"I stood there in the Church and didn't know what to do. I was listening to this lament in a very public place. I wanted to leave, but then I thought I would be seen to be a perpetrator or outed as a victim. So, I sat down and spent the rest of the Mass angry…," said one man, who wrote to me.

The man says he felt used, adding, "I am so sick of apologies; they are just another form of victimisation."

This is the first of a series of stories I received following my initial piece in CathNews.

A nurse also wrote, recalling that at the end of the Mass, she and the other reader sat with the reader asked to lead the lament—without any preparation—and processed what it all meant.

"A truly professional organisation would have offered support to anyone in the congregation impacted by abuse because you never know who is sitting there and what they are experiencing, but there was nothing."

Another person wrote: "The Sunday Mass is no longer a safe place when I am made guilty of the sins of paedophiles, and church leaders who have not led."

A younger person recounted the experience of being "personally blamed for the crimes that others did in my country" during her grandparent's generation.

"To me, the lament does the same, and I know that others also were upset; I just wonder how those who were abused felt?"

Communications blunder

"They did old-form communications, focusing mainly on content rather than modern messaging that also considers the impact," wrote a communications professional.

Nowadays, there is also more than one channel to deliver a suitable message.

Given that most Catholics no longer regularly attend Sunday Mass, using the Mass as a key communications channel is designed for the village; it is pre-digital and shows that if the bishops receive communication advice, the advisors must up their game.

The response I received to my original piece from clergy has been supportive.

Several wrote expressing their distaste for what they had to do and how they had to do it. Some expressed surprise that no network of support was offered.

Having received the material before Sunday Mass, one priest offered pastoral feedback to his bishop on the content and strategy, but the priest says his advice was not taken.

Other priests also wrote saying they modified the lament or ignored it all together.

Sunday Mass

Sunday Mass is a space where the divine and the human meet, a place beyond the pragmatic.

Understanding the nature of liturgical rites and how they function theologically is the work of liturgical theologians, not a dive into the esoteric.

Using a biblical lament during a Sunday Mass is never appropriate.

Biblical laments are placed within penitential services as part of the healing process.

Accordingly, penitential laments change in their structure, language and purpose according to who is lamenting and what is being lamented:

• I lament that I have done this,
• I lament that others have done this to me,
• We lament that we as a people and nation have done this.

Laments should not be used as a cheap ‘apologetic hocus-pocus'.

It also appears that the bishops' liturgical advisors and theologians must up their game.

Representative or actual guilt and accountability

In making these comments, distinguishing between representative guilt, actual guilt and accountability must be more carefully considered.

How do the current group of bishops, congregational leaders and school leaders/Boards carry the representative guilt and accountability for their predecessors' lapses in moral judgment when they do not carry the actual guilt or personal accountability?

Is it reasonable to project representative guilt or accountability onto the general population with little knowledge of what went on, who have had no part in decision-making and those without agency?

The reality of abuse will be the defining historical term of this period of the Church.

Institutional abuse must be addressed on many levels because it is primarily a human reality; and it is through addressing human needs, decision-making and the human experience of being abused that the institution can find a new way of operating.

An approach to moving forward

In order for everyone to move forward with their lives I'd like to suggest three conversations may be appropriate:

• ask survivors what an authentic act of penance or repentance would look like;
• ask survivors and parishioners what a genuine act of restitution for survivors might look like;
• ask survivors, parishioners, and perpetrators what a healing form of public reconciliation might look like.

In these conversations, a synodal approach to the reality of abuse might uncover and communicate more than an apology ever can.

Importantly, these conversations must not be forced on survivors, Sunday Mass-goers, or perpetrators; they should not be seen as conversations that solve the problem so everyone can move on.

Healing

The function of the Royal Commission was to listen, judge, and act by making recommendations. The Royal Commission helps by exposing issues but cannot heal because it is a legal instrument, not a theological one.

Similarly, political reform will only change the functions around abuse prevention, not abuse's ontology.

In contrast, the Christian Church possesses the tools to address abuse beyond legality and functional prevention, and the Church must offer more than a change in the management of abuse prevention.

The Church must forge new pathways to healing and reconciliation by applying the theological truths of faith, hope, and love through our sacramental system and the mercy of the Gospel.

The way forward for Christians is ultimately theological and liturgical because that is how we frame and understand salvation, life, death, meaning and purpose.

Similarly, a radical (from the roots) reform of the exercise of authority in the church needs to be addressed theologically if the experience and complexity of institutional abuse are to be transformative of institutional leadership.

• Dr Joe Grayland is an assistant lecturer in the Department of Liturgy at the University of Wuerzburg (Germany). He has also been a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Palmerston North (New Zealand) for more than 30 years.

In a letter that needed to be short, it is hard to know what language the bishops could have used to make their apology more comprehensive than it is.

Certainly, the apology needed to acknowledge, above all, Church leaders' own failures for inadequate handling of offenders and inadequate support for victims/survivors.

But as leaders, it also fell to them to apologise, as far as possible, for all offending within the Church.

