Clergy sexual abuse scandal 4 (continued) - 2017

Continuing this in a new topic as this one is getting too long - and there is an important new story to begin it with.

Cardinal George Pell charged with multiple sexual offences (Guardian)

Cardinal Pell: Vatican treasurer charged with sex offences (BBC)

Cardinal Pell charged by police with historic allegations of sexual abuse (National Catholic Reporter)

Yowch.

He's innocent until proven guilty, and I hope he gets every due process. But if the news reports are right and this concerns many victims, the probabilities are bad for him.

Given Pell's position in the church, and his position within ecclesial politics, I predict some gloating and some accusations of anti-Catholic witch hunts. Actually, you can see both happening already on social media.

An Australian religious brother who I am close to, and who has played his own role as a superior in exposing and dealing with sexual abuse in the past, is quite sceptical about the case against Pell, and indeed about the way the whole business is being handled in Australia.

I have met Pell and, although his style of churchmanship is far from my own and he is something of a "conservative", I was impressed at the way he handled the first allegations against himself many years ago, which the accuser subsequently withdrew and admitted were false. Although Pell denied the accusations from the outset, he nevertheless suspended himself from his duties, as that is what church protocol says should happen and he applied it to himself just as he would to an ordinary priest. After the allegations were withdrawn he met the accuser and they reconciled. I hope he does get a fair hearing this time round.

>3 John5918:

Initial reports are that it's eight victims. One is reminded of the New York Post cover about Cosby:



However, indeed, we don't yet know if those reports are true.

Cardinal Pell to take leave while facing abuse charges in Australia (CNA)

Not Christianity, but it is clergy sex abuse. It's the first one I've seen in the media, I think, about a Muslim clergyman, although tehre have been some rabbis.

Cardiff imam jailed for 13 years for abusing girls at Qur'an lessons (Guardian)

Cardinal George Pell arrives in Australia to fight sexual abuse charges (Guardian)

Cardinal Pell returns to Australia to fight charges (BBC)

Secrecy Over Clergy Abuse Standards Causes Confusion in India (National Catholic Reporter)

>6 John5918: Christianity doesn't have a monopoly on sleaze balls?

The United Methodist Church has instituted the "MinistrySafe" program for every congregation. Anyone who works with children, youth, or at-risk adults must take the class , have a background check, and get certified every 2 years. Most folks understand this is for the safety of the children and get certified. A few have balked, not necessarily because they have anything to hide, but because they think it's stupid and "everyone knows I'm ok". One of our most vocal opponent (a retired teacher) just found out that her adult son was caught in a police computer sting operation. This is in a rural church, where everyone knows everyone, and yet this came as a complete surprise to everyone, including the mother. She now sees the value in the program. Every person who refuses to get certified is barred from working with the children. It's not a perfect solution, but it creates as many barriers as possible from having predators coming into our church. It should be mandatory in every congregation.

Australia church abuse: Priests 'must report' confessions (BBC)

>12 margd: Some day when remarrieds get a break, perhaps abusive priests can be directed to annulments bureaucracy rather than confession for their absolution? To avoid appearance of scandal?

>12 margd: I can understand why reporting of child abuse related in the course of confession is a difficult issue for Churches, but IMO the ship has sailed. The church has too often failed to take proper action. Moving a priest around doesn't help anyone. Denying that it happens and victim blaming don't help either.

I know that it isn't just churches that have this problem. But to my mind, it's just worse because it's a double betrayal of trust: To the victim, and to our Lord.

>14 John5918:

No real disagreement with you.

Moving a priest around doesn't help anyone

Worth noting that generally speaking "moving a priest around" doesn't happen any more and hasn't done for some years. Nowadays the church generally does take "proper action", doesn't deny it, and doesn't blame victims.

>15 pmackey: I imagine that in general organizations are doing better. While it makes for bad press to admit there was a problem at a school, church, company, etc. it's a WHOLE lot worse for publicity if it first comes to light in the media.

