithful with confidence in God’s love, hope for reform and love of neighbor, especially the poor. But two of his speeches went beyond pastoral exhortations to lay out his vision and agenda for the church — his July 27 address to the Brazilian bishops and his address the next day to the episcopal council of CELAM, the Latin American conference of bishops.” Analysis by Fr. Thomas Reese, National Catholic ReporterPope Francis Is Unsettling—and Dividing—the Catholic Right
For more than three decades, the Vatican of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI operated on a version of the conservative maxim, ‘No enemies to the right.’ While left-wing theologians were silenced and liberal-to-moderate bishops were shunted aside in favor of hard-liners, liturgical traditionalists and cultural conservatives were diligently courted and given direct access to the apostolic palace. But in a few short months, Pope Francis has upended that dynamic, alienating many on the Catholic right by refusing to play favorites and ignoring their preferred agenda items even as he stressed the kind of social justice issues that are near and dear to progressives.” By David Gibson, Religion News Service, in The Washington Post
What kind of Church can we expect from Pope Francis?
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Vatican on March 19, 2013
Pope Francis Signals New Course for the Papacy
Ahead of his formal installation as pontiff on Tuesday (March 19), Pope Francis was sending clear signals that he intends to lead a papacy markedly different from his predecessor — and perhaps different from that of any other pope in modern times.” By David Gibson, Religion News Service
Convicted bishop is Catholic hierarchy’s elephant in the room – The Washington Post
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, church reform, Voice of the Faithful on November 9, 2012
“As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops gathers for its annual fall meeting in Baltimore next week (Nov. 12-15), one of the biggest issues confronting the prelates won’t be on the formal agenda: how to cope with the re-election of a president whose policies many bishops denounced as unprecedented attacks on the Catholic Church.
“But another topic not on the agenda may loom just as large for a hierarchy hoping to wield influence in the public square. In September, Bishop Robert Finn of Missouri became the first bishop to be found guilty of covering up for a priest suspected of child abuse.”
By David Gibson, Religion News Service, in The Washington Post
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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