In their own way, I think the bishops were trying to do all this, while acknowledging that "words alone can never replace what was stolen and can never fully restore that which was destroyed."

Responsibility and abuse

But when Joe claims that the bishops fail to take "full responsibility" he seems to mean "sole responsibility," because he says that, "through the apology and the lament", Sunday congregations were being "co-opted into sharing responsibility for their leaders' actions" and called to "become complicit in the leaders' sins".

Surely, the apology needed to encompass the failures of bishops, priests, religious and laity, because anything less would not have respected what victims/survivors have been telling us.

Joe's claim that using the occasion of a Sunday Mass was itself "a subtle form of abuse", and that it had "no rightful place in the Sunday liturgy" is surely unrealistic.

Real life

This was not the time for esoteric distinctions between laments, symbols of shame, public and private repentance, etc. Liturgy has to be incarnate in real life!

Real life includes: the right of victims/survivors and the Catholic people to hear the apology as directly as possible and not just via public media.

In real life, the time when most Catholics gather is at Sunday Masses. In the course of every year, special causes are occasionally featured without prejudice to the Sunday's primary meaning.

In real life, a letter that needs to be short is never going to say everything that everybody wants it to say.

And in real life, most sexual offending occurs in homes or among relatives, and most vocations to priesthood and religious life come from homes. The apology and the lament were an occasion for all of us.

I think our congregations would have been pleased to hear the bishops' apology, and appreciated the opportunity to participate in a form of communal lament, and would have recognised the need for it to be on a Sunday.

• Copy supplied
• Bishop Peter Cullinane (pictured) is Bishop Emeritus, Diocese of Palmerston North.

The man faced complaints from more than one woman before being defrocked (removed from the clerical state).

The former priest - who cannot be named for legal reasons - was defrocked last month.

Written evidence

The Waikato Times says it has a letter from Steve Lowe, Hamilton's former bishop, sent in June 2015.

In it, he said a 2012 complaint was made against the man "for sexualising a pastoral encounter".

That complaint was investigated but not upheld. A further complaint was made in 2014 and the man was "removed from priestly duties" Lowe wrote.

"It was also noted that there was a remarkable similarity between this and the earlier complaint" Lowe said.

Both abuse allegations involved women.

He said the second complaint was upheld and the priest was told there was "no longer any office available to him within the Hamilton Diocese".

"I did, however, grant him the concession to continue to celebrate Mass with the priests at the Tyburn Monastery."

However, further complaints followed.

"I received another letter from concerned parishioners about Father [priest's name]" Lowe wrote.

"They mentioned behaviour at Tyburn Monastery that was unbecoming of a priest and the letter also indicated to me that he had acted in a manner directly disobedient to restrictions I had earlier placed on him."

Lowe finished the letter promising to hold the former priest in his prayers and inviting others to "join me in doing this too".

Allegations denied - no Police charges laid

The Waikato Times says the former priest denies the accusations.

They are "all created" he says.

In a later statement, his lawyer said "All allegations are strongly denied".

The Police have investigated the allegations and "no Police charges were laid" the lawyer said.

He also noted the former priest "is now elderly, retired and wants to live a private life with dignity".

Rejections and legal delays

Lowe says he urged the former priest to return to his country of origin.

He offered to provide an airfare. The offer was declined.

Hamilton Bishop Richard Laurenson says that the former priest's plans to take legal action against Lowe delayed the Church's action to remove him.

"It immediately brought about a stream of civil litigation which froze everything."

He explains that the Church had to stop until civil law concerns were resolved.

Laurenson told the Waikato Times that "contrary to popular belief, a Bishop has very little real power to do much.

"Especially if the cleric employs civil lawyers to fight the situation.

"We rely on the compliance of our priests and the people. If lay people accept a Bishop's statements ...and do not give a censured priest the funds to fight the Bishop, we would not be in the situation we find ourselves in today."

Source

• Waikato Times

After alleging Fr Jerome Kaywell had abused him in 2013 and 2014, the unnamed accuser recanted his claims.

He went on to apologise in writing to Kaywell.

He excused himself, declaring his allegation was the product of a false memory.

The Grammy award-winning priest was subsequently completely cleared of any allegation of sexual misconduct.

His bishop says the matter is closed and Kaywell's good name has been restored.

But Kaywell had "skin in the game".

Between the time the allegation first materialised on 26 January and when the diocese cleared him for pastoral duties on 14 March, a damaging chain reaction set off.

Major investigation

On 26 January Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Florida (Kaywell's diocese) "received notification from a law firm of an allegation against Kaywell of sexual misconduct".

From there fallout flew far and wide.

The bishop's office promptly informed the Police, telling them the alleged victim had been a minor.

Kaywell was immediately placed on administrative leave.

His parishioners learned of the allegation when Dewane wrote informing them of the allegation.

He told them Diocese leaders and community members would be conducting an investigation into the alleged offending.

Not guilty

Even though the complainant soon admitted his faulty memory had created the allegation from nothing, and Police confirmed no criminal accusation had been made, Kaywell's problem didn't just go away.