I'd like to think that we no longer have a culture of silence and denial; that we're doing better today with safeguards in place. Time will tell.

Australia church abuse: Why priests can't spill confession secrets (BBC)

Confession scam is something only the Church should profit from, not society at large.

Pope Francis says sexual abuse by priests is an 'absolute monstrosity' (Guardian)

Even for child abusers, confessional confidentiality is sacrosanct (Guardian)

The Catholic church must stop blaming victims: children cannot consent to sex (Guardian)

A catchy headline, but in fact the focus of the article is on many institutions needing to understand that children cannot legally consent to sex, including the police, local councils, government and the church. It also points out that the church has condemned victim-blaming.

Vatican diplomat in US recalled over 'breach of child sex abuse images law' (Guardian)

Pope says church was late fighting abuse, promises 'zero tolerance' (CNS)

Abuse survivor calls for more accountability after Pope Francis promises “zero tolerance” (Crux)

Spotlight, again...

(Pennsylvania)
40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury REPORT 1
Interim--Redacted
(1356 pages, released August 14, 2018)

Introduction

We, the members of this grand jury, need you to hear this. We know some of you have heard some of it before. There have been other reports about child
sex abuse within the Catholic Church. But never on this scale. For many of us, those earlier stories happened someplace else, someplace away. Now we know
the truth: it happened everywhere...

http://media-downloads.pacourts.us/InterimRedactedReportandResponses.pdf
or http://www.philly.com/philly/news/catholic-church-clergy-sex-abuse-read-the-full...
_______________________________________________________________

Googling news for "Pennsylvania church", there were many account of priests elsewhere in the nation who were mentioned in the PA report.
Below are some Philadelphia Inquirer accounts of August 14, 2018 news conference releasing the Grand Jury report:

In revealing Catholic Church sex abuse, we can thank the law - and not the Men of God
Maria Panaritis | August 14, 2018
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/maria-panaritis/catholic-church-sex-abus...

Pa. Catholic Church sex abuse report names hundreds of priests, accuses leaders of cover-up: 'They hid it all.'
Updated: August 14, 2018
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/catholic-church-sex-abuse-clergy-pennsylvania-...

Priests ran child porn ring in Pittsburgh diocese: state AG's grand jury report
Updated: August 15, 2018
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/catholic-priests-child-pornography-pittsburgh-...

______________________________________________________________

Catholic priests' victims say Pennsylvania abuse report does not close the book on pain
Victims of predatory priests say what happened to them shattered their Catholic faith.
by Erin Calabrese and Corky Siemaszko / Aug.15.2018
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/catholic-priests-victims-say-pennsylvania-a...

Priest abuse victims detail lifetime of trauma and broken trust
Holly Yan | August 15, 2018
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/15/us/pennsylvania-catholic-church-victims/index.htm...

‘It’s Really Hard to Be a Catholic’: The Pain of Reading the Sex Abuse Report
August 16, 2018
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/us/priest-sexual-abuse-catholic-church.html

Pope Francis on side of victims of 'predator' priests in US (BBC)

Vatican expresses 'shame and sorrow' over Pennsylvania child abuse scandal (Guardian)

Perhaps the snippet of positive news is "the report’s finding that very few cases of abuse occurred after 2002. This was 'consistent with previous studies showing that Catholic church reforms in the United States drastically reduced the incidence of clergy child abuse'”. Lessons have been learned and implemented.

Let's see how much "positive" spin we can put on this. What price lifelong trauma? What price the ruined, mangled, warped lives of the millions?

It's been 70 years since Robert says he was sexually abused by a priest. And in the decades since, his wife and family suffered every day.

"I couldn't show any affection with my wife," said Robert, now 83. "My children, I couldn't hold or hug."

This is the kind of lifelong trauma endured by hundreds of victims at the hands of Pennsylvania priests.

