The Louisiana state legislature last week passed a bill allowing for new lawsuits in old cases of child sex abuse where the statute of limitations had already expired.
An amended version of the bill, House Bill 492, passed the state house on Thursday with 102 votes in favor, none against, and three abstentions. On Friday it was sent to Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) for signature.
The legislation creates a three-year period during which survivors of child sex abuse can file lawsuits against their alleged abuser, even when the statute of limitations would normally impede such lawsuits.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans announced in May 2020 that it was filing for bankruptcy. Thus, for survivors who filed claims against the archdiocese in bankruptcy courts by the March 1 deadline, they would not be able to sue in state courts. Survivors could still sue their alleged abusers who operated in religious orders or lay ministries, the New Orleans Advocate reported. The normal statute of limitations for lawsuits in child sex abuse cases is before the victim’s 28th birthday, the Advocate reported.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jason Hughes (D), spoke on the state house floor on Thursday, noting that his bill aims “to give some sense of justice and closure to children that have been malicious and heinously robbed of their innocence. Period.”
“They were robbed of their voice. I did not seek this bill; in many ways, it sought me. Members, all I am seeking is to give the voiceless some sense of justice. Some sense of closure,” Hughes stated.
The Advocate reported in March that the New Orleans archdiocese faces around 400 abuse claims in bankruptcy court.
Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans had cited the cost of sex abuse lawsuits as a significant factor in last year’s declaration of bankruptcy.
“The prospect of more abuse cases with associated prolonged and costly litigation, together with pressing ministerial needs and budget challenges, is simply not financially sustainable,” he said. “Additionally, the unforeseen circumstances surrounding COVID-19 have added more financial hardships to an already difficult situation.”
In late 2018, the archdiocese released a list of priests who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors. The archdiocese said in 2020 that it had allotted more than $8 million for payment of abuse claims.
The archdiocese told CNA in October that it had been seeking to laicize priests who had been removed from ministry over accusations of child sex abuse, in the wake of the 2018 report. Under canon law, dioceses are obligated to provide for the needs of priests removed from ministry, such as for housing and health care. They are not obliged to provide for the needs of priests who have been laicized.
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Denver Newsroom, Sep 10, 2020 / 03:13 pm (CNA).- As part of a five part series on social justice, a historically African-American Catholic fraternity will present a web seminar on the dignity of black lives this Saturday.
The Knights of Peter Claver will host a webinar called “Where is the dignity of black lives? Take your knee off my neck” Sept. 12. It is the first of a five-part series, which will also include webinars on racism, domestic violence, human trafficking, and criminal justice reform.
Rick Sassua, the Knights of Peter Claver national treasurer and an advisor for its social justice committee, said the name relates to the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black American who was killed in Minneapolis by former police officer Derek Chauvin.
He expressed hope that the event promotes the human dignity of African-Americans and helps establish the next steps to tackle racism in the United States.
“I think the goal is to further the concept of human dignity as it relates to black lives. The goal is to enlighten, educate, [and] engage a meaningful dialogue to produce next steps,” he told CNA.
“We will … have some tools to go back to our respective courts, our councils, our cities, our states, our dioceses, and bring something back as opposed to just listening to a talk and just going home. We [will] have like a call to action to try to peacefully resolve some of the issues we’re seeing from these protests.”
The event will include speakers such as Father Norman Fischer, the chaplain for Central States District; Tracy Aikens, the far west regional director for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; Ashford Hughes, executive officer for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Metro Nashville Public Schools; and Gloria Purvis, the host of EWTN’s Morning Glory. Bishop Fernand Cheri, an auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, will also make an appearance.
Sassua said each speaker brings a unique perspective on the racial tensions in the United States, including standpoints on media, college formation, and the next steps to push racial equality forward. He said the Knights of Peter Claver has had conversations with police departments to discuss how to prevent similar deaths from happening again and what training steps could be implemented.
He said Hughes will provide advice on solutions to racial problems and identifying next step procedures actually to resolve these issues. He also said Purvis will offer perspectives about how racial equality problems are an aspect of the pro-life movement.