His diocese continued to investigate the matter on its own account.

This was in accordance with diocesan policy, Dewane says.

The diocesan review board met earlier this month to examine the investigatory report and all aspects of the matter.

Members unanimously concluded that "there was no evidence to support the allegation" Dewane told Kaywell's parishioners.

"The Diocesan Review Board recommended that Father Kaywell be returned to ministry" he wrote.

"I have accepted their recommendation and inform you that Father Kaywell has been returned to ministry, effective immediately.

"Therefore, I consider the matter closed and the good name of Father Jerome Kaywell restored" the bishop confirmed.

Source

• Fox4
• CNA

"We can live our priestly ministry well only immersed in the priestly people from whom we come" advised the pope.

"This belonging to the people — do not ever let us feel separate from the journey of the holy, faithful people of God — protects us, sustains us in our struggles, accompanies us in our pastoral concerns and saves us from the risk of becoming detached from reality and feeling omnipotent" the pope said.

"Watch out because this is also the root of every form of abuse" Francis said, commenting on the sense of superiority exhibited by some clergy.

The pope made these remarks during a conference on the continuing education and formation of priests.

More than 1,000 priests and bishops from some 60 countries attended the 3-day meeting. The conference was sponsored by the dicasteries for Clergy, for Evangelisation and for the Eastern Churches.

Speaking at the Vatican audience hall, Pope Francis expressed gratitude for their dedication. The pontiff hoped the conference would inspire the group to rekindle their passion for their vocation and to share it with fellow priests.

In line with the synod's call for priestly formation to remain integrated with community life, the pope underscored the importance of drawing upon the wisdom and contributions of the faithful.

"Remember your roots, your history, the history of your family and the history of your people" he said. "A priest is not born by spontaneous generation; either he is of God's people or he is an aristocrat who ends up neurotic."

Life of service

Pope Francis emphasised the vocation of priests is to serve. He underscored that their formation in service entails more than just imparting knowledge. But, he stressed, it also involves focusing on others, revealing their virtues and complexities, and addressing their needs.

He highlighted the necessity for seminarians and priests to receive similar support, "encouraging their journey, assisting them in discernment, accompanying them in their difficulties and supporting them amid pastoral challenges."

Echoing his frequent call for mercy, Pope Francis urged priests to be forgiving.

"When people come to confession, they come to ask for forgiveness and not to hear a lecture on theology. Please be merciful. Always forgive, because forgiveness has this grace of embracing, of welcoming. I urge you: always forgive."

Sources

UCA News

CathNews New Zealand

"A synodal Church is a listening Church… but it needs to go a step further: a synodal Church is an accountable Church and an accountable Church needs to be synodal," said Myriam Wijlens, (pictured) a canon law professor at the University of Erfurt, Germany.

The synodality and accountability in Catholic Church are deeply interconnected, Wijlens, a member of the Coordinating Commission of the Synod on Synodality, said during a wide-ranging interview with Polish Catholic quarterly Wiez.

The first phase of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops started in the Vatican on 4 October and is scheduled to end on 29 October.

The second phase will be held next October.

The bishops' synod is part of the ongoing global Synod on Synodality which was started by Pope Francis on Oct. 10, 2021.

The synod in the Vatican "is a meeting within the larger Synod. It is a special moment within the Synod of the Church," Wijlens said.

Pope Francis's suggestion to bishops' conferences to reflect on the accountability aspect of its members in 2019 was due to the inefficient response from bishops towards abuse allegations, she said.

"The Church became aware that there was the abuse of minors by clergy, but there was also a severe problem in that those in leadership had not acted in accordance with the responsibility flowing from their office as bishop," Wijlens said.

The "Instrumentum laboris" - the guiding document for the synod had questions that discussed the accountability of bishops and the role of women in it, she pointed out.

The document has questions such as "How can bishops be more accountable?" and a separate section on women which asks, "How women [can] assist the Church in being more accountable?"

Wijlens said that the priority was to "complete the work of making accountability well seated in theory, in theology and canon law."

In 2020, Pope Francis through a motu proprio, a papal document personally signed by the pope, titled "Vos estis lux mundi" (You Are the Light of the World) ordered bishops worldwide to report cases of clergy sex crimes to the police even when not legally bound to do so.

The Vatican's manual for bishops and religious superiors details the process for conducting in-house investigations into allegations of priests who rape and molest minors and vulnerable adults.

Wijlens suggested that independent judges who take a neutral approach toward the evaluation of abuse cases are better suited than local bishops as there is a possibility of bias when they may have to investigate each other.

"We need independent judges not only because the bishops might need to investigate each other and that would not help the issue of credibility.

"We also see that those who conduct these investigations need to have expertise in collecting evidence, weighing it, etc," she said.

She recommended the engaging of laity or "judges in civil courts who have special training," to investigate abuse cases.

She also pointed out that the implementation of any changes related to accountability or women's participation in the Catholic Church cannot be achieved at a uniform scale globally.

"A challenge is certainly that not all places go with the same speed and that thus not all are at the same point in implementing being an accountable Church," Wijlens said.

