This is Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of August

Vatican City, Feb 18, 2019 / 03:45 pm (CNA).- At a press conference in Rome this morning, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago underscored the scope and expectations around this week’s global Vatican summit on sexual abuse.

 

The cardinal made it clear that the three-day meeting was strictly dealing with the abuse of minors, and would not look at wider issues of clerical sexual abuse – most notably the sexual abuse of adults, including seminarians.

 

Cupich warned that “including other topics” would “inflate expectations” and distract from “the task at hand.”

 

The cardinal’s comments came barely 48 hours after it was announced that Theodore McCarrick had been expelled from the clerical state for a number of sexual abuse-related offences, including adult seminarians in dioceses he formerly led.

 

The hour-long question and answer session offered more details about the aims of the summit, which will include the heads of bishops’ conferences from around the world. But the scrupulously narrow focus on minors, and the stated objectives of the conference raise a number of questions about what American Catholics, including many bishops, can hope to see from Rome in response to months of scandal.

 

The clear goal of the meeting is to impress upon the world’s bishops the seriousness of dealing with child sexual abuse at all levels of the Church hierarchy. To this end, Cupich highlighted measures already in place in the United States which, he noted, were proving successful, such as safe environment programs and enhanced screening of seminary candidates.

 

More broadly, bishops in the United States have noted the effectiveness of the 2002 reforms brought in by the Dallas Charter and USCCB Essential Norms, which have coincided with a steep decline in reported abuse cases.

 

But if the wider purpose of the three-day meeting is to impress the seriousness of the child abuse crisis on bishops from elsewhere, and even underscore effective measures already in place in the U.S., American focus remains on accountability for bishops and abuse cases of all kinds involving them personally.

 

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Discussing the future of episcopal accountability, Cupich made a surprising reference to Come una madre amorivole, the 2016 motu proprio issued by Pope Francis setting out legal mechanisms for reporting and handling complaints against bishops, including for negligence or abuse of office in abuse cases.

 

“It is the document Come una madre amorivole that outlines procedures for holding bishops accountable,” Cupich said. The reference to Come una madre was surprising to many, since Pope Francis had previously said in public that he had abandoned these very processes.

 

During the inflight press conference on his return from Dublin in October last year, Pope Francis said he had effectively junked the procedures of Come una madre because they “weren’t practical and it also wasn’t convenient for the different cultures of the bishops that had to be judged.”

 

Francis even went as far as expressing frustration that prominent reform advocate Marie Collins, herself a survivor of sexual abuse and a former member of Francis’ own Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, was “a bit fixated” with the document not being used.

 

For Cupich to suggest that Come una madre was once again a living document suggests a possible second papal reversal by Francis on his own reforms, even though his original reservations seemed to center on the very global applicability this week’s summit is meant to address.

 

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In November, an instruction from the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops prevented U.S. bishops from voting on a raft of proposed measures aimed at increasing episcopal accountability – reforms which would have addressed many of the gaps left by the non-adoption of Come una madre in the first place.

 

The move left many frustrated but, on Monday, Cupich called the Baltimore measures “problematic” and said he did not believe they would have been adopted even if a vote had taken place.

 

Cupich floated an alternative proposal of his own during the Baltimore meeting. Reportedly drafted in concert with Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Cupich’s plan would rely upon existing structures within metropolitan provinces, instead of the creation of an independent national body to oversee complaints against bishops.

 

Both the original proposals and the so-called “metropolitan model” were turned over to a special USCCB committee for further study, and are expected to be discussed again in more detail when the bishops next meet, in June of this year.  

 

Despite the Baltimore setback, Cupich said, bishops’ conferences would have an important role to play in the future.

 

“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 the collegiality that this conference wanted to highlight,” Cupich said Monday.

 

What role this will be remains to be seen and, at least so far as it extends to episcopal abuse of adults like McCarrick’s, it seems unlikely it will become much clearer during this week’s summit.

 

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One thing the Chicago cardinal did say was that bishops have a personal responsibility to face up to.

 

“The Holy Father wants to make it clear to the bishops around the world, that each one of them has to claim responsibility and ownership for this problem… to make sure that people understand, on an individual basis as bishops, what their responsibilities are.”

