Washington D.C., Sep 13, 2018 / 02:30 pm (CNA).- The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote Sept. 20 on whether or not to recommend Judge Brett Kavanaugh for confirmation to the Supreme Court, committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced on … […]
Harrisburg, Pa., Sep 13, 2018 / 01:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A district attorney in Pennsylvania cleared Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend of any wrongdoing Thursday, and both the district attorney and the Fort Wayne diocese lamented that unnecessary harm was done to the bishop by speculation going public.
“After a full investigation, the Dauphin County District Attorney has determined that there is no basis to conclude that Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades ever engaged in a criminal or otherwise improper relationship with a person whom we will refer to as J.T.,” read a Sept. 13 statement by Francis Chardo, Dauphin County district attorney.
A cousin of J.T. (who died in 1996) had contacted the Diocese of Harrisburg saying he recalled Rhoades having travelled with J.T. when J.T. was a minor, and that he thought it was odd and was compelled to report it. Harrisburg is the seat of Dauphin County.
The suggestion of impropriety was leaked to the press.
The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend stated that “While it’s important that allegations be brought forward, it’s equally important for due process to take place. The result of this investigation underscores the importance of allowing appropriate authorities to determine credibility of accusations before the reputation of any individual is impugned in the court of public opinion.”
Similarly, Chardo wrote that “This has been a case of a public airing of mere speculation of impropriety with no foundation. In this case, the leaking of what turned out to be an unfounded report did unnecessary harm. This has done a disservice to actual victims of sexual abuse. It has also caused significant and unnecessary harm to Bishop Rhoades.”
He encouraged “reports of any suspicion of the abuse of a child to law enforcement,” while adding that “once reports are made to proper authorities, they should be fully investigated without public speculation about guilt. Where appropriate, we will bring charges. Here, we found no evidence of wrongdoing. We now regard this case as closed.”
Bishop Rhoades, 60, was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Harrisburg in 1983. He became Bishop of Harrisburg in 204, and continued serving there until his 2009 appointment as Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
Chardo explained that J.T. turned 18 in July 1988, and that Rhoades had no connection to J.T.’s parish until that month, and that he “would have had no opportunity to even meet J.T. before July 1988. In fact, he did not meet J.T. until almost two years later.”
Rhoades first met J.T. in 1990 at the Dauphin County Prison, the district attorney found. J.T.’s mother had asked Rhoades to visit her son in prison. Bishop Rhoade’s recollection of events coincided with the records of the county jail, Chardo noted.
J.T. Was paroled April 6, 1990, after Rhoades told a court that J.T. could do community service at his parish.
“During the time that J.T. was doing community service and spending time at St. Francis Parish, Father Rhoades decided to make a trip to Puerto Rico,” Chardo wrote. “A friend of Father Rhoades, a teacher, who was considering the priesthood, also made the trip. Upon learning of the impending travel to Puerto Rico, J.T. asked if he could also join the trip so that he could visit his grandmother there. Father Rhoades agreed. All three men made the trip to Puerto Rico and there was no sexual or intimate contact between them. We interviewed the teacher by telephone as he lives in England … He confirmed Bishop Rhoades’ account of the trip and that there was no sexual or intimate contact between Father Rhoades and anyone else during the trip.”
J.T.’s mother was also interviewed by detectives, and she “corroborated Bishop Rhoades’ account,” confirming that the Puerto Rico trip took place when J.T. was in his 20s, and that “she never had any indication of sexual contact between J.T. and Father Rhoades.”
Chardo noted that the investigation began with a report by one of J.T.’s cousins to the Harrisburg diocese that he recalled Rhoades “had travelled with J.T. to Puerto Rico twice and South America once when J.T. was 13 or 14 years old. The cousin did not witness any sexual or unlawful acts and did not receive information relating any such acts from any source. The cousin merely thought the conduct he remembered was odd and so he felt compelled to report it. The Diocese promptly forwarded the report to the Dauphin County District Attorney.”
