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text:
Lear Pl. 11, White Headed Eagle
https://joel-oppenheimer-inc.odoo.com/shop/product/oflee-011-lear-pl-11-white-headed-eagle-5356
Lear's 50 Best, The Oppenheimer Field Museum Edition
One of the great ornithological artists of his era, the multi-talented Edward Lear (1804—1888) was a self-taught naturalist and painter who later became famous for authoring books of nonsense poems and limericks. Edward Lear's exacting and masterly skill as an artist was employed by other major publishers of nineteenth-century English ornithologies and natural histories.
Born outside London in 1812, Lear was the twentieth child of Jeremiah Lear, a well-to-do London stockbroker who became bankrupt in 1816. Edward Lear was raised primarily by his elder sister, Ann, who provided classical studies and taught him to draw from nature. In 1826, he met Lord de Tabley, founder of the British Institution for the Encouragement of Art, and the precociously talented Lear soon gained introduction to the English art world, including the natural historian and ornithologist Prideaux John Selby, beginning his career as an artist. In 1828, Edward Lear was employed as a zoological draftsman at the Zoological Society in London where he met John Gould, a taxidermist at the Society who later became a prolific publisher of nineteenth-century natural history monographs.
Edward Lear's work is distinguished by the fact that he was among the first bird artists to draw primarily from living examples, recording not only the precise details of the birds he painted, but also expressing his ornithological subjects' unique character. The plates Edward Lear contributed to John Gould's Birds of Europe are among the finest of that work. These rare, beautifully hand-colored plates are signed by Lear on the lithographic stones.
Click here for more Lear's 50 Best, The Oppenheimer Field Museum Edition
Specifications for Lear Pl. 11, White Headed Eagle

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Dan Kohls
Attorney Daniel T. Kohls counsels clients in Wisconsin and Illinois with regard to wealth transfers. His areas of focus are estate planning and business succession planning. Within the business succession field, Dan assists families in smoothly transitioning their businesses and farms from one generation to the next, helping them overcome the many obstacles that confront them — such as, lack of liquidity, taxes, control issues, disability, and unexpected death. He implements these succession designs through lifetime plans such as gifts, redemptions, and sales; death plans such as wills and trusts; and combination plans that incorporate lifetime and time of death components.
Dan received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance and French from Carroll College in Waukesha, WI, in 1993, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1996. He is a member of the Madison Estate Counsel, the Wisconsin Planned Giving Counsel, and the Wealth Counsel.
Dan offers initial consultations at no cost or obligation for estate and business succession planning. He works on a flat fee basis so all fees and costs of the planning process are known to his clients before they commit financially to proceed with the execution of the plan.
"Our clients protect their families in the event of disability, they protect a surviving spouse from creditors and predators, and also they ensure that an inheritance passes on to children and grandchildren as you wish."
< About Us | Rebecca Mackie
Dan Kohls A Living Trust: is it enough?
Home | Our Attorneys | Price Tables | Calendar | Contact Us
© 2023 Kohls & Associates LLC 6041 Monona Dr, Suite 100, Monona WI 53716
ph 608-221-8000 | 800-241-9666 | fax (608) 221-8003


text:
'use strict';
// onboarding.js

var exports = module.exports = {};
var send = require('./sendingHelpers.js');

function mockDatabaseCall(userId) {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    resolve(true);
  });
};

// checks if a user is already in the database
exports.isNewUser = function(userId, isNewBlock, isNotNewBlock) {
  mockDatabaseCall(userId).then(isNewBlock(userId));
};

exports.askUserForLanguage = function(userId) {
	send.sendTextMessage(userId, "What language would you like to study?");
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Ilka Van de Vyver (born 26 January 1993) is a Belgian volleyball player. She is a member of the Belgium women's national volleyball team and plays for Rote Raben Vilsbiburg since 2017.

She was part of the Belgian national team at the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in Italy, and the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix.

Clubs
  Asterix Kieldrecht (2009–2012)
  RC Cannes (2012–2015)
  Azzurra S. Casciano (2015–2016)
  Calcit Volleyball (2016–2017)
  Rote Raben Vilsbiburg (2017–present)

References

External links
http://www.scoresway.com/?sport=volleyball&page=player&id=6553
http://italy2014.fivb.org/en/competition/teams/bel-belgium/players/ilka-van-de-vijver?id=41763
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Ilka+Van+de+Vyver/Volleyball+Day+3+Baku+2015+1st+European+Games/LVH-WJodi8_
http://www.cev.lu/Competition-Area/PlayerDetails.aspx?TeamID=9729&PlayerID=2310&ID=837

1993 births
Living people
Belgian women's volleyball players
Place of birth missing (living people)
Volleyball players at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics
Volleyball players at the 2015 European Games
European Games competitors for Belgium
Setters (volleyball)
Youth Olympic gold medalists for Belgium
Expatriate volleyball players in Slovenia
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia
21st-century Belgian women

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


If I were to ask you, "What are the top ten most important things that parents need to teach their children?" would prayer make your list?
We teach our children how to add and subtract, how to play musical instruments or sports, and how to read. But, how many of us can say that we have made it a priority to teach our children how to pray?
If you are a Christian parent, you probably know that prayer is important. But, knowing that prayer is important is not enough. We need to be intentionally teaching our kids how to pray.
How can we do this? Often we don't feel at all confident in our own prayer abilities. How can we intentionally teach our kids about prayer?
How Can You Teach Your Kids How to Pray?
God wants your children to know how to pray even more than you do! Bring your desire to teach your children to pray before God. Pray that God would help you to grow in your own prayer life and that He would give you wisdom as you teach your children. Most of all, pray that God would get hold of your children's hearts so that they would desire to pray.
2. Let your children see you praying.
Do your kids ever see you praying? Early in the morning, when they crawl out of their beds, will they accidentally stumble upon you praying? Do they hear you praying before meals? Or when you are facing a major decision? Or when you are overwhelmed? Or when you are thankful?
3. Set aside time to intentionally pray with your children.
Set aside time each day to intentionally pray with your children and for your children. Maybe this happens after family Bible study each day, before they leave for school each morning, or in the quietness of the night before bedtime. Use this time to start instructing them in how to pray.
4. Make time for spontaneous prayer.
Have you lost the car keys again? Stop and pray aloud with your kids about it. Then, when God helps you to find them, thank Him! Did you just receive news that a friend is sick? Stop and pray about it!
5. Make a prayer request board, journal, or basket.
Find a way that works for your family to share and remember prayer requests. Put this visual reminder in a place where your whole family can see it and be reminded to pray.
Find a creative way to celebrate God's answers to your prayers. One family I know writes answers to prayer on colorful rocks and drops them into a large glass vase. Look for ways to help your kids understand that God does indeed answer prayer!
7. Teach your kids to pray the Lord's Prayer.
In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus gave His disciples a simple prayer that can serve as a template for our own prayers and as a simple way to teach our children how to pray.
Teach your kids to begin prayer with worship. True worship brings God glory and realigns our hearts to trust and follow Him.
Teach your children to confess their sins to God and ask for forgiveness. Encourage your children to run to God and confess their sins when their hearts are repentant. Help them to understand the joy of forgiveness.
God loves to hear our petitions. So, teach your child to come to God and ask Him for what they need. Guide your child to ask for things according to God's will. You can use verses of petition to encourage your child to ask for meaningful things.
Teach your child to respond with thankfulness for all of God's blessings.
If you would like a little extra help for teaching your children how to pray God's word, try these printable verse prayer cards. These verse cards will help you to pray through the four categories – worship, forgiveness, petition, and thanksgiving.
When life gets hard, our children need to know how to pray. When they feel far away from God, they need to know how to pray. When they need wisdom, forgiveness, or a deeper relationship with God, they need to know how to pray. When they are completely overwhelmed by life, they need to know how to pray.
Will YOU make it a priority to teach your children how to pray?
Now it's your turn. Which of these ideas will you incorporate into your daily routine? Do you have any more ideas? I would love to hear from you!
This post was written by Anna, a Christian mother and the blogger behind Path Through the Narrow Gate. She is passionate about helping families discover that Bible study is not only doable, but also enjoyable!
Mama, if you're discouraged by the weight of motherhood and the unending demands, you MUST check out the post from Jamie at Like a Bubbling Brook.
The post, To the Young Mom with a Busy Toddler at Church, is an encouragement to mamas everywhere.
What a fabulous idea, Crystal! I can't wait to try this with my kids! I think it will be so meaningful to them! Thanks for visiting and the great suggestion.


