Posts Tagged transparency
Catholic Church’s ‘pontifical secret’ stops disclosure of sex abuse allegations, expert says / The Guardian
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on February 9, 2017
The Catholic church’s ‘pontifical secret’ rule is still preventing bishops from disclosing child sexual abuse allegations in some states, an expert has said.
“he royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse on Thursday (Feb. 9) began to examine how canon law contributes to the secrecy surrounding child abuse within the Catholic church.”
By Christopher Knaus, The Guardian — Click here to read the rest of this story. Also of interest, “Vatican enforces Church ‘secrecy,’ royal commission hears,” By Rhian Deutrom, The Australian
Father Thomas Doyle tells royal commission Vatican failed sex abuse victims / Sydney Morning Herald
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on February 8, 2017
The Vatican has failed to support survivors of sexual abuse in the church for decades, with prominent Catholics demanding action at a royal commission.
“A whistleblower priest who was one of the first to report allegations of sexual abuse to the Vatican in the 1980s told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse he was punished for speaking out.
“Father Thomas Doyle, an American canon lawyer, told the second day of the inquiry into Catholic Church authorities, secrecy, cover-ups and betrayal of victims were hallmarks of the institution’s response to abuse.
“‘One of the massive holes in the Roman Catholic Church’s approach to this issue today is a failure to completely comprehend the spiritual damage that is done to victims, to their families . . . and the community itself,’ he said.”
By Rachel Browne, Sydney Morning Herald — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Child abuse: 7% of Australian Catholic priests alleged to be involved / BBC News Australia
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on February 6, 2017
An inquiry examining institutional sex abuse in Australia has heard 7% of the nation’s Catholic priests allegedly abused children between 1950 and 2010.
“In one religious order, over 40% of church figures were accused of abuse.
“Over 4,440 people claim to have been victims between 1980 and 2015, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse was told. The commission, Australia’s highest form of inquiry, is also investigating abuse at non-religious organizations.
“It has previously heard harrowing testimony from scores of people who suffered abuse at the hands of clergy.”
By BBC News Australia — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Church apologizes for sexual abuse in Northern Ireland / The Tablet
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on January 25, 2017
The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland has apologized unreservedly to survivors of sexual abuse following the publication of a report that found evidence of systematic and widespread sexual and physical crimes in Church-run institutions.
“The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA), which published its findings today (Jan. 20), investigated allegations of abuse in 22 children’s homes in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1995.
“It condemned the failure of the Catholic hierarchy to act and prevent abuse, highlighting in particular the case of Fr. Brendan Smyth, a sexually abusive priest whom the hierarchy moved between parishes despite knowing about the risk he posed to children; it also found that Sisters of Nazareth at four Catholic-run homes in Belfast and Derry physically and emotionally abused children in their care.
“The Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, said survivors and their families were ‘uppermost in my thoughts today’ and praised their courage, dignity and perseverance in coming forward.”
By Liz Dodd, The Tablet — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Joliet priest says diocese failed to follow protocol to protect children / Chicago Tribune
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on January 18, 2017
Standing before parishioners in his historic Joliet church, the Rev. Peter Jankowski said years of internal conflict had brought him to this difficult moment. In an emotional homily, the parish priest publicly blew the whistle on his diocese for alleged past failures that he said put children at potential risk.
“Jankowski delivered the homily three times two Sundays ago, including once in Spanish for his multicultural congregation. Before he left the pulpit, he asked members at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church to pray for him as he embarks on a public crusade — including a direct appeal to Pope Francis.
“His homily did not cite any specific examples of abuse. Rather, in church documents later obtained by the Tribune, Jankowski for years has complained that his retired predecessor showed lax enforcement 10 years ago of the U.S. bishops’ 2002 charter regarding child sexual abuse. In a September letter to the pope, Jankowski said that his superiors, including Joliet Bishop R. Daniel Conlon, failed to act upon his repeated complaints over the years to ask the retired priest to stop interfering in his ministry.
By Christy Gutowski, Chicago Tribune — Click here to read the rest of this story
Hundreds of church sex abuse victims continue to come forward / The Boston Globe
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on January 6, 2017
“Over the past 12 years, the (Boston) archdiocese has spent nearly $35 million on counseling, psychiatric medications, and other services for survivors. Since 2003, it has paid about $215 million to settle legal claims, church officials say.”
Fifteen years after the clergy sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston broke into public view, hundreds of victims around the world continue to come forward, including some who say they were attacked as recently as 2001, advocates said Thursday (Jan. 5). Two victims’ support groups and a lawyer who has represented more than 2,000 survivors worldwide denounced church officials for doing too little to help those who were abused and to protect children from harm, despite ongoing revelations about the scope of the crisis.
“‘You have reportedly the most moral institution in the world acting the most immoral,’ attorney Mitchell Garabedian said at a news conference Thursday (Jan. 5) in downtown Boston. ‘There is no excuse for it.’
By Laura Crimaldi, The Boston Globe — Click here to read the rest of this story and see also “Our Fathful Revolution” by Voice of the Faithful.
Our Faithful Revolution
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Voice of the Faithful on January 5, 2017
In this first week of a new year, Voice of the Faithful reflects.
Voice of the Faithful, a community of Roman Catholics committed to service and reform, has always sought to “Keep the Faith, Change the Church.” We are faithful Catholics seeking to change those Church structures and processes that impede lay voices and change Church cultures that exhibit a clericalism that separates the clerical from the lay rather than binding them pastorally and collegially.
Such clericalism often stifles the people of God. Pope Francis has said as much and condemned clericalism repeatedly, recently saying that “the spirit of clericalism is an evil that is present in the Church today, and the victim of this spirit is the people, who feel discarded and abused.”
