Ahead of summit, Cupich discusses sex abuse, homosexuality, priestly formation
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.”
Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna of Malta and Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, members of the organizing committee for the Feb. 21-24, Vatican meeting on the protection of minors in the church, attend a press conference to preview the meeting at the Vatican Feb. 18, 2019. Also pictured is Alessandro Gisotti, interim Vatican spokesman. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
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.
The Vatican’s sex abuse summit, to be held Feb. 21 – 24, will focus on the themes of responsibility, accountability, and transparency. Cupich was appointed by Pope Francis as a member of the organizing committee for the conference on the worldwide protection of minors in the Church.
Speaking at a press conference Feb. 18, Cupich took questions from the media along with other members of the organizing committee, including Father Hans Zollner, SJ, and Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta.
Scicluna, who oversaw the investigation into the sexual abuse crisis in Chile last year, also serves as Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The global meeting of 190 global Catholic leaders on sex abuse measures highlights the “synodality” and “collegiality” in the Church in tackling these issues, Cupich explained.
“The Holy Father does want episcopal conferences to take responsibility, that was never a question, but we have to do it in such a way that we work together with each other — that is part of synodality — that is part of collegiality that this conference wanted to highlight,” he said.
In November, the Vatican intervened in the meeting of U.S. bishops to vote on a plan to address instances of episcopal sexual misconduct, which included the creation of a code of conduct for bishops, a whistleblower hotline, and the establishment of an independent lay-led team of experts charged with investigating allegations made against bishops.
“With regard to the November meeting in Baltimore among the bishops, it was clear that — talking with the bishops beforehand even before we knew about this — that the proposal submitted by the bishops was problematic for many. I believe that it would not have received the 2/3rds vote anyway,” Cupich said.
“I think that in many ways that Holy See did us a great favor in pointing out some areas that already were problematic for a number of bishops,” he continued.
“Now this meeting with allow a pathway forward so that what we do in the United States will be in line with the expectations with the rest of the world, so I think it was an important moment to step in,” he added.
The American cardinal emphasized the success of screening efforts in U.S. seminaries in preventing sexual abuse of minors.
“When you put in proper screening processes for seminaries as we have in the United States, you see that the instances of abuse drop dramatically. And so it is incumbent on our part to be responsible and accountable at that level of admitting candidates into the seminaries,” Cupich said.
“The screening is important, not in terms of homosexuality, but in terms of … if someone has an attitude with regarding sexuality that is not in keeping with the Church or that the protection of children is important or that there are other factors as well that made them high risk because of their own psyche,” he continued.
Father Hans Zollner, president of the Center for the Protection of Minors at the Pontifical Gregorian University as well as member of the summit organizing committee, clarified that “a psychological test or interview can never determine whether someone is homosexual or a higher risk” to commit sexual abuse with 100 percent certainty.
Zollner emphasized that this week’s meeting for the protection of minors will focus on the responsibility of the Church to address this issue at a global level, but in a way which can be applicable in a diversity of cultural contexts.
He explained that the Vatican had administered a survey seeking to identify how Church leaders perceive the topic of abuse very differently in their countries, and would use the results to “help achieve a synodal Church.”
The survey results will be released at a later date, Zollner said.
On day two of the summit, Cardinal Cupich will give a presentation on accountability. Cupich has titled his talk, “Synodality: Jointly Responsible.”
Transparency will be one of the most important topics in the upcoming abuse conference, said Scicluna.
“Denial … is a primitive mechanism that we need to move away from, and so whether it is criminal or malicious complicity in a code of silence or whether it is denial, which is trauma in its very primitive state, we need to go away from that and that’s why the third day of this important meeting is going to be on transparency.”
“We have to face the facts, because only the truth of the matter … and confronting the facts will make us free,” Scicluna said.
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Pope Francis presides at the celebration of Second Vespers of the Solemnity of the Conversion of St. Paul at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, Jan. 25, 2021. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Jan 25, 2022 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
Pope Franci… […]
Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 5, 2016. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
CNA Staff, Mar 13, 2024 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
March 13 marks the anniversary of the election of Pope Francis as the 266th successor of St. Peter. Here is a timeline of key events during his papacy:
2013
March 13 — About two weeks after Pope Benedict XVI steps down from the papacy, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio is elected pope. He takes the papal name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi and proclaims from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Let us begin this journey, the bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another.”
March 14 — The day after he begins his pontificate, Pope Francis returns to his hotel to personally pay his hotel bill and collect his luggage.
July 8 — Pope Francis visits Italy’s island of Lampedusa and meets with a group of 50 migrants, most of whom are young men from Somalia and Eritrea. The island, which is about 200 miles off the coast of Tunisia, is a common entry point for migrants who flee parts of Africa and the Middle East to enter Europe. This is the pope’s first pastoral visit outside of Rome and sets the stage for making reaching out to the peripheries a significant focus.