By now you've probably heard about iBeacon and how it brings proximity and context marketing into the off‑line world.
Introduced by Apple in 2013, iBeacon (based on Bluetooth Low‑Energy protocol) quickly became the next big thing in the tech world. And unlike some "next big things", this one was no flash in the pan. On the contrary, its popularity only increased until in 2015 another tech giant, Google, hopped on the bandwagon and presented its own version of iBeacon: Eddystone.
Two titans of the tech world battling it out. Compelling, no? Let's dive in and break down how this mysterious, uber‑popular Bluetooth LE technology works and why it provides such huge opportunities — especially for marketing.
The name iBeacon perfectly captures this technology's raison d'etre – indeed, it's a "beacon" for all of your mobile electronic devices: smartphones, tablets, and everything in‑between. But instead of functioning like a beam of light emitted by a lighthouse, iBeacon uses a Bluetooth signal to help a device within a certain range know what's around, and creates push‑notifications for stores and retailers within the device's range.
Is your "marketing success‑sense" tingling? It should be!
How does iBeacon work, and how does it differ from regular push‑notifications?
iBeacon's simple construction is the product of its single function: to send Bluetooth signals containing a universally‑unique identifier (UUID). When a mobile app is developed, UUIDs can be integrated and associated with certain places, i.e. "Anderson's bookshop in the mall", or "Clara's Boutique at the corner of Main Street and 1st Avenue".
If you'd prefer to avoid iBeacons altogether, you needn't worry about your device being invaded by push‑notifications at every block. That's because your device's operating system "ignores" any and all beacons until you install an app that's relevant to a particular beacon and its UUID.
We know what you're thinking: why do we need all of this iBeacon Bluetooth hocus‑pocus if we already have GPS, geolocation, and regular push‑notifications? Well, here's the thing: for those technologies to run push‑notifications the same way iBeacon does, the application would need to constantly run in the foreground. You may be ok with this, but your phone won't be. Any app that's always in the foreground will zap your battery life in a blink, especially with geolocation turned on. Also, geolocation has its limits. It's very precise outdoors, but not so much indoors.
With iBeacon, the application starts only when needed, i.e. within a certain proximity of a beacon, so the battery isn't nearly as affected. Also, Bluetooth LE (Low Energy), which iBeacon is based on, isn't the same Bluetooth that drained your battery life like a parched vampire a few years ago. The technology has advanced leaps and bounds since then, and this is called "Low Energy" for a reason. For an idea of the beacon's impact on your device's battery, see this graphic by Aislelabs, a Toronto‑based company providing data analysis services.
Beacon technology, whose considerable upside includes indoor/outdoor accuracy, low battery consumption, and relatively cheap hardware, has proven itself to be extremely useful in numerous scenarios. The first one that comes to mind is, of course, marketing. Location‑based push‑notifications can enhance the customer experience by providing information on location‑specific deals and discounts, offering product recommendations, and alerting a customer when an order/item is ready for pickup.
Beacons are also a powerful tool for creating push‑notifications based on proximity to points of interest. For example, if a museum curator places beacons near several museum exhibits and tunes the beacons' range so they don't intersect, an overview of the museum's exhibits will be pushed to your device's screen when you're in range.
Here's another idea: to use beacons for creation of an Ingress‑like game, in which you have to virtually "capture" points of interest by interacting with them in the physical world.
Beacons are also quite handy for indoor navigation. A great example is Estimote Indoor Location, an SDK created by Estimote, one of the world's leading beacon manufacturers. Estimote Indoor Location allows for mapping a physical space and determining a person's location in real‑time.
Another great use for beacons is in crowded areas, where information on the number of people in congested "beacon zones" can be provided to the server‑side of an app. This information can then be analyzed and used to develop faster alternatives for app users wanting to avoid long queues.
And these scenarios are just a start. The possibilities for beacons are limited only by the imagination.
What alternatives exist to Apple's iBeacon?
Since 2013, when Apple unveiled iBeacon technology, many companies have co‑opted the idea and entered the "beacon business". In 2015 Google extended beacons' functionality so that devices using Google's Eddystone protocol could broadcast three different information packages instead of just the one UUID. The first package type, Eddystone‑UID, functions just like an iBeacon's UUID. The second one, Eddystone‑URL, is a compressed URL link that seeks to trigger a push event not in an application, but in the operating system itself. Instead of "pushing" a notification Eddystone‑URL "pushes" your device into following the link, which could take you to a promotional website or even prompt the installation of an app.
The third package type is a sensor telemetry package called Eddystone‑TLM. This tracks and transmits statistics on the beacon's health (battery life, temperature, etc.) to a beacon operator. Access to this type of information is very useful, especially if you have a significant amount of beacons running.
Due to its proprietary nature, iBeacon is only compatible with iOS devices, even though it's technically compatible with any device that supports Bluetooth LE.
While iBeacon technology's main aim is to provide a more seamless interaction with digital devices in physical spaces, Eddystone goes further in the attempt to unlock beacons' untapped potential by adding URL broadcasting, a great new tool with lots of potential for location‑based advertising and statistics monitoring, which solves one of the main problems encountered by users who manage numerous beacons.
However, "more" doesn't always equal "better", and in this case offering a wider features range doesn't necessarily mean it's best for the end‑user. From a skeptical point of view, Eddystone's ability to push URLs directly into a device's operating system, thereby bypassing the requirement of a dedicated application being pre‑installed, might make people feel like they're losing control over their device and the content they receive. On the bright side, this might only be a problem for Android users since this powerful feature can be shut down by other operating systems whose users are keen to avoid the technology's "intrusive" side.
For instance, using the Eddystone‑URL feature on an iPhone will require you to pre‑install Google Chrome, despite Eddystone being open‑source, cross‑platform, and compatible with any device that supports Bluetooth LE technology.
When it comes down to it, choosing between iBeacon and Eddystone is pretty much the same as choosing between iOS and Android. It's all about personal preference, what you like and what you don't.
Ok, I'll bite. How much do these beacons cost and how do they differ from each other?
Beacons are available in a wide array of costs and technical characteristics. The price varies between $10 per piece for the cheapest option up to $30 — $40 for a beacon from a recognizable brand.
A beacon's range depends on its transmit power. A range of 70 meters is possible (not counting beacons specifically developed for long‑range broadcasting), but the average range is about half that. Transmit power and signal emission rate can be adjusted via the beacon's settings, but be warned that these parameters will affect battery life. A good rule of thumb is the smaller the range and rate, the lower the battery drain.
Depending on your settings, battery‑powered beacons can last from one month to two years on a "coin" cell battery. If you plan on maxing out your beacon's potential, you might consider a USB‑ or AC‑powered beacon, provided there's an outlet at the exact spot where you want the beacon placed. If not, it could be tricky.
Day by day, the online world merges ever tighter with the physical. Beacons are another powerful tool with which to intermingle mobile devices and physical actions, making technology even more essential to our daily lives.
At HireRussians, we love working with all kinds of new hardware, and we're excited and grateful to be working on a few current projects that involve beacons. Bringing our clients' cutting‑edge ideas to life is what we do best, and beacon technology is definitely cutting‑edge!
We believe beacons have much untapped potential, and in the coming years we expect further expansion of their built‑in functionality, along with a large number of new use cases. If you have an upcoming project that involves beacons, congratulations — this is a great time to begin employing this handy technology to help grow your business. And who knows, maybe the solution we help you develop will be the one to change the world's perspective on augmented reality!


