Posts Tagged sexual abuse crisis
Prosecutor wants ex-priest declared ‘sexually dangerous’
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on July 31, 2015
A prosecutor’s motion to keep in prison an ex-priest convicted of child sexual abuse highlights how civil rather than Church authority continues to try to hold perpetrators accountable.
Prosecutors move to have ex-priest declared ‘sexually dangerous’
A former Catholic priest who was at the center of the sexual abuse crisis in the Boston Archdiocese could remain in custody even though he has completed his prison sentence, as Essex prosecutors push for him to be declared a dangerous sexual predator.
“Ronald H. Paquin pleaded guilty in 2002 and received a 12-to-15-year sentence for repeatedly raping a Haverhill altar boy between 1989 and 1992. He completed the sentence for three counts of rape of a child in late May, officials said, but remains in confinement until his status is resolved.
“Facing the possibility that Paquin would be released, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office is moving to have the 72-year-old Paquin declared a ‘sexually dangerous person.’ Blodgett filed a petition to keep Paquin locked up in the spring, before his sentence actually ended, the district attorney’s office said.”
By John R. Ellement, The Boston Globe — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn under Vatican investigation / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Clericalism, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on September 29, 2014
A Canadian archbishop visited the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese last week on behalf of the Vatican to investigate the leadership of Bishop Robert Finn, the first Catholic prelate to be found criminally guilty of shielding a priest in the ongoing clergy sexual abuse crisis.
“Ottawa, Ontario, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast visited the Midwestern diocese for several days last week, interviewing more than a dozen people about Finn’s leadership, several of those interviewed told NCR.
“According to those who spoke with Prendergast, the main he question asked was: ‘Do you think [Finn] is fit to be a leader?’”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Also of interest is the recent removal of Paraguayan Bishop Rogelio Ricard Livieres Plano for shielding a priest from accusations of abuse of minors and the arrest of former papal nuncio to the Dominican Republic Josef Wesolowski for child abuse. See Sept. 27 issue of Voice of the Faithful’s In the Vineyard newsletter with link to VOTF statement on the latter.
Francis’ Words on Sex Abuse Bolster Hope for Action / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on June 3, 2014
The directness and urgency with which Pope Francis addressed the problem of sexual abuse of minors by clergy during his May 26 talk with journalists is encouraging. His decision to meet with victims of clergy sex abuse is also a clear signal that Francis understands the gravity of this issue in a way that was not clear earlier. While we understand, and to some extent share, the concerns of victims’ groups that the meeting and Mass with victims could be little more than media theater, we have more hope for the gathering. Francis has given us reason to believe that his pastoral instincts will guide him and that the outcome of this encounter will bring the church to a new place in this decades-long tragedy.”
Editorial by National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this editorial.
Reason to Celebrate?
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful on May 9, 2014
By Nancy K. Janoch, Nancy Rivet, Susan Dusseau and Harry Grether
Mid-Michigan Voice of the Faithful®
This year, the local Catholic organization, Mid-Michigan Voice of the Faithful® (MM VOTF), will be 10 years old. Formed in the tri-city area in 2004, this group is an affiliate of the organization that began in 2002 in Massachusetts as a response to the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Since then, it has grown to more than 30,000 members in the United States and 21 countries. If many have never even heard of this group in the past years, some may ask how this is relevant to Catholics here in the tri-city area?
When the first people joined together for VOTF, they were shocked, hurt and upset. They saw the great injustice of the sexual abuse by clergy and the following cover-up, and they demanded that changes begin in our Church. VOTF became committed to a mission to provide a prayerful, Spirit-filled way for all Catholics to actively participate in the guidance and governance of the present-day Church. This follows Canon Law, which states that the laity “have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.” (Canon 212 §3)
The local Mid-Michigan Voice of the Faithful® continues to work to fulfill their mission statement. They offer an opportunity for all Catholics to enrich their faith and to become more involved in a meaningful way, within the framework of the Church. This is the reason MM VOTF is relevant to those in the tri-city area. Regardless of views on specific issues, this is an open and safe forum where Catholics may freely, respectfully and prayerfully discuss and learn about challenges that face our Church today. Through understanding of the important issues and by working together, good changes can take place for the future of our Church. This is a great reason to celebrate!
In this context, people believe they can embrace the VOTF goals to support the survivors of clergy sexual abuse, as well as to support priests of integrity. They also feel they can follow the goal that encourages work to shape structural change within the Catholic Church. This group finds that there is a lot to learn about their religion and what has been unfolding in this country and around the world. During monthly meetings, they began to learn more about the Church. By being grounded in prayer and through talks, readings, presentations and sharing information, they developed new understandings. Stories of individuals, clergy, educators and others, all showed a “bigger picture” of events, history and viewpoints.
The Catholic Church is a diverse group. Most individuals seek to understand their place in the Church, even if they are not aware of it. At a deeper level, they want to know God and the value of having a relationship with God. However, this also means that such a relationship requires some responsibility on their part. We, the Church, the people of God, are called to find out what duty we have and how we can open our eyes and continue to grow to remain full members of the Church. Mid-Michigan Voice of the Faithful strives to do that.
