Posts Tagged Michael O’Loughlin
Financial misconduct in parishes is all too common / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Church Finances, Voice of the Faithful on December 22, 2015
Behind the sensational headlines about a New York priest (Rev. Peter Miqueli) accused of pilfering church coffers to pay for an extravagant lifestyle – “Priest paid his male ‘sex master’ from collection plate: lawsuit,” as the New York Post put it — is the surprisingly common accusation of a trusted employee or volunteer stealing cash from a parish …
“Miqueli’s case is tailor made for tabloid coverage, but it’s hardly unique. This year alone, a number of high-profile embezzlement cases involving Catholic institutions have been made public. While the reporting to civil authorities has increased, resulting in more publicity about such cases, one thing hasn’t changed: Pastors are too trusting and unwilling to implement strict financial controls.”
By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Voice of the Faithful’s Financial Accountability & Transparency Working Group’s long-time efforts in this area at the diocese and parish levels can be reviewed at votf.org under Programs/Financial Accountability.
Synod small groups suggest much work remains in finding consensus / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on October 15, 2015
With the conclusion of the second round of small group discussions, consensus is emerging around a few key themes at the synod on the family: The working document needs a lot of work, the Church should speak more clearly and positively about Catholic marriage, and couples need catechetical resources, or ‘best practices’ as one group put it, to help them sustain their commitments.
“Dig a bit deeper into the reports released Wednesday (Oct. 14), however, and it becomes clear that bishops are still grappling with a variety of more difficult issues–cohabitation, domestic abuse, women’s leadership, and the growing reality that young people just aren’t that into marriage. These inquiries serve as something of a preview to next week’s discussion.”
By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Synod bishops may punt the tough issues to the local level / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on October 9, 2015
As bishops wrap up the first week of deliberations about family life, hints are emerging that complex pastoral challenges could ultimately be addressed not with sweeping changes in Rome, but at the local level.
Could national bishops’ conferences come up with their own rules about annulments, Communion, and how to minister to gays and lesbians?
Maybe.
By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
High-ranking U.S. Jesuit: Married priests would be healthy for the Church / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Celibacy, Voice of the Faithful on August 19, 2015
A high-ranking US Jesuit says he wouldn’t be surprised if Pope Francis ushers in an era of married priests in the Roman Catholic Church, and says the move would be healthy for the Church.
“‘I used to say, ‘Well, it will change but probably not in my lifetime.’ And then Pope Francis came along, and what I see him doing is opening the avenues for discussion,’ the Rev. Michael Garanzini, chancellor of Loyola University Chicago and the secretary for higher education for the worldwide Jesuits, told Crain’s Chicago Business on Monday (Aug. 18).
“He told the paper that the clergy abuse scandal spurred discussion of married priests and led to an ‘openness to a priest’s physical and psychological health.’
“Garanzini noted that the Catholic Church already has some married priests, most notably when married Anglican priests convert to Catholicism.”
By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
The ‘Francis agenda’ is making inroads in the U.S. / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on August 10, 2015
Since his election, Pope Francis has become one of the world’s most influential moral leaders, and despite a drop in a recent opinion poll, he is wildly popular in the United States.
“With a little more than a month until Francis lands in Washington for an eight-day tour of the I-95 corridor, how are his priorities influencing the Church in the United States?”
By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Percentage of U.S. Catholics drops and Catholicism is losing numbers faster than any denomination / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Future of the Church, Voice of the Faithful on May 12, 2015
For years, two truisms dominated coverage of the US Catholic Church: about one quarter of the population is Catholic and each year at Easter, Catholics entering the church offset those leaving it.
“But new data suggests a new story.
“A report released Tuesday (May 12) by the Pew Forum finds that the total number of Catholics in the United States dropped by 3 million since 2007, now comprising about 20 percent – or one-fifth – of the total population.”
By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story. Click here to read about the survey on PewForum.org.
Pope Francis is mulling proposal on bishop accountability / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on April 21, 2015
Marie Collins of the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was the featured speaker April 18 at the Voice of the Faithful 2015 National Assembly.
The Vatican’s special commission on clergy sexual abuse has given Pope Francis a proposal on how to punish bishops who failed to protect minors from sexual abuse by clergy under their oversight.
“Marie Collins, a member of the panel — formally known as the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors — and herself a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, said she couldn’t reveal details of the proposal, but that personally, she believes some bishops must be removed from office.
“Among those she cited was Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City, convicted in 2012 of failing to report suspected child abuse to civil authorities.”
By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Assessing Pope Francis
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on April 14, 2015
Vatican watchers in the media continue to assess Francis’ impact a little more than two years and a month into his papacy. Here are three recent stories:
The barque of Peter in shark-infested waters
(Apr. 13, 2015) “The seas have suddenly become a lot more agitated for Pope Francis, who up to now has proven to be amazingly unsinkable in the face of any kind of adversity. But in the last few weeks, he has found himself in the midst of several minor crises and controversies that if not resolved well could work to undermine his credibility with many Catholics and deal a blow to his project for reforming the church.” By Robert Mickens, Global Pulse editor-in-chief, in National Catholic ReporterDespite rhetoric, Pope Francis treats cardinals like princes
(Apr. 10, 2015) “In his pre-Christmas talk to the cardinals and bishops of the Vatican Curia, Pope Francis shocked his audience and the world by his scathing words on the failings of those working in the Vatican. He warned them against 15 separate “diseases” in their work and attitudes … News stories of this talk naturally connected it with Pope Francis’ plans to reform the Curia, but the speech notwithstanding, little progress has been seen except in the area of financial reform. After such a speech, one would have expected heads to roll, but they did not. Despite the rhetoric, curial cardinals are still treated like princes.” By Thomas Reese, National Catholic ReporterPope Francis is wildly popular. So what?
(Apr. 8, 2015) “In the days before Easter, NBC News and the Wall Street Journal published the results of a poll finding that most Americans still hold a favorable view of Pope Francis. A few weeks before that, the Pew Research Center released a report showing that the pope remains popular even with non-Catholics. That was an update to a poll from last December demonstrating that Francis was popular around the world, too.” By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com
It’s official: Pope Francis will address the U.S. Congress / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on February 6, 2015
In what will be a first for a pope or religious head of state, Pope Francis will address a joint session of the US Congress Sept. 24, Speaker of the House John Boehner confirmed Thursday.
“But whether Republicans and Democrats will like what they hear is an open question.”
By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Women lead the Church, even as Catholics debate their role / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on January 16, 2015
When Sister Donna Markham, OP, assumes leadership of Catholic Charities USA later this year, three of the Catholic Church’s largest social service groups in the United States — Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, and the Catholic Health Association — will be led by women, a paradox, some say, in a Church that restricts women from the priesthood, and thus from ascending to the highest levels of institutional power.
“’When it comes to the Catholic Church and women, it is really interesting because you have the very visible and hard line: women cannot be priests. Therefore women, by virtue of being women, cannot occupy the positions of power,’ said Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame.”
By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com — 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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