text:
Latest USCCB abuse audit report shows cover-up's extent, 4,400 new allegations last year
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on June 26, 2020
BOSTON, Mass., Jun. 26, 2020 – The numbers tell the story. According to the USCCB's 2020 Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, more than 4,400 allegations of Catholic clergy sexual abuse were reported over the single year ending Jun. 30, 2020, the period of the report, which was released yesterday.
The report said the actual number of child sexual abuse survivor allegations over the past year was 4,434, more than three times the 1,451 allegations in the 2017-2018 reporting period.
The numbers show like none since the 2002 revelations in the Boston Archdiocese the extent of the cover-up the Church's hierarchy has perpetrated. This increase in allegations has brought to light thousands of concealed clergy abuse cases from victims/survivors just now coming forward as a result of recent reforms of state statutes of limitations, nationwide civil investigations prompted by the August 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report, increases in lawsuits and victim compensation plans employed by several dioceses. How many abuses will remain hidden by diocesan bankruptcies may never be known, and many victim/survivors agreeing to compensation plans will never get their day in court.
The USCCB's National Review Board chairman, Francesco Cesareo, Ph.D., pointed out in a letter prefacing the report that activities and "a growing desire among the laity for greater involvement in addressing this issue has led many to question whether the audit is sufficiently adequate to determine if a culture of safety within dioceses has taken root."
Equally if not more troubling is the report's reference to current rather than historical cases. Thirty-seven 37 new abuse allegations have been made since last year. Cesareo made the magnitude of the problem perfectly clear. As much at 30 percent of dioceses have recurring difficulties pointing to a "lack of diligence that puts children's safety at risk."
"The current year's Annual Report" he said, "highlights concerns also noted in previous years that speak to the issue of complacency. We continue to see the failure to publish reporting procedures in the various languages in which the liturgy is celebrated; poor recordkeeping of background checks; dysfunctional Diocesan Review Boards; lack of a formal monitoring plan for priests who have been removed from ministry; failure to update policies and procedures in light of the 2011 Charter revisions."
And, with the Charter still not requiring parish audits, the need for continued vigilance is obvious.
Voice of the Faithful Statement, Jun. 26, 2020
Contact: Nick Ingala, nickingala@votf.org(link sends e-mail), 781-559-3360
Voice of the Faithful®: Voice of the Faithful's® mission is to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the Faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church. VOTF's goals are to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, to support priests of integrity, and to shape structural change within the Catholic Church. More information is at www.votf.org.
accountability, catholic church, catholic hierarchy, catholic priests, Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, child sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse allegations, clergy sexual abuse scandal, Diocesan Review Board, National Review Board, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, U.S. bishops, voice of the faithful
Abuse allegations against former Springfield Bishop Christopher Weldon 'unequivocally credible,' investigation finds / The Springfield Republican
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on June 26, 2020
The allegations that were investigated and examined are not dubious, vague or ambiguous in any essentials nor are they the product of any chimerical conception, fabrication or schematic design. The unsavory and heinous nature of the offensive behavior attributed to the late bishop is clearly shocking. (The Springfield Republican)
A retired superior court judge's review of sexual abuse allegations against former Bishop Christopher J. Weldon, who led the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield for more than 25 years, found the accusations to be 'unequivocally credible.'
"Meanwhile, mandatory reporters in the diocese who first heard the alleged victim's account failed to report the matter to law enforcement officials, according to the executive summary for a 350-plus page report released Wednesday by the diocese. The report is the product of an investigation by retired Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis, who was hired a year ago to investigate the matter.
"Velis' report concluded 'the allegations of the Complainant of sexual molestation committed upon him by Bishop Christopher J Weldon, both as a principal, and as a 'coventurer' that included anal rape, indecent assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress are unequivocally credible. The allegations that were investigated and examined are not dubious, vague or ambiguous in any essentials nor are they the product of any chimerical conception, fabrication or schematic design. The unsavory and heinous nature of the offensive behavior attributed to the late bishop is clearly shocking.'"
By Anne-Gerard Flynn, The Springfield Republican — Read more …
accountability, Anne-Gerard Flynn, Bishop Christopher J. Weldon, bishops, catholic, catholic bishop accountability, catholic bishops, catholic church, catholic hierarchy, child sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, coverup, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, Springfield Diocese, The Springfield Republican, transparency, U.S. bishops, vatican, voice of the faithful
Report on sexual abuse allegations against late Springfield Bishop Christopher Weldon could prove pivotal / Springfield Republican
There have been reports that those in the diocesan hierarchy with ties to (Bishop Christopher J.) Weldon — and had sexual abuse allegations made against them — destroyed files related to pedophile priests over the years. (Springfield Republican)
A soon-to-be-released report nearly a year in the making could shed light on decades of sexual abuse by clergy in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield and forever change how one of its most influential bishops is viewed.
"Last July, retired Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis was asked by Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct made against the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon dating back to the early 1960s. The report is expected to be released before Rozanski is installed as Archbishop of St. Louis on Aug. 25.
"The findings will impact not only the alleged victim — who reiterated to Rozanski a year ago his claim that he was sexually abused as a boy by Weldon and two diocesan priests — but also questions that continue to linger around how early in time the diocesan hierarchy may have participated in, covered up and enabled clergy sexual abuse of minors. It could either encourage or discourage other alleged survivors of clergy sex abuse to continue to come forward."
By Anne-Gerard Flynn, Springfield Republican on MassLive.com — Read more …
accountability, Anne-Gerard Flynn, Bishop Christopher J. Weldon, Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, bishops, catholic, catholic bishop accountability, catholic bishops, catholic church, catholic hierarchy, Catholics, child sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, MassLive.com, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, Springfield Republican, U.S. bishops, vatican, voice of the faithful
Voice of the Faithful Focus News Roundup, June 22, 2020
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful on June 22, 2020
Four new members named to National Review Board
"The National Review Board, the all-lay group that monitors dioceses' performance in dealing with sexually abusive clergy and creating a safe environment for children(link is external) throughout the church, has four new members. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced the appointments June 10. The new members are …" By Catholic News Service in National Catholic Reporter
President Mengler appointed to U.S. Bishops' Conference review board for protecting youths(link is external), By St. Mary's University
Vatican investigates Polish bishop for abuse cover-up
"The Vatican has given the go-ahead for an investigation into a Polish bishop suspected of covering up sexual abuse of children by clergy(link is external) — a subject that has long remained taboo in predominantly Catholic Poland. The investigation, which was announced on Tuesday (Jun. 2) by the archdiocese of Poznan, comes just two weeks after the release of a documentary detailing abuse cases that were allegedly covered up by Henryk Janiak, bishop of Kalisz." By Agence France-Press on YahooNews.com
Eyebrows raised as Swiss bishop taps woman for senior job
"A Swiss bishop's appointment of a lay mother of three to a senior administrative post previously held by a priest has raised eyebrows(link is external) in conservative Catholic circles, at a time when a strengthened role for women in the church is under debate in other European countries. Marianne Pohl-Henzen will serve as an "episcopal delegate" in the diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, and will also be joining Bishop Charles Morerod's episcopal council, the main governance advisory body which is traditionally made up of priests and bishops." By Nadine Achoui-Lesage and Jamey Keaten, Associated Press, on Cruxnow.com
Wyoming bishop accused of abuse won't be charged, prosecutors say
"Following a decision by Wyoming prosecutors not to charge retired Bishop Joseph Hart for sexual abuse against minors, his alleged victims are looking to the Church's canonical process as a last chance for the 88-year-old prelate to be brought to justice(link is external). As first reported by the Kansas City Star on Tuesday (Jun. 8), and confirmed by Crux on Wednesday, a Wyoming witness coordinator informed one of Hart's accusers that the prosecutor would not advance the case, citing insufficient evidence. This comes nearly two years after the Diocese of Cheyenne deemed the allegations from the same individual to be credible in 2018." By Christopher White, Cruxnow.com
Final version of governance report to be published by mid-August
"The final version of a report into diocesan and parish governance will be published after a series of amendments and clarifications have been made, likely by mid-August(link is external), according to ACBC Media Blog. Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Mark Coleridge on Friday (Jun. 12) announced a timeline for the report's release after a draft version was leaked to international Catholic media earlier this month. The report, The Light from the Southern Cross: Promoting Co-Responsible Governance in the Catholic Church in Australia, was prepared by the Governance Review Project Team, a group of experts assembled by the Implementation Advisory Group." By CathNews.com
Statement by Archbishop Mark Coleridge regarding the report 'The Light from the Southern Cross(link is external), By Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
Final version of governance report to be published by mid-August(link is external), By Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Media Blog
Australian Bishops urge further consultation on leaked governance report(link is external), By Vatican News
Effort to give Colorado child sex assault survivors unlimited time to sue abusers is rejected
"House Bill 1296, brought in the wake of a damning report on Colorado's Catholic church, was set aside at the request of one of its prime sponsors in the hopes of bringing future legislation that will also benefit past survivors of abuse(link is external). The decision to sideline the measure drew disappointment. In a stunning reversal on Friday (Jun. 12), a lead sponsor on a bill that would have given future child sexual assault victims in Colorado unlimited time to sue their abusers and those who allowed their abuse to happen asked that the measure be rejected. Instead, state Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, said she wants to bring legislation that would also allow prior child sex assault victims to sue to their accusers as other states have done — sometimes called a 'look-back window' — despite caution from the legislature's attorneys that doing so may violate the Colorado constitution." By Jesse Paul, Colorado Sun
