Posts Tagged national catholic reporter
Synod document sets stage for wide-ranging debate on women, Catholic ministries and structures / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, church reform, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Synod of Bishops, Synod on Synodality, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on June 20, 2023
The newly released document is the culmination of worldwide listening sessions through local churches that took place 2021-2023 and seven continental gatherings held in early 2023.
By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
“When prelates and lay delegates gather in October for the Synod of Bishops, they will be asked to directly confront a number of pressing questions — including the possibility of women deacons, access to the priesthood for married men, the integration of LGBTQ+ Catholics, and penance for sexual abuse and the abuse of power, conscience and money — in consideration of how the Catholic Church might transform and expand its structures to become more welcoming to all its members.
“In a much anticipated document released June 20, the Vatican’s synod office set the stage for a wide-ranging discussion for the first session of a high-stakes meeting that is attempting to respond with ‘missionary urgency’ to the challenges of church life in the modern world.
“Known in Latin as an instrumentum laboris, the 60-page document will guide the monthlong Vatican summit on a number of themes and concerns that have emerged during a three-year consultative process, which has focused on how the church could become more focused on greater listening and participation of all of the baptized, not just the Catholic hierarchy.
“Among the issues and considerations in the document are how a synodal church recognizes and values the central role of the poor; the experience of migrants; victims of sexual abuse, violence and other injustices; the disabled; divorced and remarried Catholics; the need for greater commitment to ecumenism and learning from other faith traditions; and the role of women in the church today.”
By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Read also — Instrumentium Laboris, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission,” First Session, XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, October 2023
Abuse survivors, their advocates cast doubt on leadership of Vatican commission / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, financial transparency, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on June 13, 2023
When the British-born (Fr. Andrew) Small was appointed to serve as acting secretary of the Vatican’s abuse commission in June 2021, he arrived in Rome with little experience in child protection, but a background in fundraising and advising the U.S. bishops on foreign policy.
By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
“Leading Catholic sexual abuse experts, survivors and survivor advocates are questioning the suitability of the priest who leads the Vatican’s clergy abuse commission, following an investigation that has raised significant questions about his record of financial transparency and accountability.
Oblate Fr. Andrew Small ‘should be gone — voluntarily or forcefully,’ David Clohessy, longtime executive director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said in reaction to a May 31 Associated Press report.
“The Associated Press investigation revealed that under Small’s leadership as former U.S. director of the Pontifical Mission Societies at least $17 million was transferred from the Vatican’s U.S.-based missionary fundraising entity into an impact investing operation created by Small. The priest continues to run the investment organization while also serving as the No. 2 official at the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.”
By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Nothing really changed after Vatican II. But synodality may make a difference / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, church reform, Future of the Church, Synod of Bishops, Synod on Synodality, Voice of the Faithful on June 12, 2023
The bishops from around the world who attended Vatican II voted yes for all of its documents, but once back on home soil, many simply ignored them … Clearly, synodality means that we must listen to one another, to the entire church, in all parts of the world for a Scripture-based following of Jesus rather than to the rules of a canonical institution … honoring the human cry for human support in every corner of the globe.
By Joan Chittister, National Catholic Reporter
“The word synodality has been around a year or so now and people are still asking what it really means — for them, of course. The last time the church said it was going to make changes was in 1965. Fifty-eight years ago. In the meantime, all the changes to be seen were basically meaningless ones. Not because change was forbidden. On the contrary.
“The Vatican documents of 1965 oozed theological life. They were clearly meant to dispense with the church of the Middle Ages, to bring the church into the modern world rooted in Scripture and the model of Jesus.
“But as the ocean liner that brought so many of the American Catholic hierarchy back from Rome disembarked, the New York press corps, snapping pictures and shouting questions, suffered one bishop after another shrugging their questions off. Nothing had really changed, it seemed. Nothing newsworthy, at least.
“In essence, the assumption was correct. Whatever changes the people had wanted from the 1962-65 Second Vatican Council were, it seemed, formless, silent, lost in the bustle of a busy church frozen in a medieval mind. Instead, after 400 years without a council of reform, the kinds of changes the people had expected from this council lay yet in Rome, drying in wet ink there and largely ignored here.”
By Joan Chittister, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Cardinal O’Malley: Papal abuse commission shifting to ‘impact-focused direction / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on May 9, 2023
Among its new tasks, it said, were how to respond promptly to Francis’ request ‘to animate the church to combat the evils of online child abuse’ and commissioning an in-depth study on ‘the theme of vulnerability in its various forms so as to equip church entities with robust measures to combat this emerging area of abuse.’