“Hughes has his own nonprofit organization that deals with racial advice within a national area … We talk about what’s going on with the issues; he has been well-versed in identifying next step procedures to actually resolve some of the issues that we see on a daily basis.”
“[Gloria] has a show on pro-life and also the black lives matter issue, where she views black lives matter as being a pro-life issue. She also talks about different ways in which the media and marketing and how that actually [will affect it].”
As a faith-based organization, he said, the discussion will also provide insight into the topic of racial issues with a uniquely Catholic perspective.
He said it has been reassuring to witness the Catholic Church express concern for these issues and take the necessary steps to tackle racism. He pointed to the US bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism.
“As black Catholics, it’s like a sense of belonging to see the Church address these issues because …. we worship with our fellow Catholics who are of all races. If you see a race or a certain subset of people that are being hurt as a Christian, as a Catholic, you want to do what you can to try to make sure that person is [welcome].”
He said it was comforting to see the Church’s involvement in the Sept. 9 National Day of Prayer of Fasting to End Racism, and the engagement of other Catholic lay organizations like the Knights of Columbus. He expressed the importance for Catholics to view racial equality as a problem relating to the pro-life movement.
“The Knights of Columbus taking a stance on that, it makes me feel good,” he said. “I just express my appreciation for them doing something like that, because that’s a big step.”
“Being pro-birth is awesome, but we also have to look at the whole spectrum of conception to natural death, because if a person has a child or a woman does not choose to have an abortion at a young age, and that child grows up and the child gets killed in the street … it sparks some concern for that family, but it should also spark some concern for the Catholic Church.”
The Knights of Peter Claver was founded in Mobile, Ala., in 1909 and is now headquartered in New Orleans. The order is named for St. Peter Claver, the Jesuit missionary priest who ministered to African slaves in Colombia.
Its membership is historically African-American but is open to all practicing Catholics without regard to race or ethnicity. Many of its members played a role in the U.S. civil rights movement of the mid-20th century.
The organization has a presence in about 39 states and in South America. Its six divisions include a Ladies Auxiliary, two junior divisions for boys and girls, Fourth Degree Knights, and their companion group Ladies of Grace.
Patrick Norton stands near Sister Annella Zervas’ grave, October 2022. / Credit: Patti Armstrong
St. Paul, Minn., Dec 10, 2023 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Pointing toward the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto at the Saint Benedict Monastery cemetery in St. Joseph, Minnesota, 61-year-old Patrick Norton recounts the day 13 years ago when he was painting light posts in front of a statue of the Blessed Mother and encountered who he believes was Sister Annella Zervas, OSB.
Zervas, a Benedictine sister, died in 1926 at the age of 26 of a debilitating skin disease.
Norton, who was plucked from the streets of Bombay as a child by Mother Teresa and later adopted by an American family, had been hired by the College of Saint Benedict on Oct. 27, 2010, to do some painting. He told CNA that while finishing up the last light post in front of the grotto he thought to himself, “I wonder if the Blessed Mother thinks I am doing a good job?” When he looked down, there was a nun in full Benedictine habit.
“‘You are doing a good job,’ she told me. We talked a little, but I don’t remember what it was about. Then I watched as she disappeared,” he told CNA.
The encounter was so astonishing that Norton kept it to himself for a year. But in a chance conversation, he was told “there is a holy nun buried in that cemetery” and he came to learn it was Zervas. Eventually, he saw a picture of her and was certain that she was the one who had appeared to him.
Patrick Norton stands beside the lamp post he was painting near the Marian grotto when he saw a woman in full Benedict habit who he believes was Sister Annella Zervas. Credit: Patti Armstrong
An elderly religious sister at Saint Benedict Monastery — who also happened to be named Sister Annella — shared with Norton pictures of Zervas and a booklet about the young sister’s life called “Apostles of Suffering in Our Day” by Benedictine priest Joseph Kreuter, published in 1929.
“Why isn’t she a saint yet?’ Norton asked.
“Oh, I’m in my 80s and I’m the only one promoting her cause,” she replied.
“Sister, why can’t I help you out?” he replied.
Norton said she just looked at him. “I didn’t have any experience but felt compassion for her, and also, I did see Sister Annella, so I felt I had to promote her cause.”