Pope Francis gives the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. Elise Harris/CNA.
July 23-28 — Pope Francis visits Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in World Youth Day 2013. More than 3 million people from around the world attend the event.
July 29 — On the return flight from Brazil, Pope Francis gives his first papal news conference and sparks controversy by saying “if a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” The phrase is prompted by a reporter asking the pope a question about priests who have homosexual attraction.
Nov. 24 — Pope Francis publishes his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). The document illustrates the pope’s vision for how to approach evangelization in the modern world.
2014
Feb. 22 — Pope Francis holds his first papal consistory to appoint 19 new cardinals, including ones from countries in the developing world that have never previously been represented in the College of Cardinals, such as Haiti.
March 22 — Pope Francis creates the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The commission works to protect the dignity of minors and vulnerable adults, such as the victims of sexual abuse.
Pope Francis greets pilgrims during his general audience on Nov. 29, 2014. Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Oct. 5 — The Synod on the Family begins. The bishops discuss a variety of concerns, including single-parent homes, cohabitation, homosexual adoption of children, and interreligious marriages.
Dec. 6 — After facing some pushback for his efforts to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis discusses his opinion in an interview with La Nacion, an Argentine news outlet: “Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement. It’s healthy to get things out into the open, it’s very healthy.”
2015
Jan. 18 — To conclude a trip to Asia, Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Manila, Philippines. Approximately 6 million to 7 million people attend the record-setting Mass, despite heavy rain.
March 23 — Pope Francis visits Naples, Italy, to show the Church’s commitment to helping the fight against corruption and organized crime in the city.
May 24 — To emphasize the Church’s mission to combat global warming and care for the environment, Pope Francis publishes the encyclical Laudato Si’, which urges people to take care of the environment and encourages political action to address climate problems.
Pope Francis at a Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 17, 2015. Bohumil Petrik.
Sept. 19-22 — Pope Francis visits Cuba and meets with Fidel Castro in the first papal visit to the country since Pope John Paul II in 1998. During his homily, Francis discusses the dignity of the human person: “Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it.”
Sept. 22-27 — After departing from Cuba, Pope Francis makes his first papal visit to the United States. In Washington, D.C., he speaks to a joint session of Congress, in which he urges lawmakers to work toward promoting the common good, and canonizes the Franciscan missionary St. Junípero Serra. He also attends the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which focuses on celebrating the gift of the family.
Pope Francis speaks to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 24, 2015. . L’Osservatore Romano.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis begins the second Synod on the Family to address issues within the modern family, such as single-parent homes, cohabitation, poverty, and abuse.
Oct. 18 — The pope canonizes St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azélie “Zelie” Guérin. The married couple were parents to five nuns, including St. Therese of Lisieux. They are the first married couple to be canonized together.
Dec. 8 — Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy begins. The year focuses on God’s mercy and forgiveness and people’s redemption from sin. The pope delegates certain priests in each diocese to be Missionaries of Mercy who have the authority to forgive sins that are usually reserved for the Holy See.
2016
March 19 — Pope Francis publishes the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which discusses a wide variety of issues facing the modern family based on discussions from the two synods on the family. The pope garners significant controversy from within the Church for comments he makes in Chapter 8 about Communion for the divorced and remarried.
April 16 — After visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis allows three Muslim refugee families to join him on his flight back to Rome. He says the move was not a political statement.
Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Feb. 24, 2016. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
July 26-31 — Pope Francis visits Krakow, Poland, as part of the World Youth Day festivities. About 3 million young Catholic pilgrims from around the world attend.
Sept. 4 — The pope canonizes St. Teresa of Calcutta, who is also known as Mother Teresa. The saint, a nun from Albania, dedicated her life to missionary and charity work, primarily in India.
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 — Pope Francis visits Georgia and Azerbaijan on his 16th trip outside of Rome since the start of his papacy. His trip focuses on Catholic relations with Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to Amatrice, Italy, to pray for the victims of an earthquake in central Italy that killed nearly 300 people.
2017
May 12-13 — In another papal trip, Francis travels to Fatima, Portugal, to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. May 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Marian apparition to three children in the city.
July 11 — Pope Francis adds another category of Christian life suitable for the consideration of sainthood: “offering of life.” The category is distinct from martyrdom, which only applies to someone who is killed for his or her faith. The new category applies to those who died prematurely through an offering of their life to God and neighbor.
Pope Francis greets a participant in the World Day of the Poor in Rome, Nov. 16, 2017. L’Osservatore Romano.
Nov. 19 — On the first-ever World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis eats lunch with 4,000 poor and people in need in Rome.