The investigation revealed many other horror stories, including:

-- A case in which one priest fondled and masturbated a young teenage boy "under the pretext of showing the victim how to check for cancer."

-- An HIV-positive priest who abused children for years before going to prison.

-- A priest who allegedly abused several boys but was still given a recommendation to work at Disney World.

Carolyn, another victim who spoke in the grand jury video, said she first met her abuser when she was about 18 months old.

"I was in my diaper, and I ran out, and ran right to him," Carolyn said, choking back tears.

As she got older, "he would always have his hands on me," said the woman, now 37.

And whenever she hears the word "God," Carolyn said, flashbacks of abuse keep coming back.

The report, which is often graphic and disturbing, details widespread sexual abuse and rape by priests of both female and male minors, many of whom used the language and rhetoric of their office to convince their victims that their sexual abuse was “holy” or desired by God.

Now WHERE could they get the idea that the suffering of the innocent is "desired by god", hmmmm, WHERE.

Or WHERE could that peasant grandpa from the Abruzzo two years ago get the idea that having his 12 year old grandaughter fucked and impregnated by the village priest was the sort of thing women, even 12 year old, have it coming and should bear in prim silence instead of the racket she raised. WHERE.

No idea.

"This is a very difficult time in your life, and I realize how upset you are. I too share your grief"--said the bishop... to the RAPIST of a young girl.

Some victims were plied with alcohol and groped or molested, the report says. Others were orally, vaginally or anally raped, according to the grand jurors.

"But all of them were brushed aside, in every part of the state, by church leaders who preferred to protect the abusers and their institution above all."

Another priest in Greensburg groomed middle-school students for sex, according to the grand jury, by telling them that Mary had to "bite off the cord" and "lick" Jesus clean after the Nativity.

• In Harrisburg, a priest abused five sisters from the same family and collected samples of their urine, pubic hair and menstrual blood.

• Also in Harrisburg, a priest raped a 7-year-old girl who was in the hospital after her tonsils were removed, according to the report.

• In Pittsburgh, church officials said that a 15-year-old boy "pursued" and "literally seduced" a priest. A church report later acknowledged that the priest had admitted to "sado-masochistic" activities with several boys.

• In the Allentown diocese, a priest admitted sexually molesting a boy and pleaded for help, according to documents, but was left in ministry for several more years.

Another man said, "When you have the priest touching you every day, that's a hard memory to have. The first erection that you have is at the hands of a priest."

Listen to the survivors:

Catholic Church Cover-up: 300 Priests Sexually Abused 1,000 Children in Pennsylvania

Shocking Investigation Reveals Pennsylvania Priests Abused 1,000 Children and Covered Up the Abuse

Are we feeling positive yet.

Burn it to the ground, it is not a leprosarium, the church is the leprosy.

If I still had laughter in me I'd laugh.

75 Catholic priests and scholars ask Francis to backtrack on death penalty

Miserable, dickhead pigs.

The Vatican's synod of bishops on the family, these pigs:



Dickhead pigs who've ordained for 2000 years on what women are and are not and can and cannot do and may and may not be, as they fucked your boys and got abortions for your raped daughters.

But those bitches in Argentina and Iowa better not think they can choose what to do with their own bodies, oh no!

Nope, not feeling that "silver lining" feeling at all.

In fact I have a headache from all the crying.

Fuck you, you hear? Fuck you all every one to the last, with your crosses and sermons and prayers.

Eamon Martin: Ireland's Catholic priests need to spread the word at home (Guardian)

Archbishop Eamonn Martin, Primate of All Ireland, also addresses the issue:

"it was “very reasonable” for survivors to demand the church take institutional responsibility.

“Sometimes people ask me: ‘Do you think the church can draw a line under the issue?’ I really don’t think we can.

“When you meet survivors of abuse, they never draw a line under it. It’s with them for the rest of their lives – the horrific betrayal of trust, the sins and the crimes of the church, our shameful efforts at avoiding scandal which in the end created more scandal … It’s a shadow that’s there all the time.”