The district attorney noted that when he was re-interviewed, “the cousin indicated that he was not certain of the timeframe but he was sure that the contacts between J.T. and Father Rhoades occurred after 1986, based upon a milestone in his own life. He conceded that it may very well have been when J.T. was in his late teens or early twenties.”
“Based upon the records relating to Bishop Rhoades’ assignments and the interviews of Bishop Rhoades and J.T.’s mother, we have determined that Bishop Rhoades first came in contact with J.T. at the request of his mother while J.T. was an adult inmate of the Dauphin County Prison. This contact was in the context of religious outreach to an inmate to provide spiritual guidance.”
Chardo also determined that the trip to Puerto Rico “occurred when J.T. was an adult” and that “this was the only time that Bishop Rhoades travelled with J.T.”
“The report relating to multiple trips was the result of an honest, mistaken recollection and the passage of nearly three decades. All of Bishop Rhoades’ contact with J.T. was in the context of pastoral care and arose out of the recognized tradition of prison ministry.”
Chardo noted that J.T.’s name was not disclosed “because the report by a member his family was made confidentially and without the expectation that it would be publicly aired.”
He added that “no witness has alleged observing any criminal or improper conduct by Bishop Rhoades with respect to J.T., and that “Bishop Rhoades and the family of J.T. fully cooperated in the investigation.”
The Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese noted its appreciation of “the swift and thorough investigation into the unsubstantiated allegation against Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades. As anticipated, the investigation exonerated Bishop Rhoades.”
The diocese said it “stands firm in sympathy and support for all victims of child sexual abuse and encourages victims to report allegations.”
Bishop Rhoades commented, “I have offered up the pain of this difficult time for the victim survivors of child sexual abuse.”
Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sep 13, 2018 / 01:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Coming into effect at the end of 2018, English women will be allowed to take abortion pills at home; but it remains unclear whether Northern Irish women who travel to England will be allowed to do so.
Currently, women who plan to end a pregnancy at 10 weeks or less are required to take two abortive pills at the clinic. The second pill is taken between 24-48 hours after the first one.
With the new plan, the women will be allowed to take the second abortion pill at home, after the first one has been taken at the clinic.
The women may have to prove English residency; a similar program in Scotland requires a residence test.
If the residency test is adopted in England, it “would deny women coming from Northern Ireland this choice of procedure,” Labour MP Stella Creasy has said.
Victoria Atkins, British Minister for Women and Equalities, explained that the Department for Health is only able to approve English homes as a place that the abortion bill can be taken.
Atkins said officials “are working with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to determine protocol which will set out criteria for which places should be covered by the term ‘home’.”
“We will look at how the (early abortion pill) schemes are working in Scotland and Wales and learn from the experience there.”
Abortion is allowed in Northern Ireland only if the mother’s life is at risk, or if there is risk of permanent, serious damage to her mental or physical health. Abortion pills are illegal in Northern Ireland.
Bills to legalize abortion for fatal fetal abnormality or rape or incest failed in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016.
In June 2017, Teresa May’s government announced that Northern Irish women would be able to procure free National Health Service abortions in England.
The UK Supreme Court threw out a case challenging Northern Ireland’s abortion law in June 2018, saying the commission which brought the case does not have standing to do so. However, the judges also said the current law violates the European Convention on Human Rights.
Lord Mance, delivering the judgement June 7, said that had the commission the competence to bring the challenge, “I would have concluded, without real hesitation at the end of the day, that the current Northern Ireland law is incompatible with article 8 of the [European human rights] convention insofar as it prohibits abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality, rape and incest but not insofar as it prohibits abortion in cases of serious foetal abnormality.”
Vatican City, Sep 13, 2018 / 12:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The most important duty of bishops is total dedication to the pursuit of holiness and the holiness of their local Church, Pope Francis said to a group of 130 new bishops Thursday.