The recent closings of many area parishes are causing pain for many people here. Are their stories being heard? Who has listened to them? Is there help for them in their grief and loss, and shaken foundations?
In The New Yorker article, “Who Am I to Judge?” by James Carroll (2013, Dec. 23 &30), Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, asks what the exploitation of children by priests has done to Catholic families? What of the broken trust between the people and the clergy? How can people work together to “heal the wounds” and to build stronger faith?
The “Religious Landscape Survey” of the “Pew Research Religion and Public Life Project” (http://religions.pewforum.org) states that “while nearly one-in-three Americans (31%) were raised in the Catholic faith, today fewer than one-in-four (24%) describe themselves as Catholic. These losses would have been even more pronounced were it not for the offsetting impact of immigration.” This is a trend that many would like to see reversed. It will take the commitment of lay Catholics to make such a change and to restore the belief in Catholic Church.
Over the years, the idea of one’s “rights” in the Catholic Church has evolved. The sexual abuse scandal showed that people have a voice when they choose to use it. However, there is much work to be done to establish justice, inclusiveness, accountability and transparency in the leadership of the Church. It is no longer safe to assume that this will occur without the care and participation of the laity.
Father Joseph Daoust of Rome said, in another quote from James Carroll’s The New Yorker article, “Who Am I to Judge?”—“The way we practice our faith affects how we believe. How we believe affects how we practice. There’s a back and forth …”
The local Mid-Michigan Voice of the Faithful® continues to work to fulfill their mission statement. They offer an opportunity for all Catholics to enrich their faith and to become more involved in a meaningful way, within the framework of the Church. This is the reason MM VOTF is relevant to those in the tri-city area. Regardless of views on specific issues, this is an open and safe forum where Catholics may freely, respectfully and prayerfully discuss and learn about challenges that face our Church today. Through understanding of the important issues and by working together, good changes can take place for the future of our Church. This is a great reason to celebrate!
What’s the State of the Church’s Child Abuse Crisis / PBS FRONTLINE
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Clericalism, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on February 27, 2014
He (Bishop Robert Finn, convicted in 2012 of failing to inform police about a priest with child pornography on his computer) is still the bishop of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese, in good standing with the Catholic Church.
“That, say former priests and victims’ advocates, represents the state of the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church today. More than three decades after the initial reports of abuse began to emerge, critics say that many bishops, who have authority over their areas of responsibility, known as dioceses or eparchies, seem more committed to protecting the church than preventing abuse …
“It’s difficult to estimate the full scope of the abuse crisis. While allegations first surfaced in the U.S., the problem has become a global one, with widespread reports of abuse emerging in Ireland, Spain, Germany, Italy, Latin America and elsewhere.
“In the U.S. alone, 16,787 people have come forward to say that they were abused by priests as children between 1950 and 2012, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the organization for the Catholic hierarchy in the country. Those figures are incomplete. The data excludes, for unclear reasons, any people who came forward in in 2003. The conference also counts only allegations it determined were ‘not implausible’ or ‘credible.’”
By Sarah Childress, PBS FRONTLINE — Click here to read the rest of this article.
Bishop asks how ‘new evangelization’ applies to clergy sexual abuse survivors
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on October 18, 2012
As the thirteenth ordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops continues in Rome, the bishop of Antigonish, Canada, asks, “How do we evangelize those who have been deeply hurt by clergy who have been involved in sexual abuse?” The following is a summary of his remarks from the synod’s press bulletin on the Vatican’s website —
Thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
Oct. 15, 2012
“The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith”
– H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Brian Joseph DUNN, Bishop of Antigonish (CANADA)
How do we evangelize those who have been deeply hurt by clergy who have been involved in sexual abuse? Jesus dealt with those who were disillusioned by listening attentively to the stories of the disciples and leading them to a new awareness of his presence. This example of Jesus shows that the new evangelization, which must happen in the midst of the sexual abuse crisis, occurs in at least four different ways.
Provide real opportunities of listening and discerning together to appreciate the depth of hurt, anger and disillusionment associated with this scandal. This listening ministry could become a part of every diocese in the form of an office of mediation where people could bring their hurts and seek appropriate reconciliation.
Consider the reasons why this crisis has happened. Put into place measures which will create safe environments for children and all who are vulnerable in the faith community.
A spirituality of communion must permeate all relationships and structures within our parishes and local churches, through a consultation that brings people together, acknowledges the presence of God’s Spirit working in the members of the community and assists in responding to those who feel that their voice is never heard in the Church.
Support co-responsibility by bringing change in certain structures of the Church and in the mentality, attitude and heart in the ways of working closely with lay persons. These changes could include the appointment of pastoral teams consisting of clergy and laity, an official reflection on and recognition of lay ecclesial ministers, a deliberate and systematic involvement and leadership of women at all levels of Church life, e.g., permitting women to be instituted as lectors and acolytes and the institution of the ministry of catechist.
When this happens, the Gospel will be heard anew, our faith will be passed on more effectively, we will be renewed in our faith and our witness will become more authentic in our contemporary world.
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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