Nov. 27-Dec. 2 — In another trip to Asia, Pope Francis travels to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He visits landmarks and meets with government officials, Catholic clergy, and Buddhist monks. He also preaches the Gospel and promotes peace in the region.
2018
Jan. 15-21 — The pope takes another trip to Latin America, this time visiting Chile and Peru. The pontiff meets with government officials and members of the clergy while urging the faithful to remain close to the clergy and reject secularism. The Chilean visit leads to controversy over Chilean clergy sex abuse scandals.
Aug. 2 — The Vatican formally revises No. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which concerns the death penalty. The previous text suggested the death penalty could be permissible in certain circumstances, but the revision states that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”
Aug. 25 — Archbishop Carlo Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States, publishes an 11-page letter calling for the resignation of Pope Francis and accusing him and other Vatican officials of covering up sexual abuse including allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The pope initially does not directly respond to the letter, but nine months after its publication he denies having prior knowledge about McCarrick’s conduct.
Aug. 25-26 — Pope Francis visits Dublin, Ireland, to attend the World Meeting of Families. The theme is “the Gospel of family, joy for the world.”
Pope Francis at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Ireland. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Oct. 3-28 — The Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment takes place. The synod focuses on best practices to teach the faith to young people and to help them discern God’s will.
2019
Jan. 22-27 — The third World Youth Day during Pope Francis’ pontificate takes place during these six days in Panama City, Panama. Young Catholics from around the world gather for the event, with approximately 3 million people in attendance.
Feb. 4 — Pope Francis signs a joint document in with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, titled the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The document focuses on people of different faiths uniting together to live peacefully and advance a culture of mutual respect.
Pope Francis and Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar, signed a joint declaration on human fraternity during an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Feb. 4, 2019. Vatican Media.
Feb. 21-24 — The Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church, which is labeled the Vatican Sexual Abuse Summit, takes place. The meeting focuses on sexual abuse scandals in the Church and emphasizes responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Oct. 6-27 — The Church holds the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which is also known as the Amazon Synod. The synod is meant to present ways in which the Church can better evangelize the Amazon region but leads to controversy when carved images of a pregnant Amazonian woman, referred to by the pope as Pachamama, are used in several events and displayed in a basilica near the Vatican.
Oct. 13 — St. John Henry Newman, an Anglican convert to Catholicism and a cardinal, is canonized by Pope Francis. Newman’s writings inspired Catholic student associations at nonreligious colleges and universities in the United States and other countries.
2020
March 15 — Pope Francis takes a walking pilgrimage in Rome to the chapel of the crucifix and prays for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crucifix was carried through Rome during the plague of 1522.
March 27 — Pope Francis gives an extraordinary “urbi et orbi” blessing in an empty and rain-covered St. Peter’s Square, praying for the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter’s Square during his Urbi et Orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Vatican Media.
2021
March 5-8 — In his first papal trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis becomes the first pope to visit Iraq. On his trip, he signs a joint statement with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani condemning extremism and promoting peace.
July 3 — Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis, is indicted in a Vatican court for embezzlement, money laundering, and other crimes. The pope gives approval for the indictment.
July 4 — Pope Francis undergoes colon surgery for diverticulitis, a common condition in older people. The Vatican releases a statement that assures the pope “reacted well” to the surgery. Francis is released from the hospital after 10 days.
July 16 — Pope Francis issues a motu proprio titled Traditionis Custodes. The document imposes heavy restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.
Dec. 2-6 — The pope travels to Cyprus and Greece. The trip includes another visit to the Greek island of Lesbos to meet with migrants.
Pope Francis greets His Beatitude Ieronymos II in Athens, Greece on Dec. 5, 2021. Vatican Media
2022
Jan. 11 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to a record store in Rome called StereoSound. The pope, who has an affinity for classical music, blesses the newly renovated store.
March 19 — The pope promulgates Praedicate Evangelium, which reforms the Roman Curia. The reforms emphasize evangelization and establish more opportunities for the laity to be in leadership positions.
May 5 — Pope Francis is seen in a wheelchair for the first time in public and begins to use one more frequently. The pope has been suffering from knee problems for months.
Pope Francis greeted the crowd in a wheelchair at the end of his general audience on Aug. 3, 2022. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
July 24-30 — In his first papal visit to Canada, Pope Francis apologizes for the harsh treatment of the indigenous Canadians, saying many Christians and members of the Catholic Church were complicit.
2023
Jan. 31-Feb. 5 — Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. During his visit, the pope condemns political violence in the countries and promotes peace. He also participates in an ecumenical prayer service with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Moderator of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields.
