Posts Tagged Nicole Winfield
Francis offered a path of reform going forward, handing out a 21-point set of proposals for the church to consider including some that would require changes to canon law. (Assoicated Press in The Boston Globe)
Pope Francis opened a landmark sex abuse prevention summit Thursday (Feb. 21) by offering senior Catholic leaders 21 proposals to punish predators and keep children safe, warning that the faithful are demanding concrete action and not just words.
“The tone for the high stakes, four-day summit was set at the start, with victims from five continents — Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and North America — telling the bishops of the trauma of their abuse and the additional pain the church’s indifference caused them.
“‘Listen to the cry of the young, who want justice,’ Francis told the gathering of 190 leaders of bishops conferences and religious orders.
‘The holy people of God are watching and expect not just simple and obvious condemnations, but efficient and concrete measures to be established.’
“More than 30 years after the scandal first erupted in Ireland and Australia, and 20 years after it hit the U.S., bishops and Catholic officials in many parts of Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia still either deny that clergy sex abuse exists in their regions or play down the problem.”
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, in The Boston Globe — Read more …
accountability, Associated Press, Bishops' summit, catholic bishop accountability, catholic bishops, catholic bishops' summit, catholic church, Catholic Church reform, catholic hierarchy, Catholics, child sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, Nicole Winfield, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, The Boston Globe, vatican, voice of the faithful
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, one of the summit organizers, said the sexual abuse of adults needs to be addressed. But he said the four-day summit must remain focused on its original intent. “Young people, minors don’t have a voice. They are kept in silence,” he said. “This is about making sure their voice is heard.” (National Catholic Reporter)
Pope Francis is hosting a four-day summit on preventing clergy sexual abuse, a high-stakes meeting designed to impress on Catholic bishops around the world that the problem is global and that there are consequences if they cover it up.
“The meeting opening Thursday (Feb. 21) comes at a critical time for the church and Francis’ papacy, following the explosion of the scandal in Chile last year and renewed outrage in the United States over decades of cover-up that were exposed by the Pennsylvania grand jury report.
“Here is a look at what’s in store for the summit …”
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press — Read more …
accountability, Associated Press, catholic bishop accountability, catholic church, clergy sexual abuse scandal, Nicole Winfield, Pope Francis, vatican, Vatican bishops' summit, voice of the faithful
Their continued presence on the C-9 had been a source of scandal for Francis, given the explosion of the abuse and cover-up crisis this year. (Associated Press)
Pope Francis has removed two cardinals from his informal cabinet after they were implicated in the Catholic Church’s sex abuse and cover-up scandal, shedding embarrassing advisers ahead of a high-stakes Vatican summit on abuse early next year.
“The Vatican said Wednesday (Dec. 12) that Francis in October had written to Chilean Cardinal Javier Errazuriz and Australian Cardinal George Pell thanking them for their five years of service on the so-called Group of Nine, or C-9.
“Francis also bid farewell to Congolese Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, who hasn’t been implicated in the scandal but at age 79 recently retired as archbishop of Kinshasa.
“Errazuriz, 85, has been accused by Chilean abuse survivors of having covered up for predator priests while he was archbishop of Santiago, a charge he has denied. Pell, 77, took leave from his job as the Vatican’s economy minister to stand trial in his native Australia on historic charges of sex abuse, which he denies.
“Their continued presence on the C-9 had been a source of scandal for Francis, given the explosion of the abuse and cover-up crisis this year.”
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press — Read more …
accountability, Associated Press, bishops, Cardinal George Pell, Cardinal Javier Errazuriz, catholic, catholic bishop accountability, catholic bishops, catholic church, catholic hierarchy, child sex abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, Nicole Winfield, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, vatican, voice of the faithful
With the resignation, Wuerl becomes the most prominent head to roll in the scandal roiling the Catholic Church after his predecessor as Washington archbishop, Theodore McCarrick … (Associated Press via The Boston Globe)
Pope Francis accepted the resignation Friday (Oct. 12) of Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl after he became entangled in two major sexual abuse and cover-up scandals and lost the support of many in his flock.
