The Badger Catholic: Catholic response to Abuse Crisis

Showing posts with label Catholic response to Abuse Crisis. Show all posts

Catholicism, authority and desire

In "Mad virgins and Don Juans" Rupert Shortt reviews In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, homosexuality, hypocrisy, by Frédéric Martel, translated by Shaun Whiteside, at The Times Literary Supplement.

"Over the past century the Catholic Church has done more than any other institution to demonstrate the abiding relevance of biblical and classical principles of justice and charity: its records on debt remission, conscientious consumption habits, the environment, and socially responsible uses of technology speak for themselves. There is therefore much to lament about the retreat of Christianity across Europe."

Milwaukee Archdiocese shares details on website on abuse history

Milwaukee Archdiocese

Milwaukee's annual Mass of Atonement 1-April at Immaculate Conception parish in Bay View

Diocese of Green Bay to remove Bishop Wycislo's name from cathedral

ALLOUEZ (WLUK) -- A former Green Bay Bishop's name will be removed from a center at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral.

According to a letter from Bishop David Ricken to Cathedral parishioners, The Bishop Wycislo Center will be renamed Cathedral Center.

The center, which sits north of the cathedral, was named after Bishop Aloysius Wycislo in June of 2004. He served as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay from 1968 to 1983.

Ricken cites the reason of removal as part of the diocese's response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

continue at Fox11

Also GPPG: Name of bishop who mishandled clergy abuse removed from Green Bay cathedral building

Sioux City Diocese reveals list of 28 priests credibly accused of abusing minors

The Rev. Brad Pelzel, left, and Sioux City Diocese Bishop R. Walker Nickless listen to Mark Prosser, a member of the Diocesan Review Board, talk about a list of 28 priests credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors during a news conference Monday.

SIOUX CITY -- Aiming to "shine a light" on its own "shameful history," the Diocese of Sioux City made public Monday the names of 28 priests credibly accused of sexually abusing more than 100 children while serving the Northwest Iowa diocese.

...
For months, a Diocesan Review Board and the diocese's law firm reviewed priest files dating to the diocese's founding in 1902. The first accusation deemed credible occurred in 1948, and the most recent in 1995, said Mark Prosser, a Review Board member who is also police chief in Storm Lake.

continue at Sioux City Journal

The titles of these articles is misleading(same with the Green Bay headlines), there are zero active priest credibly accused. I think this is the right move, to make progress on this issue that seems to never find a final resolution. Yes, ambulance chasers are licking their chops but it's time to make zero tolerance mean something.

Nickless noted none of the credibly accused priests currently serve in the ministry or are active with youth. All but six are deceased, and the survivors have been stripped of their ability to give communion, celebrate Mass or represent themselves as priests, the bishop said.

Investigator says St. Norbert College made its own conclusions from her report

DE PERE, Wis. (WLUK) – An independent investigator says she never cleared St. Norbert College employees of wrongdoing in its handling of sexual assault reports, despite the school indicating otherwise last month.

It's been one month since St. Norbert College President Brian Bruess announced an independent investigator determined the school has solid policies for dealing with sexual violence.

Bruess has said he hired Madison lawyer Mindy Rowland last fall after hundreds of students, alumni, and faculty signed letters asking the school for an investigation into its Title IX policies and Father Jay Fostner.

continue at Fox11

Cardinal Cupich says the Vatican abuse summit will not focus on vulnerable adults or seminarians

Vatican City, Feb 18, 2019 / 10:15 am (CNA).- Cardinal Blase Cupich said Monday that this week’s Vatican sex abuse summit needs to be focused on the protection of minors, underscoring that homosexuality is not a cause of sexual abuse.

While it is important to recognize the fact that a high percentage of sex abuse involves “male on male sex abuse,” Cupich said, “homosexuality itself is not a cause.” It is a matter of “opportunity and also a matter of poor training on the part of people.”

“The pope is asking us to make sure that we focus on the the task at hand, if in fact we begin to inflate expectations by including other topics, then we are not going to achieve the goals,” Cardinal Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, said at a Vatican press conference Feb. 18.

continue at CNA

GBPG: He tried speaking out about priest abuse in Catholic church. Now he's shouting about it.

The problem with Jason Jerry is he makes a lousy victim.

Victims are supposed to be subdued, repressed, sorrowful. It helps if they can look up at us with sad eyes, maybe bite their lower lip a little. Obviously, we don’t want them to be beaten down or crushed, but we’re used to thinking of them as tender and vulnerable, and that’s what we need to get our caring, nurturing instincts kicked into high gear.

Jerry, 44, of Howard, is none of that. He’s an angry victim. He’s mouthy. He can be, let's face it, kind of abrasive when he talks about how a priest molested him years ago and got away with it.

“What are you going to do about the Norbertines?” he shouted at Bishop David Ricken at a listening session in September. “And for you to sit there and nod? Your silence is deafening.”