Pope Francis greets a young boy a Mass in Juba, South Sudan on Feb. 5, 2023. Vatican Media
March 29-April 1 — Pope Francis is hospitalized for a respiratory infection. During his stay at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, he visits the pediatric cancer ward and baptizes a newborn baby.
April 5 — The pope appears in the Disney documentary “The Pope: Answers,” which is in Spanish, answering six “hot-button” issues from members of Gen Z from various backgrounds. The group discusses immigration, depression, abortion, clergy sexual and psychological abuse, transgenderism, pornography, and loss of faith.
April 28-30 — Pope Francis visits Hungary to meet with government officials, civil society members, bishops, priests, seminarians, Jesuits, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers. He celebrates Mass on the final day of the trip in Kossuth Lajos Square.
Pope Francis stands on an altar erected outside the Parliament Building in Budapest’s Kossuth Lajos’ Square during a public outdoor Mass on April 30, 2023. Vatican Media
June 7 — The Vatican announces that Pope Francis will undergo abdominal surgery that afternoon under general anesthesia due to a hernia that is causing painful, recurring, and worsening symptoms. In his general audience that morning before the surgery, Francis says he intends to publish an apostolic letter on St. Thérèse of Lisieux, “patroness of the missions,” to mark the 150th anniversary of her birth.
June 15 — After successful surgery and a week of recovery, Pope Francis is released from Gemelli Hospital.
Aug. 2-6 — Pope Francis travels to Lisbon, Portugal, for World Youth Day 2023, taking place from Aug. 1-6. He meets with Church and civil leaders ahead of presiding at the welcoming Mass and Stations of the Cross. He also hears the confessions of several pilgrims. On Aug. 5, he visits the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima, where he prays the rosary with young people with disabilities. That evening he presides over the vigil and on Sunday, Aug. 6, he celebrates the closing Mass, where he urges the 1.5 million young people present to “be not afraid,” echoing the words of the founder of World Youth Days, St. John Paul II.
Pope Francis waves at the crowd of 1.5 million people who attended the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal on Aug. 6, 2023. Vatican Media.
Aug. 31-Sept. 4 — Pope Francis travels to Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country. The trip makes Francis the first pope to visit the Asian country that shares a 2,880-mile border with China, its most significant economic partner. Mongolia has a population of about 1,300 Catholics in a country of more than 3 million people.
Pope Francis meets with local priests and religious of Mongolia, which includes only 25 priests (19 religious and six diocesan), 33 women religious, and one bishop — Cardinal Giorgio Marengo — in Ulaanbaatar’s Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on Sept. 2, 2023. Credit: Vatican Media
Sept. 22-23 — On a two-day trip to Marseille, France, Pope Francis meets with local civil and religious leaders and participates in the Mediterranean Encounter, a gathering of some 120 young people of various creeds with bishops from 30 countries.
Pope Francis asks for a moment of silence at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea on the first of a two-day visit to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023. A Camargue cross, which comes from the Camargue area of France, represents the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. The three tridents represent faith, the anchor represents hope, and the heart represents charity. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Oct. 4-29 — The Vatican hosts the first of two monthlong global assemblies of the Synod on Synodality, initiated by Pope Francis in 2021 to enhance the communion, participation, and mission of the Church. Pope Francis celebrates the closing Mass of the synod at St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29. The second and final global assembly will take place at the Vatican in October 2024.
Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023. Vatican Media
Nov. 25 — Pope Francis visits the hospital briefly for precautionary testing after coming down with the flu earlier in the day. Although he still participates in scheduled activities, other officials read his prepared remarks. The Vatican on Nov. 28 cancels the pope’s planned Dec. 1–3 trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate conference, where he was scheduled to deliver a speech, due to his illness.
Dec. 18 — The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issues the declaration Fiducia Supplicans, which authorizes nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples and couples in “irregular situations.” Various bishops from around the world voice both support for and criticism of the document.
2024
Jan. 4 — Amid widespread backlash to Fiducia Supplicans, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, publishes a five-page press release that refers to Fiducia Supplicans as “perennial doctrine” and underlines that pastoral blessings of couples in irregular situations should not be “an endorsement of the life led by those who request them.”
Jan. 14 — Pope Francis for the first time responds publicly to questions about Fiducia Supplicans in an interview on an Italian television show. The pope underlines that “the Lord blesses everyone” and that a blessing is an invitation to enter into a conversation “to see what the road is that the Lord proposes to them.”
Feb. 11 — In a ceremony attended by Argentine president Javier Milei, Pope Francis canonizes María Antonia of St. Joseph — known affectionately in the pope’s home country as “Mama Antula” — in a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. The president and the former archbishop of Buenos Aires embrace after the ceremony. Pope Francis, who has not returned to his homeland since becoming pope in 2013, has said he wants to visit Argentina in the second half of this year.