Based on her experience in the Synodal consultations in Europe, Wijlens said that a desire for transparency was exhibited by the Church leadership.

She referred to the synodal meeting in Prague which was open to journalists.

"Their presence gave expression to the desire to be transparent. That too had an impact on the meeting," she said.

Wijlens pointed out that the meeting had 49 women as participants in contrast to only 42 bishops among the total 200 participants, showing increased participation of women in Church reforms.

She also called for the need to develop various structures of accountability based on the "context of where people live."

"We should strengthen diocesan pastoral councils, parish pastoral councils and search for ways how this participation may be better developed," Wijlens said.

She pointed out that one of the key needs is to create an awareness among the Catholic clergy "to bring the laity as the center of the Church."

"We first need a change of mentality. Because we may have rules and procedures for everything, but it will not stop people from not implementing them. Internal awareness is absolutely crucial," she said.

"This change will not happen overnight, but things are developing already. A synodal process is a journey in this direction. The train has begun to ride, and we won't be able to stop it," she added.

• Professor Myriam Wijlens is a Dutch theologian and professor of canon law at the University of Erfurt (Germany), a clerical sexual abuse expert in civilian courts regarding Church liability, a canonical delegate for penal investigations and a policy writer.
• Republished from UCANews.com

It is two years since the original step-by-step guide was released.

Called "Version 2.0", the updated guidelines provide a new section of the Code of Canon Law dealing with crimes and punishments in the Church.

"Book VI: Penal Sanctions in the Church" went into effect last December and was the result of almost two decades of work which clarifies, updates, adds and strengthens the Code's list of crimes and provisions available for sanctioning the guilty.

As a step-by-step guide, the "Vademecum on certain points of procedure in treating cases of sexual abuse of minors committed by clerics" was updated to include references to the revised canons.

The dicastery says the text "does not have the force of law". Rather, "it is intended to meet a growing need for knowledge" about the procedures to be followed when accusations of abuse are made.

The Vademecum's revision also reflects contributions from "academic centres and studies in the field that have come in the last two years," as well as suggestions made by those who work with victims and survivors of abuse, the dicastery says.

The changes are minor ones, however.

Specific changes

New reference numbers have been provided for many of the canons.

All instances of the word "congregation" have been changed to "dicastery" in accordance with the pope's reform of the Roman Curia.

The original 2020 guidelines included a statement saying "The anonymity of the source should not automatically lead to considering the report as false".

The updated guidelines repeat and expand the guidelines to add "... especially when it is accompanied by documentation that attests to the likelihood of a delict".

The updated "Norms regarding delicts reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith" published in October 2021 have also been tweaked.

It is no longer simply advisable for an accused cleric to be assisted by a lawyer or advocate. That is now mandatory. The accused can choose his own counsel or one will be appointed for him.

Source

• CruxNow

They allege the commission won't look into all sexual abuse of minors but only those committed by members of the Catholic Church.

Of Spain's 15,000 open cases, the vast majority were committed by people who are not part of the Church.

"We want to state that to carry out an investigation of abuses only in the church, when it is clear that out of 15,000 open cases in Spain, only 69 refer to the church, is a surprising decision," says Bishop Luis Argüello, spokesman of the Spanish bishops' conference (pictured).

The regional government of Catalonia's investigation makes more sense, he says. It will look into all cases of abuse of minors, including those committed by the Church.

Argüello says the bishops have informed the national government of their decision, although they will "collaborate with civil authorities" within the framework demanded by Spanish law.

Argüello is also calling for "collaboration and prudence so as not to exaggerate and not to revictimise the victims."

In March, the Spanish congress voted in favour of creating a commission of experts responsible for conducting the first nationwide investigation into clerical sexual abuse in the country.

Just days earlier, the bishops' conference announced that it would carry out its own investigation into historical abuse cases, along the lines of other conferences in the US, Ireland, France and Portugal.

There is no official data on the size of the problem. However, a 2018 Spanish newspaper El País investigation identified 1,246 victims since the 1930s.

The Cremades law firm will carry out both the church and state investigations.

Argüello said the church's approach to opening the diocesan archives "will be carried out taking into account civil and canonical legislation and the law on data protection."

He warns the archives may not be as useful as some might hope.

For instance, in a recent case they investigated, a spokesperson says "We have had no evidence, either in diocesan documents or in people close to the person denounced."

Some victims' associations are wary of the Cremades law firm that will carry out the bishops' review, because it is founded and led by a member of Opus Dei.

Given this, Argüello is appealing to all victims and "those who know of cases of abuse" to "use any channel they consider necessary to report" abuse - the justice system, the media, or the church.

He also suggested survivors take part in the investigation being carried out by the Cremades law firm or the one by the Ombudsman's office.

Argüello explained that the prelates' desire for Cremades to undertake an external audit has been motivated by two things: an evaluation of the work being carried out at a diocesan level and the pressure from the media.

