Australian Catholic Bishops Conference rejects reporting of sexual abuse disclosed in the confessional

Read more here

Sister TeresaClare of the Nazareth House Sisters --- from Vietnam to Victoria

Argentinians join movement to abandon the Catholic Church

In Wake of Anti-Choice Senate Vote, Argentines Join Movement to Abandon Catholic Church by Maurizio 23.08.2018 - Pressenza London “Obtaining the vote for women, the divorce law, marriage equality, the gender identity law, the assisted human fertilization law, the law of integral sexual education, the dignified death law were all done fighting clerical power, which seeks to have total dominion over our minds and bodies.” by Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams Hundreds of Argentines stood in long lines in Buenos Aires and around Argentina this weekend to join a “Collective Apostasy” movement, renouncing their Catholic faith a week after an anti-choice Senate vote sent thousands of Argentines out into the streets to protest. The forms signed by participants will be given to the Episcopal Conference in the Vatican, according to the Associated Press. Organizers told La Nacion that attendance at the events exceeded expectations. The “Apostasia Colectiva” movement, begun by the Argentine Coalition for a Secular State, is aimed at weakening the hold of a church of which two-thirds of Argentinian people are members. The huge turnout at Saturday’s events was brought on not only by the Senate’s decision to uphold a ban on abortions for women up to 14 weeks into a pregnancy, but the Church’s power over the nation and the numerous struggles Argentines have fought against the Church over the years. “Obtaining the vote for women, the divorce law, marriage equality, the gender identity law, the assisted human fertilization law, the law of integral sexual education, the dignified death law were all done fighting clerical power, which seeks to have total dominion over our minds and bodies,” the event’s organizers wrote on social media. The Catholic Church lobbied aggressively against the legalized abortion bill. Every year, about 500,000 illegal and unsafe abortions take place in the country, and since the abortion rights vote, at least one woman has died from an attempt to perform an abortion on herself. “The discourse by the church to convince the people to not accept the law was so outrageous that I reached the height of my enmity toward the Catholic Church,” Nora Cortinas, a human rights advocate, told the AP. On social media, some indicated that numerous cases of sexual abuse in the Church, like the one a grand jury report revealed in Pennsylvania last week, also figured into the growth of the Apostasia Colectiva movement.

Eco-Spirituality and its relevance to the Christian faith

What is Eco-Spirituality?

Led by Mercy nun, Sister Veronica Lawson.

Held at St Matthew's Anglican Church, Wendouree

Archbishop Philip Wilson - the archbishop who turned away

This article - and many other articles and media interviews - are from Joanne McCarthy.

Archbishop Philip Wilson is not the only Catholic clergyman to have failed to report child sex allegations to police, and the Catholic Church is not the only institution to have protected criminals who sexually abused children.

That’s worth keeping in mind after Wilson’s sentencing on Tuesday, when media reports around the globe meant you could be forgiven for thinking he is the only person to have failed children over decades.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse left us in no doubt that is not the case. For five years of often gruelling testimony we heard how people prioritised their institutions’ reputation, or their own personal status, above children’s welfare.

As Hunter abuse survivor Peter Gogarty has said, we heard how children were thrown to the wolves, and then how institutions coldly and clinically rejected many of them when they turned to those institutions for help as adults.

Wilson is just the most senior Catholic clergyman in the world to be convicted of concealing the child sex crimes of a priest, in part because the offence occurred in a state of Australia where such a charge exists.

Please continue reading here

Polish bishops condemn anti-Semitism

Polish bishops condemn new wave of anti-Semitism

• Catholic News Service
  Mar 16, 2018
   

 

Hundreds of Poles gathered to express their solidarity with Jews who perished in the Holocaust, were expelled from Poland 50 years ago or feel the effects of anti-Semitism today, in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, March 11, 2018. The speakers at the demonstration also denounced the policies of the current Polish government which have led to a dispute with Israel and sparked a wave of anti-Semitic rhetoric. (Credit: Czarek Sokolowski/AP.)

Israeli officials back off on their plan to impose taxes on church properties in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem reopened early on Wednesday after Israeli officials suspended a plan to impose taxes on church properties in the holy city.

The iconic church, revered by Christians as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, had been closed for three days to protest the Israeli tax plan.

Father Sinisa, a Franciscan cleric, said that clergymen from various Christian denominations had continued their prayer routines inside the church throughout the closure. But he said the public must also be able to visit.