Pope Francis meets with Argentina President Javier Milei in a private audience on Feb. 12, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
Feb. 28 — After canceling audiences the previous Saturday and having an aide read his prepared remarks at his Wednesday audience due to a “mild flu,” Pope Francis visits the hospital for diagnostic tests but returns to the Vatican afterward.
March 2 — Despite having an aide read his speech “because of bronchitis,” the pope presides over the inauguration of the 95th Judicial Year of the Vatican City State and maintains a full schedule.
March 13 — Pope Francis celebrates 11 years as Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
Damage from a series of powerful storms and at least one tornado is seen on March 25, 2023 in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. At least 26 people have reportedly been killed with dozens more injured following devastating storms across western Mississi… […]
23 Comments
Cupich still says homosexuality is not the problem. Which tells us it IS the problem and that he is a loyal nephew of Uncle Ted. There will be no end to the scandals until all Cupich types are gone.
About 10 years ago, I personally met Cardinal Cupich and was not at all impressed. I believe he might be part of the problem. Also, I believe a homosexual priest is just a pedefile in waiting. Time to send them all to be with Uncle Ted!
Cardinal Cupich announces that “homosexuality itself is not a cause” that it’s is a matter of “opportunity and also a matter of poor training on the part of people.” We also here the buzz words collegiality, synodality, responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Regarding cause and effect, lacking from the above red-hat, cover-story vocabulary are the more elementary RED-FACE TEST and FUNCTIONAL LITERACY…
The 2004 John Jay Report into clerical sex abuse in the U.S. found that four out of five (80 PERCENT) of the offenses involved young teenagers and young men. OBVIOUSLY the heart of the problem is actively homosexual priests and bishops, not the 2004 cover-story of the day: “pedophilia.”
BUT others, like the well-placed Cardinal Cupich, dismiss this picture, probably by pointing to the later 2011 Jay College Report (“The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors, 1950-2010”) to say that homosexual priests are no more likely than others to abuse minors.
HOWEVER, too many readers (including bishops) scan only abbreviated executive summaries. A reading of the more detailed findings in Chapter 2 of the 2011 report includes this revealing distinction regarding seminarians engaged in pre-seminary and/or in-seminary same-sex behavior:
“After analyzing pre-seminary and in-seminary same-sex sexual behavior separately, only in-seminary [not pre-seminary] same-sex sexual behavior was significantly related to post-ordination sexual behavior. Priests with in-seminary same-sex sexual behavior were more likely to have sexual experiences with adults than minors, and they WERE NOT [caps added] significantly more likely to sexually abuse minors than priests with no-same sex sexual behavior in-seminary.”
But then there’s this OMISSION from the executive summary:
“However, after considering pre-seminary and in-seminary sexual behavior separately, ONLY IN-SEMINARY [not pre-seminary] SAME-SEX SEXUAL BEHAVIOR WAS SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO THE INCREASED LIKELIHOOD OF A MALE CHILD VICTIM” [caps added].
From these two findings together, the ELUSIVE BIG PICTURE IS THIS: Straight incoming seminarians have been groomed and victimized in the seminaries, and these late victims of homosexual aggression (by fellow seminarians) then have gone on to victimize a younger round of (for them, more opportune) male children. Only in the sense of a half-truth (again!) is it a matter of “opportunity” or “poor training” (about so-called boundaries???)–the originating homosexual connection is PROVED by the full 2011 report, rather than disproved.
WHO from the USCCB might have groomed the Jay College Research Team to truncate the 2011 quick-read executive summary?
At most, nothing but stale, recycled air will come of this.
Cupich slams the door on any discussion of the root cause – homosexuality, before the summit even convenes.
These people in power will continue to stonewall until the Catholic Church has split in two. We already know who the arbiters of power are in one side of the chasm. Let them go and do what they will.
We pray to God that He strengthen, guide, protect and infuse with much grace, the remaining good and holy priest who will shepherd Christ’s remnant through this tribulation.
Apparently, Only Catholic clerics must be trained not to abuse minors.
The rest of Christianity already knows this from life, parents, teachers, etc, etc, etc.
“WAFWOT” , as we used to say in the Corps.
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich is underqualified to serve on the organizing committee for the Feb. 21-24 Vatican meeting on the protection of minors in the Church. However, he is much more politically reliable than the much more qualified Cardinal Sean O’Malley. As a member of the Lavendar Mafia, his designated role at the summit in Rome is to prevent the H word from coming up or make its way into the written record apart from denials of responsibility. His proposal to the USCCB that bishops within the same province investigate each other when there are allegations of sexual abuse is sheer lunacy from a psychological standpoint but absolute genius from a Machiavellian standpoint.