Colorado: Refusing to settle for a second rate law(link is external), By Joelle Casteix, The Worthy Adversary
McCARRICK INVESTIGATION
Alleged Theodore McCarrick victim says he is helping fact-check abuse dossier
"An anonymous alleged sexual abuse victim of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick says he and other alleged victims have been working with the Vatican to fact-check the comprehensive dossier on McCarrick's misdeeds(link is external). The alleged victim, writing under the name Nathan Doe, says he was one of several minors that McCarrick abused, and that he had previously collaborated with Church authorities to provide evidence during the canonical penal administrative process which resulted in McCarrick's 2019 laicization." By Catholic News Agency
Argentine bishop accused of sexual misconduct returns to work at Vatican central bank
"As the Vatican resumed its activities after the two-month COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown, Crux has confirmed an Argentinian bishop suspended over allegations of sexual misconduct with seminarians quietly went back to work(link is external). Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta was appointed by Francis to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which functions as the Vatican's central bank, in 2017, where he works as an 'assessor,' a position created for the Argentine." By Inés San Martin, Cruxnow.com
Catholic bishops need to give up the secrecy
"Australia's Catholic bishops seem to have learned little from the sexual abuse scandal and its associated cover-ups(link is external). Pushed by a royal commission report to implement reforms, they recently reverted to standard operating procedures of delay and secrecy in suppressing a major report on governance reform. While hoping to delay and control discussion, the bishops were outmanoeuvred by the leaking of the highly significant report. It will now be available to and discussed by all Catholics – as it should be." By Terry Fewtrell, Canberra Times
Reporting abuse by bishops now easier with new service
"In the United States, accusations of sexual abuse by clergy are to be reported to the local bishop. But what if it's the bishop himself who is the problem? The answer is the national Catholic Bishop Reporting Service. Begun March 16, the Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting (CBAR) is a third-party service that collects and reports to appropriate church authorities bishops who have committed sexual abuse or who have interfered with a civil or church investigation(link is external) into allegations of sexual abuse by another cleric or religious." By Patrick Downes, Hawaii Catholic Herald
New accuser comes forward in DiMarzio case
"A second man has come forward to accuse Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of sexual abuse(link is external). Samier Tadros, 46, alleges that he was sexually abused between 1979 to 1980, when DiMarzio was assigned as a priest to Holy Rosary Church in Jersey City, a part of the Newark Archdiocese. Tadros was around 6 years old at the time. DiMarzio, who is currently under church investigation for a previous allegation of abuse, has denied the charges. The allegations were made in a March 9 letter that Tadros' attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, sent to the Newark Archdiocese's attorney, according to The Associated Press." By Sarah Salvadore, National Catholic Reporter
Brooklyn Catholic Bishop DiMarzio denies 'libelous' accusations of abuse(link is external), By Matt Hadro, Catholic News Agency
Archdiocesan priests removed from ministry
"Three archdiocesan priests have been removed from ministry(link is external) … In each case, the priest retained the presumption of innocence and was allowed to participate in his defense. As is archdiocesan protocol, the allegations were shared with law enforcement, investigated by outside professionals and the entire matter carefully examined by the archdiocesan Lay Review Board, which concluded that the allegations had been substantiated. Both priests have been permanently removed from ministry, and may not publicly present themselves as priests." By Catholic New York
WOMEN RELIGIOUS
Nuns kick off new webinar series on fighting sex abuse
"Members of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) Monday were the protagonists of the first of a series of webinar sessions focusing on child protection(link is external) and how safeguarding efforts have been impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Sister Nuala Kenny, a doctor with a background in pediatrics who has been a member of the ad hoc committee for child sexual abuse for the Canadian Catholic Bishops Conference, was the keynote for the June 8 session, which focused on the Theology of Childhood." By Elise Ann Allen, National Catholic Reporter
Pope appoints two women to positions in Vatican library and financial authority
"The Holy See Press Office on Friday (Jun. 12) announced papal appointments to two positions in the Vatican(link is external). Pope Francis appointed Dr. Raffaella Vincenti as office head of the Vatican Apostolic Library. Dr. Vincenti had previously served as secretary of the Library. Pope Francis also named Professor Antonella Sciarrone Alibrandi as a Member of the managing board of the Vatican's Financial Information Authority (AIF). The AIF works to combat money-laundering and financing of terrorism." By Vatican News
Abuse scandal linked to status of women in Church
"Cardinal Reinhard Marx has reiterated how urgent it is to appoint more women leaders in the Church(link is external). 'Changes in this field are really urgent and must be pressed ahead with,' he warned. 'We talk a lot about the Church's new social form and on no other point is this reflected more clearly,' Marx said last week." By Christa Pongratz-Lippitt
Vatican frees broker as details emerge of costly London deal
" The Vatican has released from detention an Italian businessman accused of extortion and fraud(link is external) in a London real estate venture that to date has cost the Vatican more than 350 million euros (nearly $400 million), much of it donations from the faithful. The Vatican said in a statement Monday (Jun. 15) that Gianluigi Torzi, who was jailed in the barracks of the Vatican gendarmes on June 6, was granted provisional release after he wrote a lengthy memorandum for prosecutors about his role in the deal." By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press
St. Cloud Diocese declares bankruptcy
"The Diocese of St. Cloud filed for bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Monday (Jun. 15), just weeks after reaching a $22.5 million settlement with clergy abuse survivors. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing provides a 'framework for resolution' of the clergy abuse claims(link is external) filed by 70 individuals against 42 priests dating to the 1950s, the diocese said." By Jean Hopfensperger, Star Tribune
Former Warwick priest accused of stealing from church
"The former pastor of a Catholic parish in Warwick is accused of stealing church funds for personal use(link is external). Steven Matthew Glover, 42, was charged with credit card fraud, larceny and obtaining money under false pretenses. Glover was a priest from 2004 to 2019, most recently serving as pastor at St. Rose and Clement Parish in Warwick. He left the priesthood in 2019 for personal, unrelated reasons." By Rachel Nunes, Patch.com
Diocese of Rockville Centre threatens bankruptcy in face of child sex-abuse lawsuits
"One of the nation's largest Catholic dioceses is threatening bankruptcy if a Long Island judge doesn't pause the nearly 100 child sex-abuse lawsuits it faces(link is external). The Diocese of Rockville Centre, which serves more than 1.4 million Catholics in Nassau and Suffolk counties, claims it's in an "ever-more serious financial situation," straining under the legal costs of defending itself in court while its income has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, according to court papers." By Kathianne Boniello, New York Post
Archdiocese of Oklahoma City announces new training program for those required to work with minors
"The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City announced a new training program for volunteers, staff members and clergy that will be required before working with minors(link is external) in Catholic churches or schools. The program, which launches July 1 and is called Safe and Sacred Training Program for Catholic Dioceses, provides online training in several areas. A news release states those areas include appropriate and inappropriate interaction with minors, proper boundaries, potential red flags and how to report suspected child abuse." By KOCO-TV5 News
Record numbers leave Church in Munich archdiocese
"A record number of people left the Church in the German Archdiocese of Munich and Freising last year, a local statistical office said Tuesday (May 26). The Munich statistical office told CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner, May 26 that 10,744 Catholics formally withdrew from the Church in 2019(link is external). It noted that this was a fifth higher than in 2018, when 8,995 people left. Statisticians said this was the first time that annual departures had surpassed the 10,000 mark since records began. Previously, the highest figure was 9,010, set in 1992." By Catholic News Agency in Catholic World Report
Bishop made progress but didn't lead
"Bishop Mitchell Rozanski cleared the low bar set by his predecessor when it came to issues of communication and response to clergy abuse(link is external). Opportunities were missed to do so much more. At his introduction as the new Archbishop of the St. Louis diocese, Bishop Rozanski spoke of initiatives he had taken in Springfield as if they were entirely his own. But they came only after pressure was applied by activists like Olan Horne of Chester, an abuse survivor who advocates for other victims, and by The Berkshire Eagle." By The Berkshire Eagle Editorial Board
Quebec moves to eliminate time limits for filing civil sexual assaiults
"Sexual assault victims in Quebec will soon be able to pursue justice against their abusers regardless of how long ago crimes took place, according to proposed legislation tabled Thursday (Jun. 11). The bill tabled in the provincial legislature by Justice Minister Sonia LeBel would eliminate the 30-year time limit for bringing a civil suit against an alleged assailant(link is external). Quebec and Prince Edward Island are the only two provinces to maintain a time limitation for this type of lawsuit." By Jocelyne richer, The Canadian Press, on montreal.ctvnews.ca
'They are mistaken': AG backs sex-abuse law challenged by Diocese of Providence
"Three alleged priest abuse victims and the state attorney general this week defended the legality of the new deadline to sue over child molestation(link is external) after the Diocese of Providence argued a key feature was unconstitutional. The arguments come in response to the Diocese of Providence's attempt to have the three alleged victims' lawsuits dismissed from state court. A 2019 law extended the deadline to sue over childhood sexual abuse from seven years to 35 years after a victim's 18th birthday." By Brian Amaral, Providence Journal
New Jersey sexual abuse law survives Catholic school's challenge
"A Superior Court judge has ruled in favor of a New Jersey statute that gives victims of sexual abuse more time to sue(link is external). The 2019 law waived the statue of limitations and allowed victims to file civil suits until they are 55, or seven years after they discover they were abused. Judge Peter Bogaard of Morris County ruled against two arguments submitted by attorneys for Delbarton School, a catholic school in Morristown." By Associated Press
CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE
Review: The continued fight to eradicate clergy sex abuse