“It’s important to reopen the doors of the Church, to let the people who sometimes come once in their life to visit this holy place,” he said. “Because a holy place without people is nothing ... only the stones.”

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said his decision had affected only commercial properties, such as hotels, restaurants and offices, and not houses of worship. He said other cities follow similar practices worldwide.

But angry religious leaders say their non-church properties provide valuable services for pilgrims and their local flocks, and fund important services like schools and health clinics.

They also accused Barkat of surprising them with the order and violating longstanding understandings with the churches. Barkat’s office claimed the churches have debts of roughly $185 million.

The closure of the church raised tensions with the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches, as well as smaller denominations, weeks ahead of the busy Easter season.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said a professional team, including representatives from the Jerusalem municipality as well as government ministries, was being established to negotiate with church officials to “formulate a solution.”

Israel also suspended legislation in parliament that would govern sales of church sales to private developers.

Is The Vatican far too tricky in dealing with the issue of child sexual abuse?

Catherine Bonnet, French child psychiatrist and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, gestures as she speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris, France, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018. (Credit: AP Photo/Michel Euler.)

ROME - A former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has charged that Pope Francis is not making the fight against sexual abuse a priority, and expressed her frustration with the procedures and limitations of the group, which she said led her to hand in her resignation last year.

The commission is an advisory body to the pope on the issue of safeguarding minors and vulnerable adults from sexual abuse. Its first three-year mandate concluded in December 2017, and appointments of new members, along with the confirmation of some previous members, came earlier this month.

French child psychiatrist Catherine Bonnet said she tendered her resignation letter in June to Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, a member of the C9 group that advises the pope and the president of the commission, after she failed to convince the majority of its members to enact changes she perceived as necessary.

“I personally advocated that bishops and superiors of religious orders be required to report suspicions of sexual abuse of minors to civil authorities, which is already done in the United States, including for all members of the clergy,” Bonnet said in an interview with French news outlet L’Express.

“I had support, but when I saw in June that I was not going to be able to convince two-thirds of the commissioners, according to the rules, I wrote my letter of resignation.”
Francis reportedly did not accept her resignation, but when the commission’s term expired and was rebooted in February, Bonnet was no longer on the list of members. The new commission lineup was announced on Feb. 17 and includes nine new members, some of whom are also victims of abuse.

The relationship with abuse victims has been a recurring issue for the commission, with two clerical abuse survivors, Peter Sanders of the UK and Marie Collins of Ireland, resigning from the group and publicly criticizing the Vatican’s methods and approach.
“When [abuse victims] send letters, we do not answer them! Marie Collins found this point particularly unbearable,” Bonnet said, adding that in her 35 years of experience working in this field, the testimonies of survivors are essential.

The French psychiatrist stressed the importance of collaborating with other organizations and institutions that are active on this issue, such as Ending Clerical Abuse.
“We wanted to work with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is officially charged with pedophilia issues in the Vatican. But it was not easy,” she said.
While Bonnet seemed to praise certain decisions by the pope, such as appointing O’Malley to head the commission and replacing German Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller as the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, she was critical of other aspects.

“The problem is that the pope did not come to our plenary meetings,” she said, echoing an issue that had been pointed out previously by other members of the commission, and stating that it’s important that the pope review the themes addressed by the group and participate in the conversations.

“Not to mention that we only meet once a week, twice a year! It is far too little,” Bonnet said. “Pope Francis must make the protection of children a priority now.”

In terms of holding bishops who cover up abuse accountable, Bonnet stressed the need for an ad hoc tribunal charged with treating these cases. In his 2015 motu proprio, ‘Like a Loving Mother,’ Francis opened up to the possibility of a disciplinary committee that would judge clergy charged with negligence in cases of sexual abuse.

This project was abandoned in 2016, officially in light of the slew of legal issues that were raised, and the pope urged officials to use already existing systems of accountability.
“We were not informed of the motives behind the change,” Bonnet said. “The most important thing was that something be done. But the motu proprio was supposed to be enacted in September 2016. Up till now, no cases have been heard.”

The child psychology expert pointed out that among the new members of the commission there are several law experts, including an African law professor, an Australian judge and a Polish specialist in constitutional and canon law.

“A commission such as this one must make recommendations, but not only. If you want to arrest criminals, there has to be a change of law, because that’s the only thing that scares them,” she said.

Bonnet also called for exempting cases of clerical sexual abuse from provisions of Church law related to pontifical secrecy, arguing that it’s important to inject transparency into the process.