“But in a letter released by Wuerl’s office, Francis praised his longtime ally and suggested Wuerl had unfairly become a scapegoat, having made some ‘mistakes’ in handling sex abuse cases, but not having covered them up.
“With the resignation, Wuerl becomes the most prominent head to roll in the scandal roiling the Catholic Church after his predecessor as Washington archbishop, Theodore McCarrick, was forced to resign as cardinal over allegations he sexually abused at least two minors and adult seminarians.
“A Vatican statement Friday said Francis had accepted Wuerl’s resignation, but named no replacement; in his letter, the pope asked him to stay on in a temporary capacity until a new archbishop is found.”
By David Crary and Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, in The Boston Globe — Read more …
accountability, Archbishop of Washington, Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, Associated Press, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, catholic bishop accountability, catholic church, catholic hierarchy, clergy sexual abuse scandal, David Crary, Nicole Winfield, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, The Boston Globe, vatican, voice of the faithful
Here is a look at the scandal, which has split the U.S. Catholic hierarchy and further tarnished Francis’ record on abuse. (Associated Press)
Two weeks after Pope Francis’ papacy was thrown into crisis by accusations that he covered up sexual misconduct by ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Francis has refused to respond, his accuser has changed his story and a host of new characters have entered the fray.
“Cardinals, bishops, priests and ordinary faithful are demanding answers, given that the Vatican knew since at least 2000 about allegations McCarrick had bedded seminarians.
“Francis is coming under increasing pressure to respond to claims by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano that he rehabilitated McCarrick from sanctions Pope Benedict XVI had imposed.
“Here is a look at the scandal, which has split the U.S. Catholic hierarchy and further tarnished Francis’ record on abuse.”
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press — Read more …
accountability, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, Associated Press, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, catholic bishop accountability, catholic bishops, catholic church, catholic hierarchy, Catholics, clergy sexual abuse scandal, coverup, Nicole Winfield, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, vatican, voice of the faithful
Advocates for expanding the ministry to include women say doing so would provide women with greater role in the ministry and governance of the church, while also helping address the effects of the Catholic priest shortage in parts of the world by allowing women to perform some priestly functions. (Associated Press in America: The Jesuit Review)
A new survey has found that the majority of U.S. Catholic religious orders believe women should be allowed to serve as ordained deacons, lending support to an issue currently under study at the Vatican amid pressure for women to be given greater roles in the church.
Seventy-seven percent of both male and female superiors in the U.S. believe such ordination is theoretically possible, and 72 percent think the church should go ahead and authorize it, according to the study released Thursday by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington.
Only 45 percent, however, believe the church will actually do it, the study found.
Deacons are ordained ministers, not priests, though they can perform many of the same functions as priests. They preside at weddings, baptisms and funerals, and they can preach. They cannot celebrate Mass.
Currently, married men can serve as deacons. Women cannot, though historians say women served as deacons in the early church.
Deacons are ordained ministers, not priests, though they can perform many of the same functions as priests. They preside at weddings, baptisms and funerals, and they can preach. They cannot celebrate Mass.
Currently, married men can serve as deacons. Women cannot, though historians say women served as deacons in the early church.
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, in America: The Jesuit Review — Read more …
America magazine, America: The Jesuit Review, Associated Press, catholic church, Catholic Church reform, Catholic women deacons, Catholics, deacons, Nicole Winfield, roman catholic church, vatican, voice of the faithful, women deacons, women in Catholic Church
Prosecutor Gian Piero Milano had asked for a stiffer sentence because of what he called the ‘‘great’’ amount of material accessed, which included 40 to 55 photos, films, and Japanese animation found on his cellphone, in iCloud, and on a Tumblr account, which Capella viewed even after he had been recalled by the Vatican in August 2017. (Associated Press in The Boston Globe)
The Vatican tribunal Saturday convicted a former papal diplomat and sentenced him to five years in prison for possessing and distributing child pornography in the first such trial of its kind inside the Vatican.
“Monsignor Carlo Capella admitted to viewing the images during what he called a period of ‘fragility’ and interior crisis sparked by a job transfer to the Vatican embassy in Washington.
“He apologized to his family and the Holy See, and appealed for leniency by saying the episode was just a ‘bump in the road’ of a priestly vocation he loved and wanted to continue.