What matters is what society as a whole can do together, without the church "assuming the role of a scapegoat, so that an awareness arises in society that ensures the problem of abuse can be addressed in its full magnitude," he says.

Source

• Crux Now
• Image: Alfa y Omega

Christopher Longhurst, who coordinates Aotearoa New Zealand's Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) was commenting on the likelihood of Benedict's knowledge of instances of abuse.

Longhurst is also a respected Dogmatic Theologian at the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' theological college.

He posited his question in mid-January after German law firm Westpfal, Spilker, Wastl released a report on the handling of sexual abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.

The independent report found between 1945-2019 at least 235 priests sexually abused "497 known victims".

On Tuesday 8 February, the Vatican released a "confessional" letter from Benedict in response to the charges made against him.

In his letter, he asks for forgiveness for any "grievous faults" in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases when he was archbishop of Munich. He admitted to no personal or specific wrongdoing, however.

He does take personal responsibility and asks forgiveness for "the abuses and the errors" that occurred on his watch when he held different positions of great responsibility in the church, not just in Munich but also in Rome.

"I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church," he noted.

"All the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate. Each individual case of sexual abuse is appalling and irreparable.

"The victims of sexual abuse have my deepest sympathy and I feel great sorrow for each individual case".

Ironically, among those accused of failing in their duty of care as leaders is Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who commissioned the independent report. Since 2017 he has twice failed to inform the Vatican of abuse allegations.

Benedict, as the former cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, headed the archdiocese from 1977 to 1982. The lawyers found he did not act appropriately in four sexual abuse cases after having been made aware of them.

Soon after the report's release, Benedict sent 82 pages of observations to its authors, strongly denying any allegations of covering up cases.

A couple days later, he wrote to the authors again, apologising for mistakenly saying he did not attend a disputed ordinariate meeting in 1980 regarding the Munich assignment of a priest accused of abuse. He had attended the meeting, he said.

"Full responsibility" for the assignment was taken by former vicar general Father Gerhard Gruber in 2010.

Eleven days after the independent report's release, German Bishops' Conference president Bishop Georg Bätzing said Benedict should apologise for his role in the Church sex abuse scandal and accept faults in the alleged cover-up of cases.

Source

• Supplied - SNAP Aotearoa New Zealand
• Law.com
• La Croix
• America
• Sky.com
• uCatholic
• Image: CNN

Father Hans Zollner SJ said progress is being made to deal with the problem of clerical sexual abuse.

Speaking of recent reforms ahead of this week's three-day summit on child protection taking place in Poland, Zollner said new legal tools drafted over the past few years mean bishops know what's required of them.

While there's still a lot of work needed regarding awareness and safeguarding, on a general level, people in the Church now are taking the problem of clerical sexual abuse "much more seriously," Zollner said.

Pope Francis has worked hard on the problem of clerical abuse and the urgent need for proper handling of cases that arise, Zollner noted.

His work has resulted in new legislation for Vatican City passed in May 2019. This requires all clerics and religious to report abuse cases to Church authorities, including abuse committed by bishops or cardinals. In December 2019 Francis also abolished the pontifical secret in clerical abuse cases.

Besides the above, Zollner says last year the Vatican released its handbook on handling abuse cases, which outlines the procedures to follow if an ordained minister is accused of abusing a minor.

Given the clarity of these arrangements, Zollner said bishops "have no excuse" not to follow them. The lifting of the pontifical secret specifically "gives no excuse whatsoever to deny collaboration with state authorities," he added.

A workshop on "Safeguarding God's Children" was held at the Polish summit this week.

The workshop aimed to help increase awareness of clerical abuse throughout central and eastern Europe. It also sought to inform bishops of their current legal responsibilities and the procedures to follow if allegations of abuse arise.

Learning these best practices is of special relevance in Poland. Over the past few years, massive public clerical abuse scandals have emerged. Within the past year, 10 bishops have been removed from their positions and sanctioned by the Vatican, for abuse and cover-up.

Most Polish bishops are currently being scrutinised as scandals continue to come out.

Although most of the abuse cases rocking Poland are decades old, the mishandling of cases has been damaging to the Church's image, Zollner said. He suspects other countries will discover abuse cases when they start investigating.

The workshop also addressed the problem of clerical abuse from a theological and spiritual perspective.

Zollner said his biggest piece of advice is to "acknowledge the truth."

"Despite the fact that it may shock you, it may challenge your image of the Church, of Church representatives, including priests and bishops; it may challenge your faith in God. Despite all of this, we need to face it," he said.

"We have to stand with all those who have been harmed and we have to share the harm that has been done by the hands of those who spoke and acted in the name of God."

In a video message sent to workshop participants, Pope Francis said that "Only by facing the truth of these cruel behaviors and humbly seeking the forgiveness of survivors will the Church be able to find its way to be once again confidently considered a place of welcome and safety for those in need."

Source

• CruxNow
• Image: The Catholic Leader

The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago confirmed Chicago priest Michael Pfleger has been released and will be reinstated.

Pfleger is a nationally known activist.