Cardinal Cupich’s statement that the Synod “Needs to be focused on the protection of minors underscoring that homosexuality is not a cause of sexual abuse” sets the tone [the entire statement drafted by Courtney Grogan CNA emphasises the Cardinal’s absurd logic that although most abuse occurs between adult males opportunity and poor training are at fault for abuse of children]. Abuse of children has already been effectively addressed by the Church, Cardinal Cupich giving the impression that male on male sex is somehow irrelevant. Sandro Magister has noted that view is apparently prevalent at the Vatican The Synod is clearly designed to avoid that major abuse issue. Adult clerical homosexual behavior and predation by senior clergy, prelates of vulnerable priests and seminarians. Cardinal O’Malley’s request that canonical vulnerability be expanded was ignored and he ‘summarily’ excluded from the planning committee. Justice requires the Pontiff take direct control of any such investigation involving prelates the apparent core of the more outstanding abuse issue, simply because only he is authorized to sanction where warranted. However that seems so far distanced from the Feb Synod that the credible allegations made involving McCarrick, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, and others as to render Justice impossible. Again I mention Robert Royal who intends to attend the Synod though not as he said with hope anything substantial will occur. Except he hoped the attending Bishops will consequently respond to the crisis. Independent action requested by Cardinal DiNardo had prev been thwarted by Pope Francis and it doesn’t appear that the Pontiff will approve that now. As said before in consideration of the immensity of the crisis affecting clergy and growing disillusionment of laity many leaving the Church an independent concerted effort by Bishops to address and amend the crisis is, at least to this writer justifiable.
“Denial … is a primitive mechanism that we need to move away from, and so whether it is criminal or malicious complicity in a code of silence or whether it is denial, which is trauma in its very primitive state, we need to go away from that and that’s why the third day of this important meeting is going to be on transparency.” (Scicluna)
Where “transparency” equals “obstinacy.”
The synod “needs to be focused on the protection of minors.”
It is indeed difficult to “focus” on a statistically probable homosexual majority.
So let’s give you the benefit of the doubt and say that clericalism is the cause.
If clericalism is an evil and is the cause of all the abuse, how about we dissect this?
Reports show that majority of the offenders are homosexuals. This therefore shows that homosexuals have a very great propensity for clericalism much more than sexually normal priests.
If we want to eradicate clericalism, then we should eradicate from the priesthood those most prone to it – the homosexuals.
Let’s reason through Cardinal Cupich’s assertion. Homosexuality not being connected to abuse of minors comes from the psychiatric community, the same people who change their definition of what is and isn’t a pathology every 5 years as social whims change, the same people who for decades insisted priests who abused minors could be reformed and restored to their ministries.
The bold obstinacy of the sodomite segment of the clergy is frightening. It is attempting to suffocate true Catholic morality and must delight their fellow travelers.
Cardinal Cupich is speaking truth, but not all of it. The cause of the sexual abuse of minors is the sin of lust. Lust is the unordered use of sexual faculty. This is learned immediately in St John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and is the very center of the sermon on divorce. The atrocity of child sexual abuse has life-altering consequences for the abused. If the conference does not speak about the vice of lust and the virtue of chastity, it will be a travesty.
A man so incredibly daft and out of touch with reality like Cupich would never had made it as far as he did without the powerful patronage of his friend McCarrick.
So is the goal “synodality” or the protection of children and the vulnerable? So what would so many U.S. bishops have opposed in the American plan – a clear code for future action, a safe system for bringing internal scandals to the fore, lay people with investigative experience on the job? The “universal” synod appears more as a source of protection for the offenders. It’s times like this that I wish I was a reporter, because after Cupcih’s response that the “cause” is not homosexuality, I would have asked him then if he thought that it was in any way a “contributing factor” and if so how?
To put this in pastoral terms: We know the abuse is 80% of wolves in sheep clothing on sheep. Wolves are not the problem. Experts have said the problem is one of opportunity for wolves in sheep’s clothing and training of the wolves in sheep’s clothing…synods are the solution as it makes for less wolves to invite to the feast of the “in our private field hospitals for the wounded” “Collegiality” enables the wolves in sheep’s clothing to hunt in packs. We want the wolves in sheep’s clothing to get “the smell of the sheep” or as in the child’s fairytale of the wolf when questioned says: “Why, the better to fool you with, my dear.” We expect the sheep to lay down their lives for the wolves in sheep and Shephard’s clothing.
May the Good Shephard Jesus Christ our Lord who is willing to lay down his life for his sheep, be our true leader, protect us, and defend us, and allow us to be “wise as serpents, even as we are as loving as doves.”