He read in the booklet that Zervas entered the convent at age 15 and died from a painful, unsightly, and odiferous skin disease at age 26. She was also subjected to attacks from the devil and from a heartburn that made it hard to keep food down. At the time of her death, she weighed only 40 pounds. Yet, she asked God to allow her even more suffering and for the strength to bear it so she could offer it up for the Church.
Every week, Norton made 10 copies of the booklet to pass out. “I went to Sister Annella’s grave and told her, ‘If I am going to make more books, I need money.’”
A short time later he had a conversation with someone he had just met and told about Zervas. “How can I help?” the person asked him.
“Can you help me make 20 books a week instead of just 10?”
“How about 20,000?” the donor, who wanted to remain anonymous, replied.
The number of books Norton has now distributed is about 100,000. It was also previously published in French and Sri Lanken.
Another good Samaritan arranged for Norton to be interviewed for a video called “The Sanctity of Two Hearts.”
A friend of Norton’s located Joanne Zervas, a niece of Sister Annella’s, and Norton met with her. She gave him many of her aunt’s personal effects for safekeeping, including family letters, a silver spoon used to give holy Communion when Zervas was incapacitated, her rosary, a book stained with what is believed to be her blood, and candles that burned in her room when she died.
Word spread about the sister and there were reports of answered prayers through her intercession. Yet, it seemed unlikely that a cause for her canonization would open.
Norton recounted that Bishop Donald Joseph Kettler of the Diocese of St. Cloud encouraged him to keep telling his story but declined to take further steps in order to respect the wishes of the Benedictine sisters who were not interested in opening a cause for Zervas.
In a SC Times article in 2017, a spokesperson for the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota, said it was not the Benedictine way to promote one sister above another as it would “be contrary to humility.” A spokesperson from the diocese said that without their support, there would be no cause.
But Norton and a small group that had formed to pray that her cause be opened met monthly at the cemetery and kept praying.
After years of disappointment, Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis informed Norton that he was appealing to the wrong diocese. Zervas had died in her parents’ home in Moorhead, Minnesota, which is in the Crookston Diocese. But again, there was no interest in opening a cause there.
“I went through darkness,” Norton admitted. “I would say, ‘Really Lord, are you hearing me?’ One day I said, ‘I’m not getting any younger you know.’”
Norton questioned if he was even the right person to promote Zervas. “I’m not a doctor or a lawyer; I’m just a painter,” he said. But he had told the Lord: “Let me live each day for you, and I will tell people about her through my nothingness.”
Patrick Norton speaks during event at the grotto in the cemetery during event where the bishop’s letter was read in October 2023. Credit: Patti Armstrong
Then in 2021, Bishop Andrew Cozzens was appointed to the Diocese of Crookston. Norton heard that Cozzens had known about Zervas since he was a boy. Then on Oct. 15 Norton heard — through a letter from the bishop that was read at the cemetery to the prayer group — that initial steps are being put in place by the diocese to begin an investigation into Zervas’ life, which will make it possible for a cause to be opened.
Norton has now been promoting Zervas’ story for more than a decade.
“I couldn’t fall asleep that night,” Norton told CNA. “I was overwhelmed. The first thing I did was to thank Our Lord and Our Lady. Before going to bed, every night, I always kiss the cheek of Our Lady of Fátima statue [in his home] and say, ‘Good night, Mother.’ And I kiss the feet of Our Lord on a big crucifix from a monastery in Spain and say, ‘You are my Lord and my God. There is no other God, and I love you.’”
“Even before Sister Annella appeared to me, every Mother’s Day, I brought roses to the grotto and would tell [Mary], ‘You are the best Ma in the whole world. Happy Mother’s Day, Ma.’ I’d sit there and look at the big crucifix and pray the rosary.”
Norton said he is at peace with his efforts over the years to make Zervas’ life and holiness known. “Since the diocese is taking over, I’m going to just be silent and do my best to live in humility and pray,” he said. “I will pray a lot and thank the Lord for the work he is doing.”
San Antonio, Texas, Feb 22, 2022 / 16:25 pm (CNA).
A statue depicting the Holy Family was stolen from outside a parish in San Antonio, Texas last week, and parishioners are praying for its safe retur… […]
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