"A Canadian pediatrician and woman religious who has worked on issues of sexual abuse for more than three decades(link is external), Nuala Kenny, S.C., offers her diagnoses and prescriptions for treating the 'sick soul' and the 'global septic shock in the Body of Christ' in 'Still Unhealed.' Kenny has been working in this area since she joined the one-of-its-kind, lay-led Archdiocesan Commission of Inquiry on Clergy Sexual Abuse in St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1989." By James F. Keenan, America: The Jesuit Review
Danbury clergy sexual abuse case pushed to July
"The pre-trial hearing of the former local priest accused of sexually assaulting two boys(link is external) has been rescheduled from June 19 to July 24. Jaime Marin-Cardona, 52, is charged with three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, three counts of risk of injury to child and three counts of illegal sexual contact. He pleaded not guilty to all nine charges." By Kendra Baker, New Canaan Advertiser
Former Winter Haven priest accused of sexually abusing teen in Polk facility; lawsuit filed in Polk Circuit Court
"A Sarasota man is suing a former Winter Haven priest on allegations of sexual abuse(link is external) while the man was incarcerated as a teenager at Demilly Correctional Institution near Polk City. In the lawsuit, filed in Polk Circuit Court, the man states that he initially met with the Rev. Fred Ruse, then pastor at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Winter Haven, at the prison to receive communion in 2001 and 2002. They met privately in the chaplain's office and in classrooms at the prison, the lawsuit states." By Suzie Schottelkotte, TheLedger.com
Springfield Diocese temporarily removes 3 priests from public ministry after sexual abuse allegation
"Three priests from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield have been temporarily removed from public ministry as a result of an allegation of sexual abuse(link is external), according to Jeffrey J. Trant, director of the diocesan Office of Safe Environment and Victim Assistance. The priests were not identified. Trant, who was appointed to his position last June, said that 14 new alleged victims have come forward with claims of clerical sexual abuse since July 2019." By Anne-Gerard Flynn, MassLive.com
Former Franciscan brother living in DeWitt named by second man as sexual abuser
"Two religious orders deny any knowledge of sexual abuse by a former Franciscan brother(link is external) living in DeWitt who is now named in two lawsuits. Martin Rusnak filed a lawsuit in New Jersey earlier this year naming Kurt Munn as an abuser and saying religious leaders enabled Munn for decades. In the legal complaint filed in Mercer County, Rusnak says Munn started abusing him in the 1970s." By Megan Banta, Lansing State Journal
Additional name added to list of clergy likely to have abused minors
"Bishop Donald Kettler added an additional name to the list of clergy likely to have abused minors(link is external): Father Charles Meyer, a member of the Society of the Precious Blood. Meyer was added to the list following notification by the Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota, that it added him to its list of "extern clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor," according to a June 12 news release from the diocese." By The Central Minnesota Catholic
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests hold protest in response to new St. Louis archbishop
"The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests held a protest Wednesday (Jun. 10) morning in response to the new St. Louis archbishop-elect. On Wednesday it was announced that Pope Francis had named Reverend Mitchell T. Rozanski as the 11th bishop and 10th archbishop of St. Louis. SNAP has criticized Rozanski for refusing to name three priests(link is external) who had been suspended after allegations of sexual abuse in Massachusetts." By Kayla Wheeler, KSDK-TV5 News
Numerous victims of childhood sex abuse file lawsuits against Diocese of Trenton
"The Diocese of Trenton is facing numerous lawsuits alleging it failed time and again to prevent the sexual abuse of children(link is external). These civil-action complaints in Mercer County Superior Court are a microcosm of the widespread sex abuse scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church worldwide. 'It's an epidemic in the Catholic Church, and it has been going on for centuries,' attorney John W. Baldante told The Trentonian in an interview. 'The Catholic Church has largely ignored this behavior.'" By Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman, The Tentonian
Priest worked in North Jersey parishes for decades after being accused of sex abuse
"The Rev. Gerald Sudol, who spent decades serving in North Jersey Catholic parishes, allegedly began abusing children even before he was ordained as a priest(link is external). Later he moved from one church to another, at first injecting new life into parishes where he'd been assigned, befriending families and becoming a spiritual mentor to their sons. Then the man who was fondly known as Father Gerry would allegedly abuse boys sexually — sometimes more than one at a time — and tell them that God would punish them if they told anyone." By Abbott Koloff, NorthJersey.com
Servants of the Paraclete seeks dismissal in Catholic priest abuse lawsuit; victim speaks out
"The Servants of the Paraclete, named in a lawsuit over child sexual abuse by Catholic priests(link is external), asked a New Mexico court to dismiss the case in a June 10 response. The Servants of the Paraclete is one of several defendants, including two Alamogordo Catholic parishes, named in the case filed in the 2nd Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County. The suit was filed by 'John Doe' and alleged negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, vicarious liability, public nuisance and racketeering." By Nicole Maxwell, Alamogordo Daily News
38 more people sue Syracuse Catholic Diocese, claiming abuse by priests
"Nearly 40 new lawsuits have been filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse(link is external), alleging child sex abuse by priests and a teacher. The suits filed today alleged allegations of abuse that happened at the hands of priests in parishes across Central New York, spanning more than 50 years." By Marnie Eisenstadt, Syracuse.com
52 new suits against Albany Diocese allege sex abuse by priests, nuns
"The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany was the target Monday (Jun. 15) of 52 new lawsuits alleging sex abuse of children by priests and nuns(link is external) as much as 63 years ago. The Guilderland and Minnesota law firms teaming up to represent the victims in these cases have previously filed 22 such lawsuits and say they are preparing 36 more. Other law firms are separately bringing similar cases." By John Cropley, Albany Daily Gazette
Late priest from Lake Luzerne parish among those named in child sex abuse lawsuits
"A late priest that served at a church in Lake Luzerne was named in one of 52 sex abuse lawsuits(link is external) filed Monday (Jun. 15) against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. The Rev. Charles A. Gaffigan, who retired from Holy Mother and Child Parish in 2011, is accused of sexually abusing a minor from 1992 to about 1994 at what was then Holy Infancy Church in Lake Luzerne, according to a news release from Jeff Anderson & Associates. The law firm has filed a total of 74 lawsuits against the diocese." By Michael Goot, The Post Star
Child Victims Act attorneys oppose Buffalo Diocese move to shield parishes from lawsuits
"A federal bankruptcy judge will soon decide whether hundreds of lawsuits against Catholic parishes and former parishes, schools and other entities in the Buffalo Diocese should be blocked(link is external) from moving forward in state courts. The diocese's Chapter 11 filing in February immediately stopped lawsuits against the diocese from advancing as it goes through a reorganization. In May, the diocese asked Chief Judge Carl L. Bucki of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of New York to extend that same protection to more than 400 Catholic parishes, schools and other entities that also have been named as defendants in Child Victims Act cases." By Jay Tokasz, The Buffalo News
Texas Supreme Court to hear case of former deacon suing diocese for abuse claim
"The Texas Supreme Court will hear the Diocese of Lubbock's appeal of a legal decision allowing a former deacon to sue the diocese for defamation for including his name on a list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse(link is external). 'We are committed to transparency for the trust and safety of the members of our parishes,' Bishop Robert Coerver of Lubbock said June 8. 'At a time when many religious messages are being shared digitally, courts must protect churches' ability to communicate effectively with their members.'" By Kevin J. Jones, Catholic News Agency
Sexual abuse allegations by former priests in Hampton Roads under investigation
"Allegations of sexual abuse of Hampton Roads children(link is external) by four retired or inactive priests are now under review by the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. None of the four are currently serving in active ministry, the diocese said Monday (Jun. 8). None have served in the diocese in recent years. The diocese has not reached any conclusions about the allegations, though it has informed civil authorities about them." By Dave Ress, Daily Press
Richmond Diocese reviews allegations against four ex-priests
"The Catholic Diocese of Richmond announced it has begun reviewing child sexual abuse allegations(link is external) made against four former priests in Virginia. 'While the alleged incidents are from the past, we recognize the pain is still a deep and present reality for victim survivors of abuse and for their loved ones,' Bishop Barry C. Knestout said in the statement released Monday (Jun. 8)." By Associated Press on ABC-TV13 News
Church investigations clear DC clergy member a 2nd time on sexual, financial misconduct allegations
"Church investigations into the rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in D.C. found no credible evidence of sexual and financial impropriety(link is external). Monsignor Walter Rossi has served as rector since 2005 and was accused of sexually assaulting male students at the Catholic University of America. Those allegations reportedly came from Archbishop Carlo Viganò who relayed the accusations during an interview last year with The Washington Post, claiming the Vatican embassy in D.C. received documentation on the matter." By Ken Duffy, WTOP News
Criminal investigation into Wyoming clergy sexual abuse drags into third year
"The criminal investigation into sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy(link is external) in Wyoming passed its second birthday in April, a prolonged process with no end in sight that has 'shattered' an alleged victim's family's belief in the criminal justice system. In August, Cheyenne police recommended that retired bishop Joseph Hart, the highest-ranking member of the Catholic church in Wyoming for 25 years, be charged with sexual abuse." By Seth Klamann, KPVI-TV6 News
Cheyenne bishop says alleged abuse victim still credible, despite DA's decision not to charge cleric(link is external), By Seth Klamann, WPVI-TV6 News
Thousands of victims of cheld sex abuse in French Catholic Church, says commission
"At least 3,000 children have fallen victim to sex abuse in the French Catholic Church since 1950(link is external), the president of a commission set up to investigate the claims said today (Jun. 17). Jean-Marc Sauve said preliminary figures suggested some 1,500 clergy and other church officials carried out the abuse. The commission was set up last June at the request of French bishops after a series of paedophilia cases that rocked the Church in France and abroad." By Malaymail.com
Savio Rodrigues on sexual abuse and corruption in the Catholic Church of India
Savio Rodrigues separates the faith from the organization that the Church has become and highlights the corruption that has permeated into it. The faith is under pressure because of the allegations of sexual abuse(link is external) and the harsh treatment meted out to those who highlight them. A must watch!" By Sahil Mishra, PGurus.com
Abuse victim's advocate was 'open' about Catholic church role