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, in National Catholic Reporter
“The new projects and developments at the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors represent ‘a major shift toward a more impact-focused direction,’ said its president, Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston.
“‘The Holy Father has asked a lot from us, and we are all committed to making this work,’ the cardinal said, according to a press release from the commission May 8.
“‘We have sought the necessary resources to respond adequately, and we are confident in the plan we have laid out and the people we have working with us,’ he said in the statement, which was issued at the end of the commission’s plenary assembly in Rome May 3-6.
“‘At times, this new direction has been both steep and fast for all of us reflecting the urgency of the challenges. This accelerated pace over the last six months has caused growing pains as we have attempted to respond to both short- and longer-term needs,’ the cardinal’s statement said.
“During the plenary, he said, ‘we developed key adjustments to our working methodology so as to clarify our different roles and to create a sense of common ownership of our mandate and of our collective responsibility for its implementation.'”
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, in National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Pope Francis expands participation in synod to lay members, granting right to vote / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Synod of Bishops, Synod on Synodality, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on April 26, 2023
For years, lay Catholic have lobbied for such reform.
By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
“Pope Francis on April 26 dramatically expanded participation in the Vatican’s upcoming Synod of Bishops to include lay men and women, for the first time granting them a right to be appointed as full voting members of the Catholic Church’s primary consultative body.
“In addition to the standard participation of bishops selected by the pope and episcopal conferences from around the world, the new changes allow for the participation of 70 non-bishop members at the upcoming October gathering — 10 from each of the seven global regional bishops’ conferences — with the request that young people be included and that 50% of those named be women.
“The changes were announced April 26 by the Vatican’s synod office, and were discussed at a press briefing at the Vatican with Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod, and Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, relator general of the 2023 and 2024 Synod of Bishops.”
By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
North American synod gathering focused on concerns about pope’s process, says participating bishop / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, church reform, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Synod of Bishops, Synod on Synodality, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on April 13, 2023
‘Asia, Europe and Africa with their vast geographies and cultural diversity were able to conduct continental assemblies. Even the Middle East created such an assembly,’ he (Bishop John Stowe) said. ‘North America did not, citing economic and practical difficulties in coming together.’
By Heidi Schlumpf, National Catholic Reporter
“A U.S. bishop who helped draft the synthesis document for the North American continental phase of the ongoing process for the Synod of Bishops said he saw ‘notable differences’ in this phase’s virtual listening sessions, compared to input from the previous parish- and diocesan-level phase.
“‘Concerns about the direction of the synod were more pronounced,’ said Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, noting that among the concerns of those delegates, who were handpicked by bishops, were restrictions against the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass, possible changes to Catholic doctrine, the focus on inclusivity and the synod process itself.
“Stowe made his remarks in an April 11 talk on ‘Synodality and the Common Good’ as part of the Cardinal Bernardin Common Cause lecture series at the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago.
“Stowe said he was sure the late Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago ‘would have enthusiastically engaged the synodal process with all of the hope it offers for a church that is faithful and engaged as a servant of the human family.'”
By Heidi Schlumpf, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
See also “Synod’s ‘messy,’ ‘joyful’ North American phase concludes with call to mission, moves to Rome,” by Gina Christian, OSV News, in National Catholic Reporter
Jesuit resigns from pope’s clergy abuse commission, criticizing group’s leadership / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on March 29, 2023
But with (German Jesuit Fr. Hans) Zollner’s departure, the commission has now lost someone long-perceived as a key ally of Francis’ reform efforts, having been selected by Francis as one of the main organizers of his historic February 2019 abuse summit at the Vatican.
By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter
“One of Pope Francis’ key advisers on clergy sexual abuse has resigned from the pontiff’s child protection commission and has launched searing criticisms against the organization’s leadership and its alleged lack of transparency.
“The president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley, announced on March 29 that one of the commission’s founding members, German Jesuit Fr. Hans Zollner, had asked the pope ‘to be relieved of his duties as a member.’
“O’Malley’s statement, which praised Zollner as a global ‘ambassador’ for combating clergy sexual abuse, said that Zollner had resigned due to his new appointment earlier this month as a consultant to the Diocese of Rome’s safeguarding office.