“Tribunal President Giuseppe Dalla Torre read out the verdict after a two-day trial and sentenced Capella to five years in prison and a fine of about $6,000. Capella will serve the sentence in the Vatican barracks, where he has been held since his arrest earlier this year.”
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, in The Boston Globe — Read more …
accountability, Associated Press, catholic, catholic church, catholic priests, Catholics, child pornography, clergy sexual abuse scandal, Monsignor Carlo Capella, Nicole Winfield, The Boston Globe, Vatican tribunal
Francis’ first five years have been an introduction to a new kind of pope, one who prizes straight talk over theology, and mercy over moral discussion — all for the sake of making the church a more welcoming place for those who have felt excluded. (Associated Press in The Boston Globe)
Whenever Pope Francis visits prisons, during his whirlwind trips to the world’s peripheries or at a nearby jailhouse in Rome, he always tells inmates that he, too, could have ended up behind bars: ‘Why you and not me?’ he asks.
“That humble empathy and the ease with which he walks in others’ shoes has won Francis admirers around the globe and confirmed his place as a consummate champion of the poor and disenfranchised.
“As he marks the fifth anniversary of his election Tuesday Mar. 13), Francis still faces criticism for both the merciful causes he has embraced and the ones he has neglected.
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, in The Boston Globe — Read more …
Associated Press, future of Catholic Church, Nicole Winfield, Pope France, roman catholic church, The Boston Globe
“When we gave him (Cardinal Sean O’Malley) the letter for the pope, he assured us he would give it to the pope and speak of the concerns,” then-commission member Marie Collins told the AP. “And at a later date, he assured us that that had been done.” (Associated Press)
Pope Francis received a victim’s letter in 2015 that graphically detailed how a priest sexually abused him and how other Chilean clergy ignored it, contradicting the pope’s recent insistence that no victims had come forward to denounce the cover-up, the letter’s author and members of Francis’ own sex- abuse commission have told The Associated Press.
The fact that Francis received the eight-page letter, obtained by the AP, challenges his insistence that he has ‘zero tolerance’ for sex abuse and cover-ups. It also calls into question his stated empathy with abuse survivors, compounding the most serious crisis of his five-year papacy.
“The scandal exploded last month when Francis’ trip to South America was marred by protests over his vigorous defense of Bishop Juan Barros, who is accused by victims of witnessing and ignoring the abuse by the Rev. Fernando Karadima. During the trip, Francis callously dismissed accusations against Barros as ‘slander,’ seemingly unaware that victims had placed Barros at the scene of Karadima’s crimes.
“On the plane home, confronted by an AP reporter, the pope said: ‘You, in all good will, tell me that there are victims, but I haven’t seen any, because they haven’t come forward.'”
By Nicole Winfield and Eva Vergara, Associated Press — Read more …
accountability, Associated Press, Bishop Juan Barros, catholic church, catholic hierarchy, child sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, Eva Vergara, Nicole Winfield, Pope Francis, Rev. Fernando Karadima, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, vatican, voice of the faithful
“But his meeting with abuse survivors and comments in his first speech of the day were what many Chileans, incensed by years of abuse scandal and cover-up, were waiting for.” (Associated Press)
“Pope Francis met on Tuesday (Jan. 16) with survivors of priests who sexually abused them, wept with them and apologized for the ‘irreparable damage’ they suffered, his spokesman said.
“The pontiff also acknowledged the ‘pain’ of priests who have been held collectively responsible for the crimes of a few, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told reporters at the end of the day.
“Francis dove head-first into Chile’s sex abuse scandal on his first full day in Santiago that came amid unprecedented opposition to his visit …
But his meeting with abuse survivors and comments in his first speech of the day were what many Chileans, incensed by years of abuse scandal and cover-up, were waiting for.”
By Peter Prengaman and Nicole Winfield, Associated Press — Read more …
abuse survivors, abuse victims, accountability, Associated Press, catholic church, child sexual abuse, Chile, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, coverup, Nicole Winfield, Peter Prengaman, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, vatican, voice of the faithful
Voice of the Faithful ® 