Four months ago when the archdiocese asked Pfleger to step aside, his parish was told the archdiocese's Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review had received a sex abuse allegation against Pfleger.

He was alleged to have sexually abused a minor more than 40 years ago. Three accusers ultimately came forward, with one saying he was 18 when Pfleger sexually abused him.

In a letter to the parish, Cardinal Blase Cupich said he had accepted the finding of the Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review and the archdiocese's Independent Review Board.

A diocesan spokeswoman said the Independent Review Board's letter on its findings used the term "insufficient reason" to describe its findings.

Cupich said Pfleger's would be reinstated in his parish from this weekend.

"I have asked Father Pfleger to take the next two weeks to prepare himself spiritually and emotionally to return, realizing that these months have taken a great toll on him," Cupich said. "He has agreed to do so."

Pfleger, who is white, had fierce support from leaders and parishioners at St. Sabina, a Black church in the city's largely Black and low-income neighbourhood.

Parishioners cheered as he arrived for a news conference outside St. Sabina on Monday.

Upset by the Pfleger's removal, they had tied up the archdiocese's phone lines, held rallies, sent letters and threatened to withhold $100,000 in monthly dues.

Pfleger told the crowd that he will return to work emboldened, stronger and "more ready to fight than ever in my life", focusing on violence and inequality in their neighbourhood and Chicago.

"False accusations were put out against me … and I was immediately put out," Pfleger said.

"You're guilty until proven innocent. And it's been hell."

He thanked church leaders and parishioners for supporting him in the "most difficult and challenging time" that made him frustrated, angry, depressed and discouraged.

"I'm a man of faith, but I'm also a human being who hurts and who bleeds," he said.

"I've been discouraged at times. I wanted to give up … but I love this church too much to walk away."

Eugene Hollander, an attorney for the accusers, said his clients are considering filing a lawsuit.

Two brothers, now in their 60s, alleged in January that Pfleger groomed them as children and abused them at rectories in the Chicago area. They accused him of taking advantage of two Black boys who trusted him.

A third man later accused Pfleger of grabbing his crotch over his clothes in 1979.

In a separate review of the allegations, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services completed its own investigation in February.

It concluded there was no credible evidence of child abuse or neglect by Pfleger.

Source

• The Grio

The Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care (IADC) will open next September at the start of the 2021-2022 academic year.

Its purpose is to facilitate "interdisciplinary studies on human dignity and the care of vulnerable persons."

The Jesuit-run university's new institute symbolizes the church's changed approach to a problem that has widened far beyond the church, says Rev. Hans Zollner, the president of the CCP and a leading figure in the Vatican's efforts on the issue.

"Since the Center for Child Protection's establishment nearly a decade ago, we have begun to see new dimensions of abuse scandals," said Zollner. He is also a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors created by Pope Francis in 2014.

Zollner cited the #MeToo movement and reports of abuse in military organizations, the United Nations and other non-governmental organizations.

In the Catholic Church, Zollner added, there has been a growing number of cases of "spiritual abuse, coercive control and abuse of power" against lay and religious women.

"I firmly believe that these sorts of conversations and networking opportunities will be essential to making real, lasting change happen," said Zollner. "No one organization, country, religion, culture, etc., can provide all the answers for how to protect and defend all who are at risk of being abused."

In 2019 Francis issued a series of guidelines and decrees that included vulnerable adults to be protected alongside children.

Removing the focus on children in the name of the Institute of Anthropology "certainly shows our desire to emphasize our commitment to safeguarding all human beings," Zollner said. He also said it would focus on "recognizing the vast problem of abuse of adults."

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Religion News

La Croix International

During its investigation, the Royal Commission will select themes, settings or institutions as case studies of abuse.

It may conduct research and examine relevant matters in public hearings, roundtables, hui and fono.

What happened and why?
In considering the voices and experiences of victims and survivors of abuse in the care of the Catholic Church, the Inquiry will investigate and make findings on what happened and why by examining:

a. The circumstances in which children, young persons and vulnerable adults were in the care of the Catholic Church, including where the Catholic Church provided care on behalf of the State.

b. The nature and extent of abuse of children, young persons and vulnerable adults in the care of the Catholic Church.

c. The impact, including any differential impact, of abuse on victims and survivors, and on their families, whanau, hapu, iwi and communities. This will include consideration of:

• Principles of Tikanga Maori when considering the impacts of abuse on Maori victims and survivors
• Pacific cultural norms and values when considering the impact of abuse on victims and survivors among Pacific People
• The impact of abuse on religious beliefs held by victims and survivors
• Particular impacts related to disability and mental illness, including additional barriers to understanding and recognising abuse, disclosing abuse, accessing specialist wellbeing supports to respond to trauma and receiving redress.

d. Whether individuals experienced abuse in the care of the Catholic Church because of nationality, race, ethnicity, religious belief, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or physical or intellectual disability or mental health status.

e. Any structural, systemic, practical or other factors that caused or contributed to the abuse of children, young persons and vulnerable adults in the care of the Catholic Church.

f. The adequacy of any actions by the Catholic Church to prevent and respond to abuse in its care, including any lessons learned and changes made.

g. The adequacy of the Catholic Church's redress and rehabilitation processes for victims and survivors of abuse in its care.

h. Any applicable domestic and international human rights law.

i. Any applicable principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Inquiry will assess and make recommendations on:
a. The Catholic Church's current structures and frameworks, any gaps in legislation, canon law, Church policy, rules, standards and practices that require change to prevent and respond to abuse in its care.
b. Any changes required to the Catholic Church's redress, rehabilitation and compensation processes for victims and survivors of abuse in its care.
c. Any other steps the Catholic Church should take to address the harm caused by the abuse in its care.

