Posts Tagged Jr.
Francis Names O’Malley to Vatican Antiabuse Panel / The Boston Globe
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 24, 2014
Pope Francis on Saturday named Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston and seven other figures with reputations as reformers to guide a new Vatican antiabuse commission, a move intended to demonstrate resolve about confronting the child sexual abuse scandals that have rocked Catholicism. O’Malley, already the lone American on the pope’s “G8” council of cardinal advisers, is also the lone American among the commission members announced Saturday. O’Malley’s new responsibility is not a full-time position, meaning he will not move to Rome and will continue to serve as the archbishop of Boston.”
By John L. Allen, Jr., The Boston Globe — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Also of interest — “O’Malley, Abuse Survivor Named Members of New Vatican Clergy Abuse Commission” and “25 Years into Fight Against Clergy Sex Abuse SNAP Soldiers On”
Many Points of Praise for Pope’s First Year / The Boston Globe
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 12, 2014
One year ago Thursday (Mar. 13), a relatively obscure prelate from Argentina made his debut as the new leader of the world’s oldest Christian church, stepping out onto the fabled balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square and joking that his brother cardinals had gone to “the end of the earth” to find a pope.
“For an institution legendary for taking itself rather seriously, that flash of humor alone communicated that this wasn’t going to be your grandfather’s kind of pontiff.
“By taking the name Francis, the new pope awakened images of St. Francis, the beloved poor man of Assisi. He then knelt to ask the crowd to pray for him before imparting his official blessing, seemingly inaugurating a new era of papal humility.
“It was, as we know now, only the beginning.”
By John L. Allen, Jr., The Boston Globe — Click here to read the rest of this article. John Allen will be a guest speaker, “Perspectives on Pope Francis & A Climate of Change,” at the Voice of the Faithful® 2014 Assembly in Hartford, Connecticut, April 5. Click here for information and to register.
Pope Francis’ Lay Finance Expert Vows ‘No More Scandals’ (Study says 85% of American dioceses discovered embezzlement) / The Boston Globe
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Church Finances, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 10, 2014
A Maltese economist tapped by Pope Francis to help lead a new finance council says the pope’s reforms will ensure that the sort of scandal which erupted last summer, involving a Vatican accountant allegedly enmeshed in a John le Carré-esque plot to smuggle millions in cash, becomes a thing of the past …
“Observers believe Francis’ efforts to promote financial glasnost are important not merely for the Vatican but to set a tone for the wider Catholic church, where accounting practices often remain informal and subject to abuse. A 2007 study by Villanova University, for instance, found that 85 percent of American dioceses had discovered instances of embezzlement within the previous five years.”
By John L. Allen, Jr., The Boston Globe — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Movement of Catholics Motivated by Clergy Sexual Abuse Scandal Gathers for 2014 Assembly in Hartford, April 5
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful on February 26, 2014
Voice of the Faithful®, a movement of Catholics started in 2002 at the height of the Boston, Mass., clergy sexual abuse scandal, will hold its “2014 Assembly: Turning Talk into Action” on Saturday, April 5, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford. Registration is $80 per person, and lunch is included.
Guest speakers will be John L. Allen, Jr., and Fr. Thomas Reese. Allen, associate editor for Catholic news and analysis at The Boston Globe and founder of the Vatican beat for National Catholic Reporter, will offer “Perspectives on Pope Francis and a Climate of Change.” Fr. Reese, National Catholic Reporter’s senior analyst, former associate editor of America magazine and author of The Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church, will discuss “Jesuit Spirituality.”
Six afternoon workshops, each presented twice, will help participants “turn talk into action”:
- Parish Level Financial Accountability: Tools for Securing Collections – What simple steps can be taken to secure Sunday collections from basket to bank and all points in between?
- Diocesan Level Financial Accountability: The Montana Hustle Case Study – How one Parish Finance Council doggedly pursued their bishop after their pastor misused funds and how new tools VOTF is developing will help monitor a diocese’s finances.
- Clericalism – What is clericalism and how are the signs recognized? Participants will learn how this primary obstruction to collegial lay participation in the Church could be removed.
- Priestless Parishes: There IS An Answer – How can the doors to optional celibacy be opened for a priesthood embracing the celibate and the married, so availability of the Eucharist is ensured?
- Female Voices – How can women change the equation in a Church that too often positions them only in a mother or helper role? Today’s realities and future potential will be discussed with four women who serve as pastoral associates and in ministry positions.
- Survivor Support: Spirituality & Trauma – Despite sexual trauma and clergy betrayal that leave scars that may involve rejecting church hierarchy and structure, the need for non-clerical spirituality continues, and Fr. Thomas Doyle will explore ways of healing and fulfillment.