Well, to be fair, it was supposed to be a listening session, and that’s what Ricken was doing.

continue at GBPG

Hundreds of clergy, pastoral leaders in Green Bay ara learn about childhood trauma

HOWARD, Wis. (WBAY) - Nearly 200 Catholic clergy members and spiritual caregivers attended a presentation Thursday on how to respond to victims of childhood trauma. The workshop was put on by the Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Green Bay.

This comes after jail records show a former Green Bay priest, Richard Thomas, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly violating his probation.

"The reality of sexual abuse in society is a very real one, it happens inside the church, and it happens outside the church,” said Fr. John Girotti from the Diocese of Green Bay. “This is a way for us as Catholics to become aware about the harm that has happened to victims inside the church, but also as a service to the community to help those who have been harmed in any way."

Thomas' was one of the names released by the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay of clergy members with "substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor." The 81-year-old was sentenced to four months in jail and three years on probation after being found guilty in 2016 of exposing his genitals to a child.

continue at WBAY

Cardinal Cupich Pens Letter on Upcoming Abuse Crisis Summit

Cardinal Blase Cupich penned a letter earlier this month that gives insight into the upcoming global summit on the sex abuse crisis that has rocked the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis called the rare meeting of Catholic leaders from around the world, requesting their attendance at a five-day conference from Feb. 21 to 24 at the Vatican.

Cupich is playing a key role at that meeting, as one of the four organizers tapped to lead the summit.

In an op-ed in the Chicago Archdiocese's newspaper "The Chicago Catholic" on Jan. 23, Cupich said the aim of the summit is "to provide clear direction and concrete steps so that when the bishops return to their home countries around the world, they will know exactly what the church expects of them regarding the prevention of abuse, the need to provide care for victim-survivors, and the obligation to make sure abuse is not covered up.”

continue at NBC5 Chicago

Superior, La Crosse dioceses plan to review files for abusive clergy

At least two more Catholic dioceses in Wisconsin plan to open their archives in search of abusive clergy members throughout their history.

Representatives for the Diocese of Superior and the Diocese of La Crosse both said their organizations will review their files, following the release by the Diocese of Green Bay last week of a list of 46 priests who had sexually abused minors.

Neither Superior nor La Crosse provided a date that any list would be finished or made public.

continue at Wausau Daily Herald

In releasing names of priests with substantiated allegations, Bishop Ricken offers apology

ALLOUEZ — During a press briefing Jan. 17 to announce the release of 47 names of priests with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor, Bishop David Ricken apologized to victims-survivors.

“The release of these names may open up old wounds and create new hurt,” he said in his opening statement. “For this I am profoundly sorry. But I want to recognize the victims-survivors for their strength over the years in coming forward to tell their stories. The hurt they endured at the hands of their perpetrators cannot be undone. I could apologize, but more importantly, I need to show them through action that we are being open and addressing this issue head-on.”

Bishop Ricken also said the priorities that were outlined in the seven “Action Steps to Accountability,” which were published Sept. 7, 2018, in The Compass, still remain.

“The victims-survivors and their families are my greatest concern,” he said. “To all of the victims-survivors and their family members, please know that you will be in my prayers, especially in these coming days.” Bishop Ricken invited abuse victims “who have been suffering in your pain and silence” to come forward and share their story, either with the diocesan Safe Environment Office or with Catholic Charities.

continue at The Compass

Also: Bp. David Ricken letter; The release of diocesan priests’ names

Madison's Catholic diocese considers probe of its abuse cases

Madison Diocese staff members were taking steps toward launching an investigation and had begun interviewing consultants for a potential review of files but the unexpected death of Bishop Robert Morlino from a cardiac event in November put those plans on hold, spokesman Brent King said Friday.

“In recent months, and even in the days immediately preceding (Morlino’s) death, we have had numerous conversations weighing our options in this very regard,” diocese spokesman Brent King said. “The abuse scandal is something Bishop Morlino took very seriously.”

The Madison Diocese was notified by the Green Bay Diocese ahead of its public announcement Thursday that 46 of its priests had substantiated allegations they sexually abused a minor, according to King. The Green Bay Diocese posted the names of the priests on its website Thursday.

continue at WisSJ

Cardinal Cupich asks for prayers for this weeks abuse crisis meeting

As we begin our retreat tomorrow at @MundeleinSem, I ask your prayers for all @USCCB bishops. With your support, we will pray and prepare to take action as we deepen our sacred commitment to keeping young people safe.
— Cardinal Cupich (@CardinalBCupich) January 1, 2019

I will certainly pray, however "keeping young people safe" is not the only issue that needs to be discussed. Keeping adult people safe, and removing sexual predator bishops are also top priorities, and specifically the shortfalls of the Dallas Charter.