"A number of victims' groups called for Brendan McAllister to stand down, or be removed from his post, after it became apparent he has been officiating at Catholic church services at St Peter's in Warrenpoint. Spokespersons for Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse said that Mr McAllister's elevation to a leadership role with the church made his positions as the interim advocate for victims untenable – as around 80% of its members had been abused by members of the Catholic clergy(link is external)." By Mark Rainey, News LetterCatholic Church says data laws 'detrimental to efforts to safeguard children'
"Current data protection legislation is a threat to the safety of children and has made their welfare difficult to guarantee(link is external), the Catholic Church's child protection watchdog has said. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced in 2018. The church's National Board for Safeguarding Children, based at Maynooth, Co Kildare, said the current legislation was 'detrimental to the efforts to safeguard children.'" By Patsy McGary, The Irish Times
Historic sex abuse: Former Catholic brother sentenced to home detention in Napier
"An 81-year-old Catholic brother and schoolteacher from Napier has been sentenced to a second term of home detention for sexually abusing children(link is external) when he was teaching in Masterton more than 40 years ago. Kevin Peter John Healy was sentenced in Napier District Court today on five charges of indecency in the 1970s, involving a girl aged 8 or 9, and her brother and another boy who were at the time aged 12 and 13." By Hawkes Bay Today
Pedophile priest found free in Switzerland after conviction in Belgium
"A Swiss priest found guilty of abusing a minor in Belgium has been arrested in Switzerland(link is external), where he was living free despite being sentenced to prison in 2017. The Brussels Court of Appeal sentenced Frédéric Abbet to three years' imprisonment after finding him guilty of sexually abusing a nine-year-old boy in a Brussels boarding school between 2010 and 2011. Swiss regional daily Le Nouvelliste reported on Friday (Jun. 12) that the priest was found living free in the Swiss canton of Valais, years after he was sentenced." By The Brussels Times
accountability, catholic church, Catholic Church clergy sexual abuse scandal, clergy sexual abuse of minors, Focus news roundup, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, vatican, voice of the faithful
Voice of the Faithful 2020 Conference will be an online Zoom event
BOSTON, Mass., Jun. 15, 2020 – The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has affected Voice of the Faithful similarly to other organizations planning to hold events during 2020. Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the well-being of our members and supporters, Voice of the Faithful will present on online Zoom conference for 2020.
The online Zoom 2020 VOTF Conference: Visions of a Just Church will take place Oct. 3. VOTF members and others will gather later this year to promote their visions of a just Church, 18 years after The Boston Globe brought to light widespread clergy abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston and Voice of the Faithful was founded. After nearly two decades, VOTF continues to address the scandal.
Offering her own vision of a just Church, the conference's featured speaker will be internationally acclaimed theologian and Catholic studies scholar Phyllis Zagano, Ph.D. Dr. Zagano has lectured widely in this country and abroad. On August 2, 2016, Pope Francis appointed her to the Papal Commission for the Study of Women in the Diaconate, which convened in Rome November 2016. She has published hundreds of articles and is the author or editor of twenty books in religious studies, including award-winning work on women in the diaconate. She currently is senior research associate-in-residence and adjunct professor of religion at Hofstra University.
Dr. Zagano is a recipient of the VOTF Catherine of Siena Distinguished Layperson Award, which recognizes exemplary lay leaders who enthusiastically use their gifts in the Church's service. She also has received the Isaac Hecker Award for Social Justice from The Paulist Center Community in Boston for "her prolific body of work that has constantly echoed the cry of the poorest in our society for dignity and for justice, both inside and outside the Church."
Attendees of VOTF's online Zoom 2020 Conference also will hear additional speakers on the conference's theme, and updates from VOTF leaders on the progress of the organization's programs and initiatives.
Cost for VOTF's online Zoom 2020 conference is $50 per person.
A continually updated webpage for conference information and registration can be seen by clicking here.
Voice of the Faithful News Release, Jun. 15, 2020
Contact: Nick Ingala, nickingala@votf.org, 781-559-3360
2020 Conference, catholic church, Catholic clergy sexual abuse scandal, Phyllis Zagano, roman catholic church, visions of a just church, voice of the faithful
Voice of the Faithful Focus News Roundup
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful, VOTF Focus News Roundup on June 10, 2020
Explaining the Vatican's lingering ambivalence on 'zero tolerance'
"'Zero tolerance' for sexual abuse has become one of those notoriously elastic phrases, such as 'change,' 'hope' and 'progress,' which everyone claims to be for but no one seems to define in exactly the same way. In American Catholic parlance, however, the term 'zero tolerance' does have a fairly precise meaning, derived from the US bishops' 2002 Dallas charter(link is external) and norms: Permanent removal from ministry, and, in most cases, laicization, for even one justified allegation of sexual abuse of a minor. In that sense, 'zero tolerance' remains a contested point. To this day, a central plank in the indictment of many abuse survivors and their advocates is that the Vatican has not imposed a universal 'zero tolerance' policy everywhere in the world, which is often taken as a sign of reluctance to reform." By John L. Allen, Jr., Cruxnow.com
Secret bishops' report calls for radical revamp of Catholic Church
"Australia's Catholic Church could be dramatically overhauled to give lay people more power, increase the number of women in leadership roles and force parishes to open up their finances to the public(link is external). A secret 200-page report being considered by the nation's bishops has called for unprecedented reform in a bid to make the church more inclusive and break down the structures that contributed to decades of clergy abuse and cover-ups … But in a sign of how sensitive the church is to issues of reform, the body that commissioned the report – the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference – is unlikely to publicly release or reveal how it will respond to its 86 recommendations until the end of the year." By Farrah Tomazin, The Sydney Morning Herald
Australian bishops' report advocates major changes to church governance(link is external), By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter
Historic review of church governance given to leaders(link is external), By Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference
'Vos Estis' at one year: Some question pope's process for investigating bishops
"It is a bit early to assess the effect of Pope Francis' new global system for how the Catholic Church evaluates reports of clergy sexual abuse or cover-up by individual bishops(link is external), say canon lawyers who spoke to NCR. They also raised questions about the new process, first established in May 2019, which involves the empowering of archbishops to conduct investigations of prelates accused in their local regions. Among their main concerns with the procedure, outlined in Francis' motu proprio Vos Estis Lux Mundi: the possible bias that can arise in asking one prelate to investigate another, and whether there has been an appropriate level of transparency about bishops who are being investigated." By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter
Brooklyn bishop accused by 2nd man of sex abuse in the 1970s
"The Roman Catholic bishop of Brooklyn, already under a church investigation for alleged sex abuse, has been accused by a second man of abuse in the 1970s, when the bishop was a parish priest in New Jersey(link is external). Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio 'repeatedly sexually abused' Samier Tadros starting when he was about 6 years old, according to a March 9 letter that Tadros' lawyer sent to the attorney representing the Archdiocese of Newark. The letter alleges the abuse happened in Holy Rosary Church in Jersey City." By Michael Rezendes, Associated Press
Australia's bishops seeking 'whole-of-Church' approach for child protection
"Plans are moving forward for the establishment of a national system for child protection within the Australian Catholic Church(link is external), according to a report following the meeting of the country's Catholic bishops earlier this month. The 'National Response Protocol' will develop a comprehensive system for reporting complaints of clergy abuse or misconduct and establish new guidelines for child protection policies." By Christopher White, Cruxnow.com
ACOUNTABILITY
Pope makes anti-corruption spending rules mandatory in Vatican
"Pope Francis has approved sweeping new rules for procurement and spending in the Vatican meant to cut costs, ensure transparent competition and reduce the risk of corruption(link is external) in awarding contracts. An Apostolic Letter and 30 pages of new norms released on Monday (Jun. 1) are the culmination of a four-year process to rationalize spending procedures and tackle nepotism and cronyism. They come as the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc with the Vatican's finances, forcing it to implement some of the toughest cost-control measures ever." By Philip Pullella, Reuters
Pope issues new Vatican contract laws to save money, prevent corruption,(link is external) By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, in National Catholic Reporter
Vatican financial reform begins in earnest. Again(link is external). By Ed Condon, Catholic News Agency
New suit alleging sexual abuse by an Allentown priest uses a loophole in hopes of getting around statute of limitations
"Relying on a loophole that could open the floodgates for other victims years, or even decades, after the statute of limitation on such claims has expired(link is external), Berks County state Rep. Mark Rozzi on Tuesday (May 26) filed a lawsuit against the Allentown Diocese and Holy Guardian Angels Parish in Reading, saying he was sexually abused by a priest in the 1980s, when he was 13 years old. Rozzi's attorneys say they are relying on an August state Superior Court ruling that allowed a similar lawsuit, based on new information from the 2016 grand jury report on the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese, to move forward." By Laurie Mason Schroeder, The Morning Call
Criticizing a pope: a dialogue between Massimo Faggioli and Bill McCormick, S.J.
"The driving thesis of Mr. McCormick's article is that 'the papacy does not have an agenda: the papacy is an agenda in itself.' This is hard to reconcile with an ecclesiology of the papacy as an ecclesial ministry in the framework of a sacramental ecclesiology. But this approach has also far-reaching consequences(link is external). The first is that Mr. McCormick's argument seems to be not about the style or content of my critique of Pope Francis' approach to two particular issues, but about the very possibility of criticizing the bishop of Rome at all." By Massimo Faggioli and Bill McCormick, S.J.
CARDINAL PELL
Inside stories: lawyers on the trials of the Pell case
"In a sexual abuse case that has polarized opinion, for the solicitors working on both sides it has been business as usual(link is external). When the High Court announced on 7 April that it would uphold Cardinal George Pell's appeal against his County Court conviction for sexual abuse of two choirboys in the 1990s, it drew a line, for now, under years of work for the solicitors who have been intimately involved in the case. It has been a case that has polarized opinion, has had international notoriety and involved controversy on a number of levels." By Karin Derkley, Law Institute Victoria
Priesthood and the renewal of the Church