Are you giving to the Catholic Church? Don't bother. They have enough --- and Jesus didn't need their riches

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

Catholic Inc.

What the Church is really worth

An Age investigation reveals for the first time the value of the Catholic Church’s wealth in Australia and raises serious questions about compensation payments to victims of child sex abuse.

by Royce Millar, Ben Schneiders & Chris Vedelago

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

Payments to child sex abuse survivors under church redress schemes

·       

The Catholic Church in Victoria is worth more than $9 billion, making it the biggest non-government property owner in the state and much wealthier than it has admitted in evidence to major inquiries into child sexual abuse.

A six-month investigation by The Age has found that the church misled the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse by grossly undervaluing its property portfolio while claiming that increased payments to abuse survivors would likely require cuts to its social programs.

Figures extrapolated from a huge volume of Victorian council valuation data show the church has more than $30 billion in property and other assets, Australia wide.

Based on these figures, the church is clearly the largest non-government property owner, by value, in the state, and close to the largest in Australia, rivalling giant Westfield, with its vast network of shopping centres and other assets.

Commentary on a radical Christian past

New post on Khanya Roman Catholic radicals and Orthodoxy by Steve Jim Forest has just written a biography of a Jesuit priest, Daniel Berrigan, who died last year. Why would an Orthodox Christian write a biography of a radical Roman Catholic priest, and why would an Orthodox Christian want to read such a thing? Jim Forest himself gives an answer to that specific question here: FATHER DANIEL BERRIGAN, SJ: WHY SHOULD AN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN BE INTERESTED IN HIM? by Jim Forest | ORTHODOXY IN DIALOGUE: “And just what is it,” my friend asked, “that was so Christ-revealing about Berrigan’s life?” When he died last year, age 94, obituaries focused on the anti-war aspects of Berrigan’s life: he was eighteen months in prison for burning draft records in a protest against conscription of the young into the Vietnam War; then there was a later event in which he was one of eight people who hammered on the nose cone of a nuclear-armed missile. No one has kept count of his numerous brief stays in jail for other acts of war protest. He was handcuffed more than a hundred times. But it raises other wider questions too. For the last few years the "mainstream" media have focused on the phenomenon of the "religious right", but fifty years ago the focus was more on the "religious left", exemplified by people like Daniel Berrigan, protesting against the Vietnam War. I first learned of Daniel Berrigan in 1969, through a radical Christian magazine called The Catonsville Roadrunner. The magazine was inspired by the actions of Daniel Berrigan and his brother Philip, who with several others had broken into an office containing records of military conscription and publicly burnt them. It became a legendary act of Christian civil disobedience Ikon magazine cover, designed by Hugh Pawsey, my fellow student at St Chad's College Jim Forest himself was involved in a similar act of civil disobedience in Milwaukee, for which he was jailed.Those were interesting times, the late 1960s and early 1970s, the age of hippies and moon landings and radical Christian protests. Inspired by The Catonsville Roadrunner I and a group of friends launched our own radical Christian magazine in South Africa, called Ikon. So I want to turn Jim Forest's question around. Not "Why should Orthodox Christians be interested in the life of a Jesuit priest like Daniel Berrigan?" but why did so many people involved in the radical Christian scene of the late 1960s become interested in Orthodoxy? One factor may have been that at that time Orthodoxy was peculiarly powerless. In 1968 I visited St Sergius Orthodox Church in Paris, and there was a seminary in the crypt of the church where the students lived in humble and primitive conditions -- sleeping cubicles separated by threadbare curtains, and an open drain running down the middle of the floor. That, to me, represented the poverty of him who came to be poor among the poor, rather than the power and prestige needed to maintain a religion. Most of the traditionally Orthodox countries were under communist or Muslim rule, and in those places Orthodox Christians were treated as second-class citizens, and deprived of civil rights. Many Orthodox Christians in the West were refugees and asylum seekers. or children of refugees and asylum seekers. Another reason for the attraction of Orthodoxy for radical Christian activists was that Orthodoxy had a firm theological base. In the West, theological liberalism led to political conservatism and vice versa. Theological liberalism was embarked on a project to adapt the Christian faith to the modern world, and that meant adapting Christianity to support the status quo. Radical Christians wanted to change the status quo on earth, so that God's kingdom would come and God's will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. G.K Chesterton said that the modern young man would never change the world, for he would always change his mind. Christians who are always changing their theology will never change the world. This can be seen in the media expectations of Roman Pope Francis. They are looking to him to bring about change in the Roman Catholic Church. Will he change the theology and bring it up to date? But most of the time they are disappointed, because he criticises the state of the world from the point of view of existing theology -- the wars, civil repression and exploitation that continue pretty much as they did in the 1960s. There is much talk about "progressive" theology and "progressive" politics, but what do we mean by "progress"? As G.K. Chesterton put it, more than a century ago now: Progress should mean that we are always changing the world to suit the vision. Progress does mean (just now) that we are always changing the vision. It should mean that we are slow but sure in bringing justice and mercy among men: it does mean that we are very swift in doubting the desirability of justice and mercy: a wild page from any Prussian sophist makes men doubt it. Progress should mean that we are always walking towards the New Jerusalem. It does mean that the New Jerusalem is always walking away from us. We are not altering the real to suit the ideal. We are altering the ideal: it is easier. Silly examples are always simpler; let us suppose a man wanted a particular kind of world; say, a blue world. He would have no cause to complain of the slightness or swiftness of his task; he might toil for a long time at the transformation; he could work away (in every sense) until all was blue. He could have heroic adventures; the putting of the last touches to a blue tiger. He could have fairy dreams; the dawn of a blue moon. But if he worked hard, that high-minded reformer would certainly (from his own point of view) leave the world better and bluer than he found it. If he altered a blade of grass to his favourite colour every day, he would get on slowly. But if he altered his favourite colour every day, he would not get on at all. And that is why I think that some radical Christian activists have been attracted to Orthodoxy. And that complement's Jim Forest's point about why Orthodox Christians should be interested in people like Daniel Berrigan -- because people several people who have shared the interests of Daniel Berrigan have also become interested in Orthodoxy. So by all means buy and read Jim Forest's book about Daniel Berrigan.