As the bishops of the USCCB gather at Mundelein Seminary for a week-long retreat beginning tomorrow, we encourage you to join our seminary community in an online prayer chain for the healing of the Catholic Church. https://t.co/R1z7NZ2rwa #Catholic #prayer pic.twitter.com/3vBL9RZIhT
— Mundelein Seminary (@MundeleinSem) January 1, 2019

Also: Ouellet letter: US bishops’ vote on abuse reform measures was blocked to allow more discussion

Cupich aide gives ‘talking points’ to priests to counter AG report on sex abuse

After Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich caught heat in August for making remarks regarded as insensitive about the clergy sex abuse crisis, he took the unusual step of ordering Chicago-area Catholic priests to read a prepared statement during weekend masses defending him and insisting his comments had been twisted by the media.

With church officials again under fire — this time for a withering report from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan that found the Catholic church in Illinois received hundreds more accusations of priests molesting kids than was previously known — Cupich has again sought to steer messaging from his priests on the topic.

Just before Christmas, one of Cupich’s auxiliary bishops, Ronald Hicks, distributed a letter to priests suggesting ways to address the Madigan report and the overall sex abuse scandal during holiday masses. The letter suggests language the priests could use that acknowledges the church’s failures but also pushes back against some of Madigan’s findings.

The letter, obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, also provides “talking points” priests can use when discussing the crisis with friends, family and parishioners over the holidays.

continue at Chicago Sun Times

US Bishops retreat at Mundelein Seminary will not discuss abuse; "strictly be a time for prayer, fasting and spiritual lectures."

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago says when bishops from around the United States gather in a suburban seminary next month, they won't talk about a state investigation that found Illinois dioceses failed to disclose the names of at least 500 clergy accused of sexually abusing children.

Archdiocese spokeswoman Anne Maselli tells the Chicago Tribune that the retreat hosted by Cardinal Blase Cupich at Mundelein Seminary will "strictly be a time for prayer, fasting and spiritual lectures."

continue at NBC Chicago

What? This can't be right, I can only presume both spiritual works and discussions are happening.

Also: Cardinal Cupich visits Cook County Jail on Christmas, addresses church sex abuse scandal in Midnight Mass

Illinois State AG: Church underreported number of priests with sex misconduct allegations by 500

Even as Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich has taken a larger role in proposing reforms in response to the priest sex abuse crisis raging across the United States and around the world, a report released Wednesday by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madiganshows the Catholic church in Illinois has dramatically underreported the number of priests with sexual misconduct allegations.

Across Illinois — which is broken into six Catholic “dioceses,” each headed by a bishop and based on geography — the church has publicly identified 185 clergy with credible accusations of child abuse, according to Madigan.

An investigation by her agency identified 500 other clergy members in Illinois with sex misconduct allegations dating back decades, Madigan said, describing her findings and the allegations uncovered by her investigators as “disheartening” and “disgusting.”

Madigan acknowledged it’s not clear whether all of the newly unearthed allegations are credible.

continue at Chicago Sun Times

also CNA Illinois AG report says dioceses failed abuse victims

The Wanderer: Interview With Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke: The Faithful Are Suffering, But Schism Can Never Be Right

Editor’s Note: This interview took place in Rome on October 22, 2018, the Feast of St. John Paul II, during the final week of the October 3-28 Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment and before its conclusion. See The Wanderer, November 1, 2018, p. 1 for an article based on this interview.

Q. Your Eminence, the first thing I wanted to ask is, many Catholics, following this Summer of Shame, think they are living through the worst period of Church history. Do you agree?

Cardinal Burke: It’s certainly among the worst, if not the worst. The Church has had other periods of great scandal. But this has dimensions about it that seem to be equal to or greater than other scandals that the Church has endured.

The primary scandal with the situation of Theodore McCarrick is, it’s clear, that he was able to lead this life of abuse of young people as a priest, and as a bishop, because he was protected and promoted. This is the source of the greatest scandal. And so, I think that we’ve reached a moment of terrible crisis that has to be addressed.

continue at The Wanderer

Cdl Cupich denies collaborating with Cdl. Wuerl on a plan presented at last week's USCCB meeting

Card. Blase Cupich has denied this report of collaboration with Card. Wuerl on a plan presented at last week's USCCB meeting. Stories develop, and new facts emerge, but this morning I reviewed our sources and approach, and I stand by our reporting. https://t.co/vdDPIGfmi5
— JD Flynn (@jdflynn) November 19, 2018

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago and Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington collaborated extensively on a recently proposed policy for handling abuse allegations against bishops, CNA has learned.

Cupich submitted the plan Tuesday to leaders of the U.S. bishops’ conference, proffering it as an alternative to a proposal that had been devised by conference officials and staffers.

The conference’s proposed plan would have established an independent lay-led commission to investigate allegations against bishops. The Cupich-Wuerl plan would instead send allegations against bishops to be investigated by their metropolitan archbishops, along with archdiocesan review boards. Metropolitans themselves would be investigated by their senior suffragan bishops.