"Debates about celibacy have recently been in the forefront of conversations regarding the Church(link is external), given the ongoing fallout of the abuse crisis and the meeting of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region in the fall of 2019. Although the synod sought to confront the general pastoral difficulties of the Amazon region, stretched over many South American nations, European prelates focused excessively on changes to the priesthood and ecological problems." By Jared Staudt, Denver Catholic
Opening salvos in Pope Francis's financial 'Reform 2.0'
"Facing both a looming economic crisis and reminders that the anti-financial scandal measures adopted to date haven't been fully effective, Pope Francis and his Vatican team this week (May 27) have moved to try to defuse the bomb(link is external) before it goes off, closing several Swiss holding companies responsible for portions of its assets and reallocating internal control over financial data collection." By John L. Allen, Jr., Cruxnow.com
In major reform, Pope Francis issues new regulations on awarding contracts in the Vatican(link is external), By Gerard O'Connell, America: The Jesuit Review
Vatican Finances, what is going on? The Vatican City State Administration
"Plans for a 'Vatican Asset Management' outfit were laid out almost as soon as Pope Francis created the new Secretariat for the Economy. The VAM was supposed to be a centralized office that managed all Vatican investments(link is external). The proposed management outfit would have responded to two needs: that of generating revenues to support the expenses of the Holy See / Vatican City State; and, that of keeping investments under better control (because each dicastery had some funds that it managed independently)." By Andrea Gagliarducci, Catholic News Agency
Reporting abuse – the church's blind spot
"When in doubt, REPORT. If every allegation of child sexual abuse was simply reported by church leaders to appropriate authorities, the resulting positive impact would be immeasurable(link is external). Survivors of abuse would feel validated — by itself a significant positive outcome — pathways to healing would open, future victims would be spared and abusers would be revealed. Criminal behavior would be investigated and prosecuted, and elements of realaccountability put in place. When ministry leaders simply report suspicions and allegations of sexual abuse, the church is perceived as a sanctuary where God's love and justice are demonstrated." By Gregory Love & Kimberlee Norris, Church Executive
International Safeguarding Conference announces new webinar series
"In a new series of webinars beginning on 29 May, the International Safeguarding Conference (ISC) will be encouraging 'the Catholic Church and other faith-based organizations' to 'continue with safeguarding programs, despite the expected Covid-19 recession(link is external).' ICS annually brings together Church representatives, professionals and scientific specialists to share knowledge and good practices on the subject of child protection. ISC writes that the upcoming webinar is 'the first in a series of webinars' … which aim to enable safeguarding professionals to share good practice in safeguarding, both in the current pandemic circumstances 'and in 'normal' times.'" By Vatican News
New bishop says Catholic Church has learned from the past
"Minnesota priest selected to be the new bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Rapid City comes from a diocese that concluded bankruptcy proceedings last year agreeing to pay tens of millions of dollars to victims of child sexual abuse. Father Peter Muhich, 59, said addressing the abuse of victims was 'obviously a very difficult process' for the church(link is external) and especially for the victims themselves." By Kevin Woster, Rapid City Journal
Child Victims Act gets 1-year extension
"The Child Victims Act received a second extension, bringing the filing deadline for child sexual abuse cases past the statute of limitations to Aug. 14, 2021(link is external). Championed for years by New Baltimore activist and attorney Gary Greenberg, who is a survivor of child sexual abuse, the law initially opened a one-year window of opportunity for claimants of child sexual abuse to bring their case to civil court, regardless of the statute of limitations and when the alleged abuse took place." By Melanie Lekocevic, Columbia-Greene Media
Texas Statutes of Limitations for sexual crimes against children
"For many years, the Catholic Church has come under fire for the widespread occurrence of child molestation. While the majority of the media attention has fallen on U.S. priests, clergy members in many other countries have been identified as abusers. 'Sexual Assault, commonly referred to as 'rape,' is perhaps the most stressful allegation with which to be faced, particularly if the sexual assault involves a child." By Broden Mickelsen, Dallas Sex Crimes Lawyers, News.TopWireNews.com
Documentary Prompts Polish Archbishop To Refer Case To Vatican
"Poland's most senior Archbishop referred a child sex abuse case to the Vatican(link is external) on May 17th. Following the release of a Youtube documentary from Tomasz and Marek Sekielski, Archbishop Wojciech Polak has called on the Vatican to launch proceedings against Bishop Edward Janiak. The film alleges that Janiak knew about the allegations for years, but failed to take any action." By Maria Kuuiper, Current Events, The Organization for World Peace
Revictimizing the victims of sexual abuse
"Victims of sexual abuse by clergy frequently have told me that the way they were treated by bishops has hurt them more than the abuse did(link is external). Virtually every bishop has made the announcement that he is dedicated to helping victims who have been sexually abused by priests and that he has put considerable resources toward that effort. Unfortunately, from what I have heard from too many victims, some bishops are quite adept at virtue-signaling and at making empty promises." By Janet E. Smith, National Catholic Register
Catholic priest sexual abuse survivor suing Oakland Diocese and East Bay churches
"The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland and two East Bay churches are the target of a lawsuit by a young man who was sexually abused by a priest when he was a child(link is external), his attorney said Tuesday (May 26). In a complaint recently filed in Alameda County Superior Court, the victim seeks unspecified damages against the the Diocese, St. John's Catholic Church in San Lorenzo, and Corpus Christi Church in Fremont, accusing them of negligence in not protecting children like him from 'predator priests.'" By Joseph Geha, Bay Area News Group
Alleged victim of nuns' sex abuse fears Archdiocese bankruptcy will silence him
"The Archdiocese of New Orleans has filed for bankruptcy, and survivors of abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy say it's just a maneuver meant to silence them. They include one man who says he was molested by nuns at a West Bank youth home in the 1970s(link is external), and he's now urging other victims to speak out. Jeff, whose real name isn't being used, says his parents sent him to Madonna Manor in Marrero in 1976 for help with dyslexia. He was 11 years old at the time." By Greg LaRose, WDSU-TV6 News
SNAP asks governor to order state investigation of church
"The Louisiana chapter of SNAP has asked Gov. John Bel Edwards to direct State Police to investigate the Catholic Church(link is external). The organization, which represents and speaks for survivors of sexual abuse by priests, believes that the recent declaration of bankruptcy(link is external) by the Archdiocese is an effort to seal evidence in sex abuse cases." By KATC-TV3 News
Clergy abuse survivors, Hancock Bank on Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy creditors' committee
"A committee representing the unsecured creditors in the Archdiocese of New Orleans' bankruptcy case will include clergy abuse claimants and Hancock Whitney Bank(link is external), which has managed more than $38 million in state facilities bonds that helped the local Catholic Church rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Federal court records Wednesday only identified one representative on the seven-member committee: Beth Zeigler of Hancock Whitney. The rest of the names were redacted, suggesting that the committee's balance might be comprised of people who claim they were sexually molested by New Orleans-area clergymen and religious personnel." By Ramon Antonio Vargas, Nola.com
Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield forms independent task force to advise Bishop Mitchell Rozanski on confronting reported clergy sex abuse
"Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski announced on Wednesday (May 27) the creation of an independent task force to advise the Diocese of Springfield on the ongoing issue of sexual misconduct and abuse by clergy(link is external) within the diocese. The 10-member Independent Task Force on the Response to Sexual Abuse within the Diocese of Springfield will have retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Daniel Ford as chairman and Irene Woods, founding executive director of the Children's Advocacy Center of Franklin County and North Quabbin, as vice chairwoman." By Patrick Johnson, MassLive.com
Former priest bound over on criminal sexual conduct charges
"A former Upper Peninsula priest accused of molesting children(link is external) was bound over to Ontonagon County Circuit Court. Gary Jacobs, 74, had a preliminary hearing on Tuesday (May 26) and Wednesday in 98th District Court in Ontonagon. No date has been set for his circuit court arraignment. Jacobs was also arraigned in Dickinson County's district court Monday for similar charges there. He will be arraigned in circuit court next month." By Garrett Neese, The Daily Mining Gazette
St. Cloud Diocese reaches settlement framework for clergy abuse survivors
"The Diocese of St. Cloud says they have reached framework for a settlement for survivors of clergy abuse(link is external). In a news release from the diocese, it says, 'the resolution will include the diocese filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the near future. In the Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the framework for resolution will include a consensual plan of reorganization that will provide for a $22.5 million trust to compensate survivors of clergy sexual abuse." By Jenifer Lewerenz, KNSI Radio News
St. Cloud Diocese, abuse survivors agree to framework to resolve claims(link is external), By Catholic News Agency in National Catholic Reporter
Judge denies Delbarton School's request to find new sex abuse law unconstitutional
"A judge has denied a challenge to a law that loosened restrictions on civil sex abuse complaints — allowing a lawsuit to continue(link is external) against the order that runs the Delbarton School and clearing the way for dozens of similar cases against the Catholic Church and other institutions to go forward in state courts. The lawsuit against Delbarton was filed more than two years before New Jersey extended the civil statute of limitations for sex abuse cases. Dozens of sex abuse lawsuits have been filed since the law took effect on Dec. 1, 2019, many of them against the Catholic Church for alleged abuse from decades ago." By Abbott Koloff, NorthJersey.com
LI priest molested me, now church is trying to keep me quiet, lawsuit says
"A man says a Long Island priest sexually abused him when he was a teen(link is external) — and that church investigators are now trying to intimidate him into silence, new court papers show. Greg Hein, 52, says in a Nassau County lawsuit that Father Gregory Cappuccino repeatedly molested him in the sacristy and rectory of St. Anthony of Padua in Rockville Centre in 1984. Hein was 17 at the time, while the priest oversaw the parish's youth programs, the suit says." By Rebecca Rosenberg, New York Post
Erie diocese priest reinstated after abuse probe ends
"A priest in the Catholic Diocese of Erie is returning to active ministry after Bishop Lawrence Persico said the diocese could not substantiate allegations of child sexual abuse(link is external) made against the priest a year ago. The priest, Monsignor Charles Kaza, has been reinstated as pastor of St. Tobias Parish, in Brockway, Jefferson County, Persico announced on Monday (Jun. 1)." By Times-News staff on GoErie.com
Attorneys: Abuse victims getting low offers from Diocese of Pittsburgh's fund