 

Many commentators have noted in recent months that personal initiative and ownership have been distinctly lacking in some American bishops’ response to recent scandals, with many appearing to be waiting for a lead to follow, either from the USCCB or Rome.

 

A few have begun to take their own steps, especially after the inability to move forward as a group in Baltimore. Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore recently announced an independent reporting mechanism for accusations of sexual abuse in the archdiocese.

 

Other options have been discussed. It has also been proposed that the canonical role of the Promoter of Justice could be given a broader remit in diocesan child protection policy, acting as a sort of attorney general by appointment of the local bishop, but with an enhanced degree of autonomy of action.

 

Other suggestions that bishops could implement without having to seek higher approval have included the passage of more nuanced and detailed laws for handling escalating clerical misconduct, in the hopes of addressing problem behavior early – before an act of child abuse is committed.

 

Such action would also allow bishops to address the sexual abuse of victims who are not technically minors, including people in their late teenage years and seminarians. Many have noted that the current legal framework, solely reliant on an age of consent, sees a case of child sexual abuse become an instance of mere moral failure when the victim turns eighteen.

 

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Cupich also told the world’s media that “there is a new day in terms of transparency,” and said that he hoped the upcoming summit would be remembered as a “turning point” in this regard.

 

It remains to be seen if this newfound commitment to transparency will extend to responding to calls for some kind of full disclosure about how Theodore McCarrick was able to rise through the episcopal ranks, despite apparent decades of complaints about his sexual abuse.

 

In Baltimore in November, Cupich spoke against a resolution by American bishops to encourage the Holy See to make available any documentation it could on that subject as soon as possible.

 

While talk at the press conference was of new days and strong messages, there is no shortage of Catholics in the United States and elsewhere already looking at this week’s meeting with a level of skepticism.

 

Indeed, the real challenge facing Cardinal Cupich and the other organizers may prove to be less about lowering “inflated expectations,” and more about convincing Catholics wearied by scandal that any progress made in the coming days will be meaningful.

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Vatican City, Sep 25, 2019 / 08:55 pm (CNA).- Leading American Catholic philosophers have written to the leadership of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Rome to express their concern that recent changes at the university have not properly respec… […]

Vatican City, May 14, 2018 / 01:55 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Speaking on the eve of a 3-day meeting with Pope Francis about a massive clerical abuse scandal, several Chilean prelates said they are ready to listen, and to work toward eradicating sexual abuse in the Church.

In a May 14 press conference ahead of their May 15-17 meeting with Pope Francis, two leading Chilean bishops said clerical sexual abuse is “unacceptable” and “intolerable,” and is something they are committed to eradicating.

The bishops said their attitude going into meetings with the pope this week is one of “pain and shame,” and that their main goals are to listen to what Francis has to say and to find a way forward which brings both healing and reparation for victims, as well as stricter prevention measures.

In comments to the media, Bishop Fernando Ramos, auxiliary bishop of Santiago, said he and his fellow prelates feel pain because “there are victims, people, who have suffered these abuses and this causes us great pain.”

They also feel shame, he said, “because these abuses happened in ecclesial environments, the environments where these types of abuse must never happen again.”

Ramos spoke alongside Bishop Juan Ignacio González of San Bernardo at a news conference ahead of a 3-day meeting between Pope Francis and 34 Chilean prelates this week, 30 of whom are still in office.

Pope Francis summoned the bishops to Rome last month following an in-depth investigation into abuse cover-up by Church hierarchy in Chile conducted by Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna earlier this year, which resulted in a whopping 2,300 page report on the investigation’s conclusions.

 The investigation was centered around Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, who was appointed to the diocese in 2015 and who has been accused by Cruz and several others of covering up Karadima’s abuses, and of participating in acts of abuse.

Allegations were also made against three other bishops – Andrés Arteaga, Tomislav Koljatic and Horacio Valenzuela – who Karadima’s victims accuse of also covering the abuser’s crimes.