Where relevant, the Inquiry may make findings of fault or that relevant standards have been breached, or both.

The Inquiry does not have the power to determine the canonical, civil, criminal or disciplinary liability of any person but may make recommendations that further steps be taken to determine liability.

Source

• abuseincare.org.nz
• Image:

Archbishop Peter Loy Chong was responding to a news report on TVNZ by pacific correspondent, Barbara Dreaver.

For the last year, 1 NEWS has been investigating claims of historic sexual abuse against children in Fiji's Catholic church.

Dreaver was in Fiji just before lockdown and spoke to a number of Fijians who say as children they were abused and raped by New Zealand and Australian priests, brothers and teachers.

In making his apology Chong said:

"First and foremost, I empathise with people who are victims of sexual abuse."

"I empathise with their hurt, anger, trauma and feelings.

I empathise with the pain that victims and their families have experienced and continue to experience.

I empathise with the brokenness they have to live with and affect the way they relate to others.

As head of the Fiji Catholic Church, I feel ashamed with the behaviour of our church personnel.

I feel angry. There is a heaviness in my heart yesterday and today.

My first reaction was not to want (to) talk to the media.

On behalf of the Catholic Church in Fiji, I express our remorse for past failures and extend our sincere regret and deep sympathy to peoples-victims of sexual abuse.

The Church apologises unreservedly for any abuse perpetrated by clergy or religious. Sexual abusers have failed the ‘Sixth Commandment' - You must not commit adultery."

Listen to the Archbishop's apology.

The Fiji Sun reported that the archbishop also said:

"Sexual abuse is a serious problem in our society, not only in Catholic Church.

On behalf of the Catholic Church I apologise to victims of abuse, to their families, and to Fijian society - for the hurts inflicted on them by some of our priests, brothers and lay workers," he said.

"The overwhelming number of priests and religious are faithful men and women who share the horror and grief that all people feel when sexual abuse is brought to light."

"The procedures the Archdiocese of Suva follows today represent a serious and genuine effort to help victims of abuse and to eradicate sexual abuse from the Church.

We continue to work to learn from past experience and from the experience of victims to ensure that the danger of sexual abuse is prevented in the future."

"For the Church and for the Archdiocese of Suva, prevention, justice and healing for victims of sexual abuse always come first."

TVNZ reports that the Royal Commission of Inquiry into abuse in care is seeking information about New Zealand priests and other religious perpetrators who were moved to the Pacific.

Source

• tvnz.co.nz
• tvnz.co.nz
• fijisun,com
• fijivillage.com
• Image: fijivillage.com

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. 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. Read more

Zollner is one of the Church's leading experts in child protection.

There are two sides to this problem, Zollner says.

One is with "the hierarchy not involving the gifts of a wide variety of faithful".

The other is with "laypeople who enable a paternalistic attitude by believing bishops to be omniscient and having the power to affect immediate change."

"What I want to affirm is that every baptized person is co-responsible for the holiness of the Church and needs to be prayerful about that and take action so that the community of the Church is ever more a witness to the Gospel."

Looking at the abuse issue from a theological perspective will help understand what went wrong in terms of the image of the Church and its hierarchy that many had, Zollner says.

It will also deepen the concepts of justice, forgiveness and redemption.

"A 'clericalist attitude' could lead one to believe the Church only has a patriarchal structure or that only priests are important," he says.

"However, I think it is important to affirm that it is also very much matriarchal. In every age, prophetic women have been leaders."

He cites Dorothy Day, Mary MacKillop, Frances of Rome, Hildegard von Bingen, the early church "matriarch" Saint Macrina, and Mary the Mother of God herself as examples of women who "carried out their missions, which were often in tension with what some men in their lives wanted".

In the year since the Vatican's summit on the protection of minors and vulnerable people, Zollner says the Vatican City State adopted new laws and guidelines.

These include Pope Francis's motu proprio Vos Estis Lux Mundi, which he announced last May.

This outlined the responsibilities of bishops, extended the concept of protection of "vulnerable persons," and established the obligation to report any case of abuse to church authorities.

Last December Francis announced the abolition of the Pontifical Secret in cases of sexual violence and abuse of minors by clergy.

He modified the legislation raising the age of minors from 14 to 18 years old in what constitutes a crime of possession of material that sexually exploits children under the "delicta graviora".

He also made it possible for lay canon lawyers to take part in the legal processes.

