Posts Tagged sexual abuse survivors
Holding Church Shepherds Accountable / The New York Times
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on July 22, 2014
When Pope Francis met earlier this month with victims of rape and sexual abuse by priests, he vowed to hold bishops accountable for covering up the scandal instead of confronting it.
“A good place to start is with the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese, where calls are mounting for the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt, a warrior against same-sex marriage who, it turns out, is facing accusations that he indulged in improper sexual conduct in the past with priests, seminarians and other men.
“The archbishop has denied the accusations as ‘entirely false,’ saying they date back over 10 years and do not involve minors or criminal conduct. But he felt obliged to hire a law firm to investigate them.
“Meanwhile, his handling of the pedophilia scandal is under fire from all sides. This week (week of July 14), an affidavit from Jennifer Haselberger, the former canon law chancellor for the archdiocese, accused the archbishop and his ranking prelates of systematically ignoring warnings about abusers in a five-year period, while failing to inform civil authorities of possible criminal acts.”
Editorial by The New York Times — Click here to read the rest of this editorial.
Pope Francis to Meet Irish Abuse Survivors in Vatican / The Irish Catholic
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on June 26, 2014
Irish survivors of clerical abuse will travel to Rome next week for a key meeting with Pope Francis, The Irish Catholic has learned. It will be the first time since his election that the Pontiff has met with those who have been abused by priests and religious to hear of their experiences. Francis has promised to continue a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to abuse.”
By Michael Kelly, The Irish Catholic — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Marginalizing the Abused: Six Ways Survivors Are Treated As Insignificant / Religion News Service
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful on March 21, 2014
The heartbreaking reality is that the marginalization of survivors is all too common in the Christian community. I have encountered many abuse survivors who want nothing to do with Jesus because of being marginalized by the very community they had hoped would care most, the Church. Just like the Priest and Levi in the parable of the Good Samaritan, we are often so quick to embrace ‘rationale excuses’ for why we walk away. When we do this, we marginalize the very lives that God sees as beautiful and infinitely valuable. When we do this, we marginalize Jesus.”
By Boz Tchividjian, Religion News Service — Click here to read the rest of this article.
Pope Francis on Abuse — A Disappointment / Fr. Thomas Doyle in National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Clericalism, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 7, 2014
A long-time, staunch supporter of clergy sexual abuse survivors, Fr. Thomas Doyle, has presented his response to Pope Francis’ recent comments on clergy sexual abuse in an article today in National Catholic Reporter. Click here to read “Pope Francis on Abuse — A Disappointment.”
Fr. Doyle will facilitate a workshop on surviving clergy sexual abuse called “Survivor Support: Spirituality & Trauma” at the Voice of the Faithful® 2014 Assembly in Hartford, Connecticut, April 5.
A Dominican priest with a doctorate in canon law and five master’s degrees, Fr. Doyle sacrificed a rising career at the Vatican Embassy to become an outspoken advocate for Catholic Church clergy sexual abuse victims. Since 1984, when he became involved with the issue of sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy, he has become an expert in canonical and pastoral dimensions of this problem and has worked directly with victims, their families, accused priests, bishops and other high-ranking Catholic Church officials.
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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