While on the ground Scicluna interviewed some 64 people, many of whom were victims or potential victims, but the scale of the investigation went beyond Barros. It is said to be much more extensive, including details from other cases, such as the Marist Brothers, who are currently under canonical investigation after allegations of sexual abuse by some of the members surfaced in August 2017.

Pope Francis had previous defended Barros, saying he had received no evidence of the bishop’s guilt, and called accusations against him “calumny” during a trip to Chile in January.

However, after receiving Scicluna’s report, Francis issued his major “mea culpa” and asked to meet the bishops and more outspoken survivors in person.

The pope’s meeting with Chilean bishops will begin Tuesday, May 15 in the early afternoon as a group, and will continue over the next two days. During the discussion, Francis will focus on Scicluna’s report and is expected to share his own personal conclusions.

Pope Francis is expected to meet with the bishops as a whole, however, no Masses are planned and it is unknown whether or not he has scheduled private meetings with individual prelates.

In his comments to media, Ramos said a main goal of the encounter, apart from listening to the pope, is to discern “ways – long, medium or short – to restore reconciliation and justice.”

“This path of discernment, of listening, gives us great hope that these meetings with the pope will give us the strength and greatest availability to change and renew our Church,” he said.

Focusing on the need to make reparations, Gonzalez said that this must happen at an ecclesial level, but “the victims come first.”

Neither Ramos nor Gonzalez commented on the possibility on the culpability of certain bishops or the possibility that some would be removed from office or sanctioned, including Cardinal Javier Errazuriz – archbishop emeritus of Santiago and one of the pope’s nine cardinal advisors. This decision, the prelates said, rests with the pope.

“It doesn’t depend on us…each one has to discern with the pope,” Gonzalez said, adding that “it’s not my job to know what path another should take.

“It’s possible that the Pope has more information than us, because many people go straight to the Holy See,” he said, adding that the Church in Chile is doing what they can and have made significant progress in terms of education and formation compared to even the recent past.

Errazuriz was recently accused of a cover-up by three survivors of clerical sexual abuse from Chile – Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Andres Murillo – after holding individual meetings with Pope Francis at the Vatican earlier this month.

Last week Errazuriz released a statement saying he would not be present for the meeting with Pope Francis due to “personal reasons.” However, according to sources close to the situation, he landed in Rome after receiving a call from the pope himself.

When asked whether they felt they could trust the pope’s judgment given his previous comments to victims and his staunch defense of Barros, Gonzalez said the pope’s apology was “impressive,” and shows how a leader should act.

According to Ramos, the bishops themselves, like the pope, will also ask for forgiveness. “To ask for forgiveness is a moral imperative for us,” he said, voicing his hope that they will receive a forgiveness that allows for healing and reparation to take place. “This is our greatest desire.”

Going forward, Ramos said the meeting is a moment of pain and of shame for all bishops in Chile, and for the victims who endured abuse at the hands of priests. However, it can also be a moment of renewal for the Church, he said, noting that the Church isn’t made up of just bishops, priests and religious.

The Church, he said, is composed of “the People of God,” and while it might be a complicated time for Chile, it is also an opportunity “to evangelize” and to go forward.

Part of going forward, the bishops said, is doing an “auto-critique” of ways they can improve in terms of formation, prevention, healing and reimbursement.

Prevention, Gonzalez said, “has a lot to do with the formation of our priests,” and a task of the bishops must be “to form priests from when they enter seminary until they go forward.

This training in abuse prevention is not something that was done in the past but now it is essential for seminaries, he said, explaining that he is ashamed by what has happened, “but I have a lot of hope in the future.”

However, Ramos stressed that finding the right way forward is not something that can happen in one 3-day meeting with the pope, but it will take longer. Using the words of Francis himself, he said it is a “synodal process” that everyone has to work on together with the guidance of the pope.

Referring to a letter written by Benedict XVI to Irish bishops in 2010 after the country’s massive abuse crisis was uncovered, Gonzalez said Chilean prelates have all read the document, which is “a precious and beautiful text full of guidelines that we will follow or all following.”

However, the what is needed now “is to listen to Peter, to listen to the Pope…conclusions will come, new paths will come out,” he said, “the pope gives us light” indicating path to be taken.

 

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