An expert panel also will discuss Pathways to Healing and Reform, ways in which participants might help restore the Church. Panel members will include Fr. James Connell, canon lawyer and retired pastor who helped found Catholic Whistleblowers; Prof. Thomas Porter, trial lawyer, mediator, Methodist minister and teacher of restorative justice in Boston University’s School of Theology; and William Casey, coordinator of a restorative justice program at the Northern Virginia Mediation Service and former VOTF board chair.
Interested individuals may register online for the VOTF 2014 Assembly, download a printable registration form, make hotel reservations or get more information at www.votf.org.
Voice of the Faithful®: Voice of the Faithful® is a worldwide movement of faithful Roman Catholics working to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity and increase the laity’s role in governance and guidance of the Church. More information is at www.votf.org.
UN Report on Clergy Sexual Abuse: By Wading into Culture Wars, UN May Muddy Its Message / The Boston Gobe
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on February 6, 2014
Because the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has no police power, it relies on moral pressure to get member states to adopt its child protection recommendations. That is obviously what it hoped to accomplish with Wednesday’s report on the Vatican and the child abuse scandals that have rocked Catholicism over the last dozen years, issuing a stinging indictment of what it called a culture of “impunity” for perpetrators. There is a strong possibility the fusillade from the UN panel may backfire, however, by blurring the cause of child protection with the culture wars over sexual mores.” By John L. Allen, Jr., The Boston Globe — Click here to read the rest of this analysis.
Also of interest — “UN Panel Assails Vatican on Priest Abuse,” by Michael Rezendes and Lisa Wangsness, The Boston Globe
Pope Wants ‘Capillary and Incisive’ Role for Women in Church / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on January 28, 2014
In an address Saturday to an Italian women’s group, Pope Francis once again expressed a “vivid hope” that women will play a ‘more capillary and incisive’ role in the Catholic church as well as in all the venues in which ‘the most important decisions are adopted.’
“Francis made the comment in an address to the Centro Italiano Femminile, originally founded in 1944 to promote the involvement of women in Italy’s post-World War II reconstruction and inspired by the Christian tradition.
“Though reaffirming the ban on female priests, Francis has voiced a desire for a greater role for women in the church on a number of occasions, including his airborne press conference in July while returning from Brazil and in his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium.
“Francis did not offer any new specifics Saturday in terms of what those roles might look like, but the repetition of the point arguably suggests that it’s a papal priority.”
By John L. Allen, Jr., National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this article.
Future of the Church? Apostolic Exhortation Amounts to Francs’ ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on November 26, 2013
Dreams can be powerful things, especially when articulated by leaders with the realistic capacity to translate them into action. That was the case 50 years ago with Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, and it also seems to be the ambition of Pope Francis’ bold new apostolic exhortation, ‘ The Joy of the Gospel.’” By John L. Allen, Jr., National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of Allen’s analysis.
Vatican Abuse Prosecutor Says Rome ‘Well Aware’ of Accountability Problem / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on November 25, 2013
“The Vatican’s top prosecutor for sex abuse cases says Rome is “well aware” of how frustrated many people are with perceived confusion about how to hold bishops accountable when they’re accused of failing to make a “zero tolerance” policy stick and hopes a solution will emerge from debates over curial reform under Pope Francis.” By John L. Allen, Jr., National Catholic Reporter
Click here to read the rest of Allen’s article.
Council of Cardinals; Pope Interviews; Assisi; Francis the Mystic; and War on Christians / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on October 4, 2013
As veteran Vatican watcher and journalist John L. Allen, Jr., points out, this has been quite a week for news coming from Rome.
I’ve been covering the Vatican for almost 20 years, and aside from the two conclaves during that span, I’d be hard-pressed to recall many weeks with more breaking news than what we experienced the last seven days. After giving a talk for the Cushwa Center at the University of Notre Dame on Monday night, I’ve been in Rome following events. Here’s a tick-tock of what we’ve seen …”
Allen then lists about a dozen news items that show the direction that Pope Francis’ papacy is taking and changes that are being considered in the way Catholic Church is run. He says much more in the article, but if you don’t have time to read it entirely, read the bullet points. They’re worth your time. Click here to go to the article.
Arrested Monsignor Charges Corruption in Vatican Finances / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Church Finances, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on October 3, 2013
Just days after the Vatican bank attempted to project a new image of transparency with a first-ever audited financial statement, another Vatican financial department faced fresh charges of corruption and shady practices. Italian newspapers today contained extracts from testimony given to Italian investigators by Msgr. Nunzio Scarano, a former accountant at the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA), who was arrested in June for alleged involvement in a plot to smuggle $26 million in cash into Italy from Switzerland at the behest of a family of shipping magnates.” By John L. Allen, Jr., National Catholic Reporter
Read the rest of John Allen’s story by clicking here.
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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