Yet in an unusually blunt 400-word statement issued several hours later, Zollner said that after nine years of service on the commission, it was ‘impossible’ to continue given his mounting concerns ‘in the areas of responsibility, compliance, accountability and transparency.'”
By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Pope Francis faces chance to radically reshape U.S. Catholic hierarchy / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on March 20, 2023
Thirteen American archdioceses and 21 dioceses could need new bishops by 2025.
National Catholic Reporter
“If Pope Francis continues to serve as bishop of Rome for another two years, he may have a notable opportunity to refashion the U.S. Catholic hierarchy. Dozens of bishops, several in historically significant archdioceses, will be required by canon law to submit resignation letters upon turning 75.
“At least 13 archdioceses and 21 dioceses could have new episcopal appointments by February 2025. In addition, two dioceses — Fairbanks, Alaska, and Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana — are operating without bishops. The number of episcopal openings could increase because of deaths or resignations.
“If he names new bishops to all those local churches, Francis will have appointed 64 percent of the U.S. episcopate since becoming pope in March 2013. Forty-six percent of current U.S. bishops are Francis appointees, said Catherine Hoegeman, a Missouri State University sociology professor who tracks U.S. episcopal appointments.
“‘Over the next two years, it looks like Francis is going from [having appointed] a little less than half of active bishops to a little less than two-thirds. I think that’s a notable shift,’ said Hoegeman. Since 1969, she said, popes have made an average of 15 episcopal appointments every year in the United States.
By Brian Fraga, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Bishops, theologians talk frankly about synodality at Boston College conference / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, church reform, Future of the Church, Synod of Bishops, Synod on Synodality, Voice of the Faithful on March 8, 2023
‘It’s not enough simply to maintain and adapt what has existed until now; it is necessary to creat something new,’ Rafael Luciani
National Catholic Reporter
“For the second consecutive year, dozens of theologians and bishops from across the United States gathered together to discuss how the Catholic Church can better live out the synodal path that Pope Francis has said is what ‘God expects of the church of the third millennium.’ The conference, ‘The Way Forward: Pope Francis, Vatican II, and Synodality,’ was held March 3-4 at Boston College.
“Several bishops over the event’s two days were forthright in describing their thoughts and experiences during the local consultative process of the 2021-23 Synod of Bishops on synodality, noting challenges during the process and some resistance to the synod. (The bishops spoke in conversations that were under the ‘Chatham House Rule,’ meaning that journalists covering the event were free to report on the discussions but not identify who made any particular comment. The rule is intended to encourage open and frank discussion.)
“One bishop said he felt a tension between listening to people’s unvarnished thoughts about the church and his understanding of his role to be a ‘conservator’ or defender of Catholic doctrine.
“Another bishop commented that better catechesis must be a part of the synodal process moving forward because most participants in his diocese saw the Catholic Church more as an institution than a spiritual communion.”
By Brian Fraga, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Read also, “Boston College conference didn’t just discuss synodality. Bishops and theologians modeled it,” by Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
New archive of Santa Fe clergy abuse documents hailed as unprecedented / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Catholic Church Finances, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on February 22, 2023
The archive agreement states that the archive will include documents ‘including but not limited to’ clergy personnel files, other perpetrator personnel files, victim files, investigative files, investigative transcripts, depositions, clergy risk assessments, minutes of Personnel Board and Permanent Review Board meetings, assignment records, seminary records, statements given to investigators or law enforcement, and under oath proof of claim forms from the Chapter 11 case.
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola, National Catholic Reporter
“An unprecedented public archive of clergy sexual abuse documents is being established at the University of New Mexico thanks to a collaborative agreement between abuse survivors and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
“The archive, documenting one of the U.S. Catholic Church’s epicenters of sexual abuse and coverup, is the result of a commitment Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester made to the creditors’ committee that represented clergy sex abuse claimants in the archdiocese’s concluding Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
“The archdiocese, five participating religious orders and their insurers are funding the $121.5 million settlement trust, finalized in December 2022. In addition, the religious orders will contribute more than $7.7 million for specific claims against their members.
“Albuquerque attorney Brad Hall, along with law partner Levi Monagle and co-counsel Lisa Ford, represented 145 abuse survivors in the bankruptcy — more than one-third of the 395 claimants. Hall told NCR he hopes Santa Fe’s abuse document archive will become a template for current and future Chapter 11 cases involving sexual abuse.”
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
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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