The “awful, heinous wound on the body of the church” was not just a matter for local parishes or dioceses to deal with. “This is a systemic issue for the whole church. This is not an isolated issue of a bad priest in a particular school or parish. This is an issue where the whole culture of our church wrongly facilitated abuse.

“Pope Francis can offer something, speaking on behalf of the church universal, that could be extremely helpful for all of us – survivors and those of us doing our best to deal with the legacy, the awful hurt and trauma that this issue has left.”

Although other institutions and organisations in society were also facing up to the legacy of abuse and cover-up, the Catholic church could provide a model of “how a worldwide institution can accept its responsibility and then become, please God, at some stage instrumental in the healing of the terrible hurts that have happened. Pope Francis is the sort of person who can lead us on that journey.”

I feel sorry for the many good priests who must endure this shame. However there is even a greater disservice to Christianity.

The Catholic Church teaches the Trinity is only a 3-fold god. The Doctrine of the Trinity is not biblical. The word “Trinity” is not written in any Bible.

The 4 entities in the phrase “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” is written together only in Mat 28:19. Instead of a partial verse, this complete scripture verse describes a cross with all nations (all living humans) unified at the foot of the cross. Adam called his wife Eve because she was the mother of all living humans in Gen 3:20. Evening and eve is the same word in Hebrew and English.

When one understands and believes God is four like unto a cross, the Lord’s Prayer is answered: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. That is to say on the cross—For thine is the (1) kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, (2) the Glory of the Son,(3) the power of the Most High Holy Spirit of Light (4) forever the Eternal Father.

Be free.

>32 mark7publishing:

Thanks for the sentiment in your first sentence, but the rest is rather off topic. You could start a new thread in the Catholic Tradition group if you want to pursue this fringe theological topic.

I think there have already been conversations about this fourfold cross stuff, probably with someone called JW Farquhar whose username is jwfarq and who appears to be the author of all the books in your LT catalogue. So presumably there are at least two of you on LT who have the same interest.

Papal visit: Pope sorry Church 'kept quiet on abuse' (BBC)

Papal visit: Pope shamed by Church's abuse failures (BBC)

Dublin awaits Pope Francis with mixture of pride and pain (Guardian)

Say Nope to the Pope: Irish snap up tickets to see pontiff – with no plan to go (Guardian)

In mass protest, demonstrators against Catholic church apply for free tickets but will not be attending

Fr. Richard Rohr’s statement on the new revelations of priestly abuse and coverup:

This moral catastrophe first of all demands public and sincere lamentation from every segment of the Body of Christ, and only then can the deep healing begin. It also demands public ownership, repentance and reform of our very immature teaching in regard to sexuality in general, male power issues in particular, and our “enforced” understanding of celibacy, which will predictably produce this kind of result.

- Our own Catholic theology says that celibacy is a “charism” which means a free and empowered gift. In my experience, only someone who has an alive and warm inner experience of God is capable of celibacy at all.

- It is a contradiction in terms for the Catholic Church to think it can mandate a free gift, which of course, has no precedent in Jesus. It is clearly not necessary for ministry, and is often a liability, creating an aura of spiritual superiority when the exact opposite is often the case.

- I personally believe the actual charism of male celibacy that produces both happy and healthy men by the second half of life, is quite rare.

- Until the Catholic church disconnects celibacy from ministry, I think we will continue to have ordained men, who are both unhappy, unhealthy, and a scandal to the Body of Christ. (Lest anyone think incorrectly, I am not saying that celibacy causes pedophilia, but I am saying that the idealized culture of celibacy allowed it to hide there for a long time.)

This shadowy material will keep emerging unless we own it and hold it fully accountable. In the meantime, let’s all pray and try to live more authentic sexual and spiritual lives ourselves.

https://cac.org/fr-richards-statement-on-the-new-revelations-of-priestly-abuse-a...