Most recently, Francis established a task force that will help bishops' conferences and others to prepare and update guidelines for protecting minors and vulnerable persons.

Lay movements are a priority area to tackle in terms of the fight against abuse, Zollner says.

The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life is taking "a very serious approach in this, and they are in the process of collecting guidelines from the various movements, which are very diverse in size and resources," he says.

Source

• Crux
• Image: America Magazine

In her letter to the pope (which she published on her personal website on 26 February) McAleese said she was "disturbed by aspects" of the L'Arche investigation into Vanier which "implicate the Holy See in a way that demands explanation."

She pointed to Vanier's relationship with Father Thomas Philippe OP, who was implicated in the sexual abuse of women during spiritual counseling from the 1950's.

"Given that vulnerable men and women were the intended beneficiaries of L'Arche and that Vanier was consistently lauded by the Church at the highest level without the remotest suggestion that there was anything worrying in his character it is essential that the Holy See now explains how it came to so publicly commend a man whose predatory proclivities it was aware of," her letter says.

"What steps if any did the Holy See take to interrupt the growth of the powerful cult of Vanier by warning the many good men and women who trusted him in good faith that he had an alarming past?"

"I have no doubt that L'Arche will recover and continue its great work for it has its owns integrity which is more than capable of transcending the Vanier betrayal. I am not so sure about whether trust in the Holy See will recover so easily," she said.

"Many times in recent years I have had reason to despair at the failures at papal, episcopal and Curial level regarding the protection of vulnerable children and the vindication of victims. Rebuilding trust is a work in the very early stages of progress."

"If ... the Holy See failed to act to protect members of the L'Arche community by alerting them to the known predatory activities of Vanier and Philippe ... this will be my final line of least resistance."

"I could not in conscience continue to support an institution capable of such gross negligence."

McAleese has a canon law degree from Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University.

Vanier founded L'Arche in 1964 to work with the intellectually disabled.

He developed a community model where people with disabilities lived with the people who assisted them.

Although Vanier was a Catholic, L'Arche isn't affiliated with any religious denomination.

After Vanier's death last year, Francis thanked God for his ministry and called him a "great witness."

Late last month, L'Arche International announced that credible complaints has led them to believe Vanier had sexually abused at least six women under the pretext of spiritual counseling.

Source

• Crux Now
• Image: The Irish Times

The group, who included some of the Argentinian survivors as well as advocacy leaders for abuse victims, also said little progress had been made since the Feb. 21-24 summit last year on protection of minors in the Church. Read more

The first nun, who is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, has said that Bishop Mulakkal, 55, raped her during his May 2014 visit to her convent in Kuravilangad, in Kerala.

In a 72-page complaint to police, filed in June 2018, she alleged that the bishop sexually abused her more than a dozen times over two years. Read more

The bishops' conference launched a two-year "synodal procedure" for church reform last weekend, on the first Sunday of Advent.

Working together with the lay Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), special synodal candles were lit before Mass in all 27 German cathedrals and the four co-cathedrals.

Conference president Cardinal Reinhard Marx and ZdK vice-president of the ZdK, Karin Kortmann, lit the synodal candle together in Munich Cathedral during Mass.

Marx's homily stressed the importance of listening to one another and reaching consensus, despite differences of opinion.

"After the ghastly experience of discovering that clerical sexual abuse occurred in the Church, it is now crucial to examine systemic dangers like bad governance".

"In order once again to become credible witnesses of joy and hope, we will have to remove certain obstacles."

In a video message after Mass, Marx and ZdK president Thomas Sternberg said: "Credibility is an absolute must and we want to regain it through self-critical discussion."

The next two years will see the synodal procedure focusing on resolving two specific systemic problems in particular.

These problems have resulted in the Church fostering abuse and standing in the way of credibly proclaiming the Gospel message.

In a combined letter to the German Faithful weekend, Cardinal Marx and Sternberg said it was time to admit "self-critically" that the Gospel message had been "obscured and even terribly damaged", particularly by the clerical sexual abuse of minors.

"We must take the consequences and make sure the Church is a safe place," they said.

Four days before the synodal procedure was officially launched, a group of diocesan press spokesmen from 12 dioceses called on the media's critical cooperation.

"Particularly as far as scandals, crises and conflicts are concerned, the only thing that helps is as much transparency as possible.

"We would be grateful if the media were to accompany this crucial debate on the future of the Catholic Church in Germany," they said.

Several bishops have spoken out about their hopes and fears regarding the procedure in sermons and interviews.

Among these was Cardinal Walter Kasper, emeritus President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.

He said he hoped the participants in the four synodal procedure forums on "power and checks and balances", "sexual morality", "the priestly lifestyle" and "women's place in the Church" would "earnestly listen to one another and not just exchange maximum demands, otherwise the whole project will go wrong".

He himself was still "somewhat sceptical", he said.

In Bishop Heiner Wilmer's opinion, the discussions won't be easy and the German Church will be a different Church afterwards.

"It will certainly be more participatory and more feminine," he said.

Source

• The Tablet
• Image: Catholic World Report