Cupich still says homosexuality is not the problem. Which tells us it IS the problem and that he is a loyal nephew of Uncle Ted. There will be no end to the scandals until all Cupich types are gone.
The “nephews of uncle Ted” are still in control…………
Cupich is the problem. Along with his kind.
About 10 years ago, I personally met Cardinal Cupich and was not at all impressed. I believe he might be part of the problem. Also, I believe a homosexual priest is just a pedefile in waiting. Time to send them all to be with Uncle Ted!
Cardinal Cupich announces that “homosexuality itself is not a cause” that it’s is a matter of “opportunity and also a matter of poor training on the part of people.” We also here the buzz words collegiality, synodality, responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Regarding cause and effect, lacking from the above red-hat, cover-story vocabulary are the more elementary RED-FACE TEST and FUNCTIONAL LITERACY…
The 2004 John Jay Report into clerical sex abuse in the U.S. found that four out of five (80 PERCENT) of the offenses involved young teenagers and young men. OBVIOUSLY the heart of the problem is actively homosexual priests and bishops, not the 2004 cover-story of the day: “pedophilia.”
BUT others, like the well-placed Cardinal Cupich, dismiss this picture, probably by pointing to the later 2011 Jay College Report (“The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors, 1950-2010”) to say that homosexual priests are no more likely than others to abuse minors.
HOWEVER, too many readers (including bishops) scan only abbreviated executive summaries. A reading of the more detailed findings in Chapter 2 of the 2011 report includes this revealing distinction regarding seminarians engaged in pre-seminary and/or in-seminary same-sex behavior:
“After analyzing pre-seminary and in-seminary same-sex sexual behavior separately, only in-seminary [not pre-seminary] same-sex sexual behavior was significantly related to post-ordination sexual behavior. Priests with in-seminary same-sex sexual behavior were more likely to have sexual experiences with adults than minors, and they WERE NOT [caps added] significantly more likely to sexually abuse minors than priests with no-same sex sexual behavior in-seminary.”
But then there’s this OMISSION from the executive summary:
“However, after considering pre-seminary and in-seminary sexual behavior separately, ONLY IN-SEMINARY [not pre-seminary] SAME-SEX SEXUAL BEHAVIOR WAS SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO THE INCREASED LIKELIHOOD OF A MALE CHILD VICTIM” [caps added].
From these two findings together, the ELUSIVE BIG PICTURE IS THIS: Straight incoming seminarians have been groomed and victimized in the seminaries, and these late victims of homosexual aggression (by fellow seminarians) then have gone on to victimize a younger round of (for them, more opportune) male children. Only in the sense of a half-truth (again!) is it a matter of “opportunity” or “poor training” (about so-called boundaries???)–the originating homosexual connection is PROVED by the full 2011 report, rather than disproved.
WHO from the USCCB might have groomed the Jay College Research Team to truncate the 2011 quick-read executive summary?
At most, nothing but stale, recycled air will come of this.
Cupich slams the door on any discussion of the root cause – homosexuality, before the summit even convenes.
These people in power will continue to stonewall until the Catholic Church has split in two. We already know who the arbiters of power are in one side of the chasm. Let them go and do what they will.
We pray to God that He strengthen, guide, protect and infuse with much grace, the remaining good and holy priest who will shepherd Christ’s remnant through this tribulation.
“Poor training”? People have to be trained not to abuse minors?
.
Is he serious?
Apparently, Only Catholic clerics must be trained not to abuse minors.
The rest of Christianity already knows this from life, parents, teachers, etc, etc, etc.
“WAFWOT” , as we used to say in the Corps.
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich is underqualified to serve on the organizing committee for the Feb. 21-24 Vatican meeting on the protection of minors in the Church. However, he is much more politically reliable than the much more qualified Cardinal Sean O’Malley. As a member of the Lavendar Mafia, his designated role at the summit in Rome is to prevent the H word from coming up or make its way into the written record apart from denials of responsibility. His proposal to the USCCB that bishops within the same province investigate each other when there are allegations of sexual abuse is sheer lunacy from a psychological standpoint but absolute genius from a Machiavellian standpoint.