Richard Rohr is an influential Catholic priest from the Franciscan stable who writes particularly on spirituality.

Pope keeps silent on abuse claim letter at end of Irish visit (BBC)

"I will say sincerely that I must say this, to you," he said... "and all of you who are interested: Read the document carefully and judge it for yourselves.

"I will not say one word on this. I think the statement speaks for itself..."

The timing of the letter, released as the Pope addressed sexual abuse by priests during his visit to Ireland, has raised questions about whether Pope Francis is facing a coordinated attack from traditionalists within the Catholic hierarchy.

"You have sufficient journalistic capacity to draw conclusions," Pope Francis told the reporters on board his plane.

"When a little time has passed and you have the conclusions, perhaps I will talk," he added...

However, Archbishop Vigano has not produced any written or other evidence to verify his alleged 2013 conversation with the Pope.

This story is being pushed on some very reactionary Catholic media which are noted for being against Francis, such as Life Site (below). This article also tries to cast doubt on the appointment of a number of cardinals who are generally seen as progressive.

Pope Francis covered up McCarrick abuse, former US nuncio testifies (Life Site)

Sad to think Francis might have overlooked misdoings by his bishops (Chile...) But guilty or innocent, the timing was meant to damage amap. No wonder Benedict retired not feeling up to the task of dealing with such serpents. (Per his butler.)

ETA________________________________________________________

The 'coup' against Pope Francis
Daniel Burke | August 27, 2018

...(Pope's accuser) Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano...the former Vatican ambassador to the United States, angered some church officials in 2015 by arranging a meeting at the Vatican's embassy in Washington between the Pope and Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to sign same-sex marriage certificates...Two years later, Francis quietly accepted Vigano's resignation.

...A 2014 memo shows that Vigano himself demanded that evidence be destroyed in an attempt to end an investigation against a former archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, according to CNN Vatican analyst John Allen.

...The fact that most of the bishops Vigano criticizes are well-known liberals has led some church experts to suspect his motives.

Vigano saves most of his ammunition for the Pope, who he says he told in 2013 that McCarrick was "a serial predator" but "continued to cover for him."

But the Pope didn't cover for McCarrick. Unlike his predecessors, Francis forced the former cardinal to resign in July.

And (John Thavis, who was the Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service in Benedict era) said Vigano's assertions about Benedict putting restrictions on McCarrick, including not allowing him to participate in church events or celebrate Mass in public, are patently false.

"McCarrick appeared at several high-profile events with Benedict," he said.

Still, Thavis and (Massimo Faggioli, a professor of Catholic history and theology at Villanova University in Pennsylvania), as well as other church experts, said the Vatican should respond in detail to Vigano's charges, even if the Pope himself refuses to do so.

"They still need to answer some questions," Faggioli said. "This is something that cannot be ignored."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/27/us/vigano-pope-resign-abuse-analysis/index.html

DEATH IN THE CHURCH: IS NEW LIFE AHEAD? (Omega Center)

The recent disclosure of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and the extent of depravity reported in the news is symptomatic of a Church in crisis... There is something profoundly intransigent about the structure of the Church. It is not that Church structures have caused the abuse but they have masked predators hiding as priests in a closed caste system of clerical elitism. The resurgence of abuse points to something deeply amiss if not embedded in Church culture....

Structure concerns relationships and the types of relationships that comprise Church structure are based on outdated philosophical notions of nature, gender, and personhood. Structures do not themselves cause abuse but they can abet and, or, cloak mental illness, predators, and criminals disguised as priests. The disguise is actually embedded in the dysfunction of the structure itself. Walled in a fortress of ontological superiority bestowed upon by priestly consecration, one could effectively live a dual life insofar as one’s brain can cognitively dissociate between abusive behavior and priestly function. The dissociative brain is not quite schizophrenic or a split brain but is actually more deceptive because it can capture certain ideas and repeat them (such as abusive behavior is normal) while operating on another level of priestly ministry...