"Many people filing claims of sexual abuse by priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh are being offered compensation amounting to only a 'fraction' of what victims have received in other dioceses(link is external), according to attorneys representing many of them before an out-of-court compensation fund. Attorney Alan Perer, who said he represents about 75 clients who applied to the fund, is accusing Bishop David Zubik and the diocese of breaking a promise to compensate victims fairly." By Perter Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Erie Diocese wants out of New York lawsuit against Trautman
"The Catholic Diocese of Erie is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit in New York that tries to connect the diocese to claims that retired Erie Catholic Bishop Donald W. Trautman(link is external) covered up clergy sex abuse of a minor when he was a top official in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo in the 1980s. The suit also names Trautman as a defendant, though the claims against him mostly pertain to his tenure in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo. The suit alleges the abuse took place there about six years before Trautman was named the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Erie, in 1990." By Ed Palattella, GoErie.com
Catholic Archdiocese asks to have child abuse lawsuit dismissed, contends case filed too late
"The lawsuit seeks $20 million in damages from the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, claiming the church covered up allegations of abuse(link is external), and continued to allow La Rosa-Lopez access to children. Lawyers for the Archdiocese filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit contending it was filed years after the statute of limitations ran out in 2011. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests says the archdiocese is trying to escape responsibility by relying on a legal technicality." By KPRC-TV2 News
A year later, most documents seized in Dallas police raid of diocese ordered returned as sexual assault investigation continues
"A year after police searched Dallas Catholic Diocese offices for records related to allegations of sexual abuse by priests, most of the documents seized in the raid were returned to the church as beyond the scope of the police investigation(link is external). And charges have been filed against only one of the five former priests, who are targets of the investigation. Dallas Bishop Edward Burns condemned the May 15, 2019 raid, which involved dozens of law enforcement officers, as 'unnecessary and sensational,'' in a statement released by the diocese Thursday (May 28)." By David Tarrant, The Dallas Morning News
My catholic priest uncle molested me when I was 11 – DJ Switch
"Nigerian rapper and disc jockey, Obianuju Catherine Udeh, popularly known as DJ Switch, has opened up on how her uncle, who's a catholic priest, molested her at the age of 11(link is external). The songwriter who was the winner of the Glo X-Factor revealed this on his Instagram page on Monday, adding that her revelation may shock her family. DJ Switch's post is coming after the brutal killing of Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, a student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) who was raped and murdered in a church in Benin where she went to study." By Taiwo Okanlawon, pmnewsnigeria.com
Former principal who warned of dangerous priest to sue Catholic Church
Mr (Graeme) Sleeman now plans to sue the Catholic Church over the Archdiocese of Melbourne's catastrophic inaction in the 1980s on his complaints about (pedophile priest Peter)Searson(link is external). He estimates his lost education career cost him $3 million. Searson's infamy was known at the top: the then archbishop of Melbourne, Frank Little, knew of an allegation Searson raped a young woman in 1974, and his conduct around parishioners and children was discussed at archdiocese meetings in the early 1980s." By Adam Cooper, The Sydney Morning Herald
Bishop backs mother's plea to release report
"A 94-year-old Newcastle woman calling for the release of royal commission findings on sexual abuse her son endured and his subsequent suicide is being backed by the local bishop. Audrey Nash fears she will die before the findings of the 2016 royal commission probe into her son Andrew Nash's suicide are made public. Andrew Nash died in 1974 when he was just 13." By Giselle Wakatama, ABC News, on CathNews.com
Report Suggests High-Ranking Australian Priest Covered Up Decades of Abuse Within Catholic Church
"Weeks after Cardinal George Pell was released from jail, a newly release report suggests that he knew of child sex abuse by Australian priests as early as the 1970s(link is external) but failed to take action to stop it. Pell, an ex-Vatican treasurer, is the highest-ranking Roman Catholic leader ever found guilty in the church's clergy pedophilia crisis." By Joseph H. Saunders, The Legal Examiner
London Catholic Diocese loses appeal in child sexual abuse case
"An Ontario appeals court has dismissed a bid by the Diocese of London to fight a lower court's decision to throw out a settlement involving a victim of child sexual abuse(link is external). Justice David Aston ruled in 2018 that London-area resident Irene Deschenes would not have settled with the church for the abuse she suffered at the hands of a priest had the church disclosed key information about previous sexual assault allegations." By CBC News
'Evidence of a cover up': Woman wins bid to sue London diocese, again, over sexual abuse(link is external), By Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
Church orders French pedophile priest Preynat to compensate victims
"The Ecclesiastical Court of Lyon has paved the way for the compensation of victims of French ex-priest Bernard Preynat(link is external), convicted in March for the sexual assault of minors. In a sentence handed down on Thursday but made public two days later, 21 people assaulted by Preynat between 1971 and 1991 are to receive an unspecified amount of compensation." By rfi.fr
'Look what he's taken from me': the deadly toll of Catholic church sex abuse on Guam
"Roosters crow in the distance as Walter Denton gestures toward a white one-story concrete building behind a church in Agat, a village in southern Guam. 'You know, just standing here, right behind you, that is where I was raped,' says Denton, 56. It has been more than three years since Denton first went public with accusations that Guam's former archbishop Anthony Apuron assaulted him(link is external), and even though he has told the story many times his voice is still heavy with emotion." By Anita Hofschneider, The Guardian
Priest slams crimes against, and abuse of, children
"A Catholic priest said the sins and crimes committed against children are crimes that cry out to heavens for justice(link is external). Father Melvin Castro of the Diocese of Tarlac said this on the heels of a study by the International Justice Mission stating that the Philippines has become the world's largest known source of online child sexual exploitation with parents and relatives the ones responsible for facilitating the abuse in nearly all cases." By Leslie Ann Aquino, Manila Bulletin
Polish priests defy bishops and pedophilia scandal
"The documentary 'Hide and Seek' by Marek and Tomasz Sekielski, which was watched by almost 7 million people on YouTube within a week, continues to make waves in Poland. The film tells the story of two brothers who were sexually abused by a priest in the diocese of Kalisz in central Poland in the 1990s(link is external). They were 7 and 13 years old at the time. The documentary makes it clear that the local bishop, Edward Janiak, knew about the abuse and swept the scandal under the carpet. The filmmakers uncovered dozens of other cases in the diocese as well." By Deutsche Welle
Bishop apologizes for priest's sex abuse after 23 years
"Bishop John Baptist Jung Shin-chul, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Incheon, issued a statement apologizing for a priest's sexual abuse(link is external) of students of a Catholic university about 23 years ago. The sexual abuse cases were made public recently through an investigative TV program. In a statement uploaded on the website of the Diocese of Incheon, the bishop said he was deeply sorry for letting such an inappropriate incident happen, confirming the media report was true." By Park Ji-won, The Korea Times
accountability, catholic bishops, catholic church, catholic priests, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, Focus news roundup, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, vatican, voice of the faithful
Australian bishops' report advocates major changes to church governance / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on June 3, 2020
Revelations of clergy abuse and cover-up, the authors state, showed "the widespread failure of the Church's authorities to respond with justice and compassion" and "give a particular focus to the need for reform in practices of governance within the Catholic Church." (National Catholic Reporter)
A new report commissioned by Australia's bishops and religious orders recommends a series of radical changes to the way the Catholic Church operates across the country, tackling issues as far-ranging as women's inclusion in decision-making roles and the Vatican's opaque process for making episcopal appointments.
"The overarching theme for the report — written as part of the local church's response to a five-year government inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse — is how governance in the church can be more 'co-responsible,' or better shared among bishops, clergy and laypeople.
"Revelations of clergy abuse and cover-up, the authors state, showed 'the widespread failure of the Church's authorities to respond with justice and compassion' and 'give a particular focus to the need for reform in practices of governance within the Catholic Church.'
"The report, which encompasses seven chapters, four indices and a bibliography over its 208 pages, had originally been delivered to the Australian bishops in early May and kept confidential to allow the prelates time to digest its contents."
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Australia's Catholic bishops, Australian report, catholic church, Catholic church governance, Catholic Church reform, clergy abuse, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, episcopal appointments, Joshua McElwee, national catholic reporter, roman catholic church, vatican, voice of the faithful
Explaining the Vatican's lingering ambivalence on 'zero tolearance' / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on June 1, 2020
"To this day, a central plank in the indictment of many abuse survivors and their advocates is that the Vatican has not imposed a universal 'zero tolerance' policy everywhere in the world, which is often taken as a sign of reluctance to reform." (cruxnow.com)
"'Zero tolerance' for sexual abuse has become one of those notoriously elastic phrases, such as 'change,' 'hope' and 'progress,' which everyone claims to be for but no one seems to define in exactly the same way.
"In American Catholic parlance, however, the term 'zero tolerance' does have a fairly precise meaning, derived from the US bishops' 2002 Dallas charter and norms: Permanent removal from ministry, and, in most cases, laicization, for even one justified allegation of sexual abuse of a minor.
"In that sense, 'zero tolerance' remains a contested point. To this day, a central plank in the indictment of many abuse survivors and their advocates is that the Vatican has not imposed a universal 'zero tolerance' policy everywhere in the world, which is often taken as a sign of reluctance to reform.
In part, such perceptions are rooted in memory. When the abuse scandals broke out in the United States in 2002, several Vatican officials initially dismissed them as a uniquely 'American problem' and described the 'zero tolerance' policy as a legalistic and Puritanical American overreaction."
By John L. Allen, Jr., Cruxnow.com — Read more …
accountability, catholic church, catholic priests, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, Cruxnow.com, john l allen, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, vatican, voice of the faithful, zero tolerance
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