Paul Kennedy & Chrissie Foster --- Hell on the way to Heaven: on ABC TV tonight

One of the greatest scandals facing the Christian churches in recent times has been institutional child abuse.  There is even a movie on the child abuse in Boston in the USA. Cardinal Bernard Law, under whose reign so many children were abused, was whisked away to The Vatican. It has been suggested that Cardinal Law spends his time shopping and doing afternoon teas.

Here in Ballarat where I live, numerous cases of child abuse have at last come into the cold light of date. Across Australia, case after case; church after church has been uncovered - even by clergymen long since dead.  Cases are still coming to light.  One of the most senior cardinals in this country was given a job in The Vatican. In the line of Vatican administration, he was No. 3.  That Cardinal has now been brought back to Australia from The Vatican and his case is now before the courts.  Because of this, I am limited in what I can say.  The newspaper I would suggest you stay in touch with is The Age.

Perhaps the saddest things from all this are the deaths, the sufferings, the lives ruined.  Clocks can't be turned back.  Many of the perpetrators are dead. The graves won't give them back to face retribution.

Relevant books:

Hell on the way to Heaven by Chrissie Foster with Paul Kennedy. 

Cardinal: the rise and fall of George Pell by Louise Milligan

Wikipedia entry:

Catholic sexual abuse cases in Australia

Please note:  The abuse of children is not confined to the Catholic Church. Many other Christian denominations are involved. Many other institutions and religions are involved. The abuse was not only perpetrated by priests but also by brothers.  The writer also knows of one case of sexual abuse that was carried out by a nun in an orphanage.  The writer wonders how it is possible to discern perpetrators. She thinks of one Catholic priest known to her and her extended family and was involved in celebratory events. One night he was spirited away from his parish.  He stood trial. Who would have thought?

Hildegard of Bingen - Doctor of the Universal Church

Hildegard of Bingen has been a favourite of The Editor's for a  very long time.

The Editor is indebted to The Reverend Dr Malcolm Guite for this contribution from his blog.