German Catholic priests 'abused thousands of children' (BBC)

Dutch Catholic church accused of widespread sexual abuse cover-up (Guardian)

20 of 39 Dutch cardinals, bishops and auxiliaries ‘covered up sexual abuse, allowing perpetrators to cause many more victims’, report says

Southern Baptist leaders covered up sex abuse, kept secret database, report says
Sarah Pulliam Bailey | May 22, 2022

Among the findings was a previously unknown case of a pastor who was credibly accused of assaulting a woman a month after leaving the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention

Leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention on Sunday released a major third-party investigation that found that sex abuse survivors were often ignored, minimized and “even vilified” by top clergy in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

The findings of nearly 300 pages include shocking new details about specific abuse cases and shine a light on how denominational leaders for decades actively resisted calls for abuse prevention and reform. Evidence in the report suggests leaders also lied to Southern Baptists over whether they could maintain a database of offenders to prevent more abuse when top leaders were secretly keeping a private list for years....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/05/22/southern-baptist-sex-abuse-re...
--------------------------------------------------------------------

SBCFR051622
Report of the Independent Investigation The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee’s Response to Sexual Abuse Allegations and an Audit of the Procedures and Actions of the Credentials Committee (300 p)
Guidepost| May 15, 2022

WARNING: This report includes information and descriptions related to sexual assault. This may be triggering to readers who have had similar experiences. We encourage you to care for your safety and well-being. The content of this report is not appropriate for children.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22031737-final-guidepost-solutions-indep...

>42 brone:

Almost impossible to know how to respond to that rather toxic innuendo-ridden post which appears to have no actual substance. For the record, let me again remind you that the archbishop is nicknamed "Tucho" after an Argentinian footballer, not "Tuchy". I'm not sure what a "pope-splainer" is supposed to be, but you may be aware that there is a whole ancient (one might say traditional) body of literature and praxis called "apologetics" which is all about explaining and indeed defending the Catholic faith. No surprise that it is still at work in these days when the Christian faith is being questioned so much, from both without and within the Church. As for letting minors spend time alone with a clergyman, I think many (most?) dioceses now have safeguarding protocols to prevent a child being alone with any priest.

>44 brone:

I know a bishop who named his dog after a papal nuncio! In the interests of discretion, I won't name the bishop, the nuncio or the dog!

>44 brone:

You don't seem to have much tolerance for nor understanding of aspects of the divine mystery which do not attract you. The contemplative and mystical side of Christian spirituality is an ancient and honorable part of our tradition, but it is not for everybody. God blesses those who do not find it helpful, but God also blesses those who do, and that diversity is one of the great strengths of our Christian faith. It has played a major role in Church history, and has inspired many of the great saints and theologians, from the biblical Song of Songs, through some of the mystical experiences of Jesus, through the Desert Fathers and Mothers, the 13th century mystics, and modern figures such as Thomas Merton, Bede Griffiths, Antony de Mello, Howard Thurman, John Main, Gerald Hughes, etc, etc. Personally I have found contemplative prayer to be very helpful at certain times in my life, less so at other times.

Contrary to the old Catholic joke that "everything which is not forbidden is compulsory", there are many aspects of our faith which are not zero sum either/or, but can be both/and. If the contemplative and mystical life is not for you, fine, but don't knock it nor coopt it for ideological attacks, particularly if you have a narrow understanding of it.

>48 brone:

Just for the record, Merton is not "highlighted". It's an LT touchstone which leads you to an author's details on LT.

>51 brone: Pantheism

It's important to distinguish between pantheism (the belief that God and the universe are the same thing) and panentheism (the belief or doctrine that God is greater than the universe and includes and interpenetrates it). In panentheism, the universal spirit (God in the Christian worldview) is present everywhere, at the same time transcending all created things, as we cradle Catholics were taught all those years ago. While pantheism asserts that "all is God", panentheism claims that God is greater than the universe. Panentheism is not at odds with Christianity.