The story of Voice of the Faithful’s founding is well documented. The movement exploded onto the scene in 2002 along with the burgeoning visibility of Church scandal, specifically clergy sexual abuse of children in the Archdiocese of Boston, chronicled most effectively by The Boston Globe in 2002 and 2003.
The movement spawned a frenzy of activity at the beginning, fueled by anger at and frustration with a Church that had, euphemistically, let us down. If you were to review the Globe stories, other media coverage of the crisis from that era, and books about Voice of the Faithful written since, you would discover that Voice of the Faithful could be credited with much of the rhetoric calling the Church to task.
By 2017 Voice of the Faithful, with commitment and tenacity, has settled into a long struggle in which we use our voices to help change Church structure and culture so that scandal has no fertile ground in which to grow. Progress has been slow, but steady.
We offer Catholics a community within the community of the Church where, as the people of God, we find a way to remain faithfully Catholic without giving up our baptismal right and responsibility to offer opinions and foster dialogue on issues important to the Church.
This is a post-Vatican II point of view well expressed recently by Fr. Louis Cameli, author of more than a dozen books and the Chicago archbishop’s Delegate for Formation and Mission. In an interview about post-Vatican II pontiffs in National Catholic Reporter Cameli said he “sees underlying, foundational points of continuity in the post-conciliar era.” Two of the points he made are especially pertinent to Voice of the Faithful:
- “Communion: The Church is a set of interlocking and dynamic relationships among people and with the Triune God (in contrast to a primarily organizational-institutional-structural model of the Church).
- “Dialogue: The Church is the place where believers speak and listen to each other, and it is the community of faith that speaks with and listens to the world. (This is the ecclesia discens et docens (Church teaching and learning) and, therefore, is a dynamic community instead of a static “container of truth.”)”
Communion and dialogue could be Voice of the Faithful watchwords. We are a community concerned with providing a voice for the voiceless and have introduced the language of clericalism, accountability, and transparency into the language of Church reform, language that is being reiterated by no less than the present occupant of St. Peter’s chair. While we have always supported victims/survivors and promoted programs that better protect children, we have focused most directly on finding, naming, and publicizing the underlying causes of scandal which must be addressed to stop and prevent scandal.
Kathleen McPhillips, a lecturer at the University of Newcastle, has succinctly framed the challenge Voice of the Faithful seeks to meet. In an article in the Newcastle Herald called “The royal commission has exposed a Catholic Church in desperate need of change,” she said:
“It is imperative [that] current religious groups undertake research into why this happened, as well as resourcing for the healing of survivors … Understanding how this happened is essential to the health of our community, and to the creation of new Church structures which are transparent, inclusive, accountable and respectful of women and children. The Church needs to show it is serious about cultural change – this is yet to be effectively demonstrated.”
More information about Voice of the Faithful is at www.votf.org.
First Roman Catholic bishop indicted in clergy abuse scandal dies / The Boston Globe
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on January 4, 2017
“Terence McKiernan, a spokesman for BishopAccountability.org, an online archive of the clergy sexual abuse scandal, said (former bishop Thomas L.) Dupre’s story reflects the Vatican’s past failures — and ongoing struggles — in holding bishops accountable for the abuse of children.”
In many ways, former Springfield bishop Thomas L. Dupre epitomized the sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church.
“Dupre, who died Dec. 30 at 83, was the first Roman Catholic bishop to be indicted in the scandal, which burst into public view 15 years ago this month when the Globe’s Spotlight team began reporting about the church hierarchy’s protection of priests who abused minors. Advocates for victims say Dupre had cultivated a culture of secrecy that kept such abuse shrouded for years.
“But the Vatican never punished him beyond accepting his resignation — at least not publicly. And Dupre was never prosecuted for his crimes because the statutes of limitation had expired, preventing prosecutors from seeking justice.
“‘This man should have been held accountable,’ said Eric MacLeish, a lawyer who represented two men who accused Dupre of abusing them as minors. ‘He should have died in prison for the damage he did.'”
By Lisa Wangsness, The Boston Globe — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Pope reminds bishops of zero tolerance for clergy abuse in 2017 letter, but cover-ups continued in 2016
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on January 3, 2017
Pope tells bishops to have zero tolerance for sexual abuse
“Pope Francis has told bishops around the world they must adhere to a policy of zero tolerance for clergy who sexually abuse children and begged forgiveness for ‘a sin that shames us.’ In a letter sent on Dec. 28 but released by the Vatican only on Monday (Jan. 2), Francis said: ‘I would like us to renew our complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst.’ Since his election in 2013, Francis has taken some steps to root out sexual abuse in the Church and to put in place practices to protect children. But victims’ groups say he has not done enough, particularly to hold to account bishops who tolerated sexual abuse or covered it up.” By Philip Pullella, Reuters, Jan. 2, 2017
Top 10 of 2016 – No. 1: Report alleged diocese covered up sex abuse
“The Tribune-Democrat is counting down the top stories of 2016, as determined by the newsroom staff who covered them. One story appeared each day in print and e-editions through the end of the year. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona–Johnstown allegedly covered up the sexual abuse of children for decades. Victims were violated by at least 50 priests and other religious leaders, while the church, led by former Bishops James Hogan and Joseph Adamec, reportedly took steps to protect the accused from facing justice, according to a grand jury report released by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General in March. The report, culled from ‘secret archives’ and interviews, rocked the diocese and local Catholic community.” By Dave Sutor, Tribune-Democrat, Dec. 31, 2016
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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