Cardinal Cupich’s statement that the Synod “Needs to be focused on the protection of minors underscoring that homosexuality is not a cause of sexual abuse” sets the tone [the entire statement drafted by Courtney Grogan CNA emphasises the Cardinal’s absurd logic that although most abuse occurs between adult males opportunity and poor training are at fault for abuse of children]. Abuse of children has already been effectively addressed by the Church, Cardinal Cupich giving the impression that male on male sex is somehow irrelevant. Sandro Magister has noted that view is apparently prevalent at the Vatican The Synod is clearly designed to avoid that major abuse issue. Adult clerical homosexual behavior and predation by senior clergy, prelates of vulnerable priests and seminarians. Cardinal O’Malley’s request that canonical vulnerability be expanded was ignored and he ‘summarily’ excluded from the planning committee. Justice requires the Pontiff take direct control of any such investigation involving prelates the apparent core of the more outstanding abuse issue, simply because only he is authorized to sanction where warranted. However that seems so far distanced from the Feb Synod that the credible allegations made involving McCarrick, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, and others as to render Justice impossible. Again I mention Robert Royal who intends to attend the Synod though not as he said with hope anything substantial will occur. Except he hoped the attending Bishops will consequently respond to the crisis. Independent action requested by Cardinal DiNardo had prev been thwarted by Pope Francis and it doesn’t appear that the Pontiff will approve that now. As said before in consideration of the immensity of the crisis affecting clergy and growing disillusionment of laity many leaving the Church an independent concerted effort by Bishops to address and amend the crisis is, at least to this writer justifiable.
Will Fr. Paul Sullins’ analysis be considered at that synod?
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/is-catholic-clergy-sex-abuse-related-to-homosexual-priests
“Denial … is a primitive mechanism that we need to move away from, and so whether it is criminal or malicious complicity in a code of silence or whether it is denial, which is trauma in its very primitive state, we need to go away from that and that’s why the third day of this important meeting is going to be on transparency.” (Scicluna)
Where “transparency” equals “obstinacy.”
The synod “needs to be focused on the protection of minors.”
It is indeed difficult to “focus” on a statistically probable homosexual majority.
“homosexuality itself is not a cause.”
The diminutive Cardinal also has a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
Let’s take a good hard look at this.
So let’s give you the benefit of the doubt and say that clericalism is the cause.
If clericalism is an evil and is the cause of all the abuse, how about we dissect this?
Reports show that majority of the offenders are homosexuals. This therefore shows that homosexuals have a very great propensity for clericalism much more than sexually normal priests.
If we want to eradicate clericalism, then we should eradicate from the priesthood those most prone to it – the homosexuals.
Let’s reason through Cardinal Cupich’s assertion. Homosexuality not being connected to abuse of minors comes from the psychiatric community, the same people who change their definition of what is and isn’t a pathology every 5 years as social whims change, the same people who for decades insisted priests who abused minors could be reformed and restored to their ministries.
How do Cupich and the Directors of Seminaries and the Vatican and the Hierarchy of the Church define “celibacy”? That seems to be the real issue here.
The chastisement of the patriarchate of Rome continues.
The bold obstinacy of the sodomite segment of the clergy is frightening. It is attempting to suffocate true Catholic morality and must delight their fellow travelers.
Cardinal Capuch: with all due respect- where is the outrage over this abuse? All I read is justifications and excuses. Thank you.
Cardinal Cupich is speaking truth, but not all of it. The cause of the sexual abuse of minors is the sin of lust. Lust is the unordered use of sexual faculty. This is learned immediately in St John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and is the very center of the sermon on divorce. The atrocity of child sexual abuse has life-altering consequences for the abused. If the conference does not speak about the vice of lust and the virtue of chastity, it will be a travesty.
A man so incredibly daft and out of touch with reality like Cupich would never had made it as far as he did without the powerful patronage of his friend McCarrick.
So is the goal “synodality” or the protection of children and the vulnerable? So what would so many U.S. bishops have opposed in the American plan – a clear code for future action, a safe system for bringing internal scandals to the fore, lay people with investigative experience on the job? The “universal” synod appears more as a source of protection for the offenders. It’s times like this that I wish I was a reporter, because after Cupcih’s response that the “cause” is not homosexuality, I would have asked him then if he thought that it was in any way a “contributing factor” and if so how?
Cupich is post-Christian, just like his Uncle McCarrick.
Cupich is in the battalion of feline post-Christian viceroys of the McCarrick establishment.
To put this in pastoral terms: We know the abuse is 80% of wolves in sheep clothing on sheep. Wolves are not the problem. Experts have said the problem is one of opportunity for wolves in sheep’s clothing and training of the wolves in sheep’s clothing…synods are the solution as it makes for less wolves to invite to the feast of the “in our private field hospitals for the wounded” “Collegiality” enables the wolves in sheep’s clothing to hunt in packs. We want the wolves in sheep’s clothing to get “the smell of the sheep” or as in the child’s fairytale of the wolf when questioned says: “Why, the better to fool you with, my dear.” We expect the sheep to lay down their lives for the wolves in sheep and Shephard’s clothing.
May the Good Shephard Jesus Christ our Lord who is willing to lay down his life for his sheep, be our true leader, protect us, and defend us, and allow us to be “wise as serpents, even as we are as loving as doves.”