 Saint Hildegard of Bingen, professed nun of the Order of Saint Benedict, to be a Doctor of the Universal Church. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Hildegard of Bingen: A Sonnet by malcolmguite Tending the tree of Life by Hildegard of Bingen The 17th of September is the feast day of Abbess Hildegard of Bingen, a remarkable and prophetic woman, who described herself as 'a feather on the breath of God', and whose many works in theology, music, visual art, poetry and drama are still inspiring people today. Indeed she is coming more and more into her own, as one of her key ideas 'Viriditas', or the greening and life-renewing work of the Holy Spirit, seems especially apposite for our time. See this page on her by a contemporary Benedictine. Appropriately for Hildegard's day, I will be taking part in a service at Ely Cathedral this evening at 6:30pm called Dark Reflections: Poetry Environment and Lament Do come along if you can. The photo below is by Margot Krebs Neale I wrote this sonnet at Launde Abbey in Leicestershire where I shall be giving an Advent retreat next year. It is published in my new volume of poetry The Singing Bowl, Canterbury Press,  available on Amazon in both the US and the UK As always you can hear the sonnet by clicking on the play button or the title. 1603489-hildegarde-of-bingen.mp3 Hildegard of Bingen A feather on the breath of God at play, You saw the play of God in all creation. You drew eternal light into each day, And every living breath was inspiration. You made a play with every virtue playing, Made music for each sister-soul to sing, Listened for what each herb and stone was saying, And heard the Word of God in everything. Mother from mother earth and Magistra,  Your song revealed God's hidden gift to us; The verdant fire, his holy harbinger The greening glory of viriditas. 'Cherish this earth that keeps us all alive' Either we hear you, or we don't survive. Photo by Margot Krebs Neale

Racism and Charlottesville a wake-up call for the Catholic Church in the U.S.A.

Religion headlines that matter
	The U.S. Catholic Church’s last major effort on racism was in 1979. Charlottesville woke it up. The Catholic Church in America can't ignore its increasingly browner and blacker face. By Anthea Butler  •  Read more »

Clergy sexual abuse, the seal of the confessional, troubled demographics and the United Nations

In all the historic child abuse cases in Australia, there seem to be two types of gatekeepers when it comes to reporting by victims.  There may be others in the gatekeeping chain as well. Please advise in the comments.

However, the two types which are evident even to those with poor sight or understanding are the priests in the confessional and the police who are receiving the confessions/allegations/evidence of victims.  Much has been written and discussed about the historic custom of priests keeping quiet about what is said in the confessional.  Of course, these priests can be discomforted when reminded that this "spiritual" silence has two quite dreadful effects.

The first is it comforts the perpetrator who is assured that the silence of the confessional will not be broken and the confession will be protected from police and anyone else.  It does nothing to stop or hinder the perpetrator.

The second is it knocks security from under the feet of the victim. The victim knows that the priest to whom this dreadful knowledge has been imparted will do nothing to assist in the matter if that priest has knowledge given him under the seal of the confessional.

Then there are the police to whom this knowledge is reported.  Many reports have gone to many police who, at least in the past, have chosen to ignore the reportee.  Perhaps because child and adolescent witnesses are, in the eyes of the police, low on the credibility scale.  Perhaps because the priests ensure there are no witnesses or such witnesses as may be are part of the pedophilia secret society.

The Roman Catholic Church has been facing the problem of paedophilia and paedophilia and the confessional for centuries.  Well, to be precise, it has not been facing the problem. It has been dodging it and so it remains in the sewers deep in the foundations of the Roman Church. Not to say that the Roman tradition is alone in this situation.  Many other denominations in the Christian tradition are as well, including traditions which don't practice the Sacrament of Confession.

The Roman Catholic Church is a powerful institution within many sectors of modern human society.  None less so than at the United Nations.  To read more about the relationship of Holy See and the UN please go here.

Even if it is a United Nations Women's Conference or Forum, the Holy See will have its representatives there. Women within the Roman Catholic Church can provide the Holy See with difficulties too.

UN human rights council in Geneva[edit]

In a statement, read out by Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi at a meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva on 22 September 2009, the Holy See stated that the majority of Catholic clergy who had committed acts of sexual abuse against under 18 year olds should not be viewed as paedophiles but homosexuals who are attracted to sex with adolescent males.

The statement said that rather than pedophilia, it would "be more correct" to speak of ephebophilia; being a homosexual attraction to adolescent males ....... "Of all priests involved in the abuses, 80 to 90% belong to this sexual orientation minority which is sexually engaged with adolescent boys between the ages of 11 and 17."^[25][26]

The move angered many gay rights organizations, who claimed it was an attempt by the Vatican to redefine the Church's past problems with pedophilia as problems with homosexuality.^{[27]  (Wikipedia)}

It seems to The Editor of this blog

that, eventually, what will be needed

is something akin to the Nuremberg Trials. 

We need a place in the world where the victims can be recalled.

We need a place in the world where the perpetrators can be revisited, reviled.