“I speak … […]
Washington D.C., Sep 13, 2018 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Dr. Leana Wen, a former Baltimore City Commissioner of Health, is the new president of Planned Parenthood. The abortion provider announced Wen’s appointment on Sept. 12. She replaces Dr. Cecile Richards, who was appointed to the role in 2006.
In a three-minute video posted by Planned Parenthood announcing her hiring, Wen described her immigrant background–she moved to the United States from China at the age of eight–and her past work as an emergency room doctor and as the health commissioner of Baltimore.
“Reproductive health care is health care. Women’s health care is health care, and health care has to be understood as a fundamental human right,” said Wen in the video.
“Having a physician as the head of Planned Parenthood–it is a sign that what we are doing is mainstream medical care.”
While Wen stressed her enthusiasm for the role, former Planned Parenthood clinic director-turned-pro-life activist Abby Johnson told CNA that she hopes to one day welcome Wen into her ministry for former abortion industry workers.
“Doctors take an oath to first ‘do no harm’ and when it comes to pregnant women, there are two patients. Doctors understand this, even those who do abortions,” said Johnson.
“We have had seven abortionists come through our ministry at And Then There Were None–they left their jobs and realized they could authentically practice that oath elsewhere. It’s my hope that Dr. Leana Wen, Planned Parenthood’s new president, comes to realize the atrocity of abortion for both mom and baby. We are here when she decides to quit and to use her talents to first do no harm.”
Wen is the first physician to lead Planned Parenthood in five decades. In a statement on Twitter, she said her new position was “an incredible honor and privilege” and that she was “proud to stand alongside millions of (the organization’s) supporters as we embark on this next chapter together.
Americans United for Life President and CEO Catherine Glenn Foster said in a statement that she believes that Wen “puts politics ahead of women’s health,” and that she has an “abysmal and tragic record” combatting sexually transmitted diseases from her time in Baltimore.
During Wen’s time as a city commissioner for health, Maryland had some of the highest diagnosis rates in the country for diseases such as syphilis and HIV/AIDS, said Foster.
“Without irony, Wen further hails the ‘life saving work’ of the nation’s largest abortion network, even though Baltimore’s African-American community has been decimated by abortion.”
While in her post in Baltimore, Wen sued the Trump administration over funding cuts to a grant for teen pregnancy prevention programs. The funding was eventually restored.
Foster was also critical of Wen’s attack on conscience rights, saying “[Wen] refers to the principled decisions of doctors and nurses to refrain from the destruction of innocent human lives as ‘refusals,’ and teamed up with NARAL in the attempt to force pro-life pregnancy centers to refer for abortions.”
Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of abortions in the United States. In 2016, the organization performed about one out of every three abortions, the largest single share by far.
While Wen emphasised the “basic health care” offered by Planned Parenthood, the past decade has seen its number of patients decline by about 700,000, while the number of cancer screenings, contraceptives distributed, and prenatal services provided by the organization decreased as well.
Abortions, however, have increased by about 10 percent since 2006, despite Planned Parenthood seeing fewer patients.
The amount of federal funding received by Planned Parenthood increased by 61 per cent over the past decade. In 2016, Planned Parenthood received over half a billion dollars in federal funds.
Vatican City, Sep 13, 2018 / 10:10 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Daniel DiNardo has called a Sept. 13 meeting between Pope Francis and leaders from the Church in United States “lengthy and fruitful.”
The cardinal, who is Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, travelled to Rome together with Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, the vice-president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and USCCB General Secretary Msgr. Brian Bransfield.
Also present at the meeting was Cardinal Séan O’Malley of Boston, who serves as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and is a member of the C9 Council of Cardinals charged with advising the pope on the governance of the universal Church.
DiNardo requested the meeting with Francis to discuss the ongoing sexual abuse scandals which have rocked the Church in America, in particular the case of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick. Cardinal DiNardo had previously pledged to investigate the case of Archbishop McCarrick to “the full extent of the USCCB’s authority.”
Following a private audience with Pope Francis this morning, DiNardo released a brief statement through the U.S. bishops’ conference.
“We are grateful to the Holy Father for receiving us in audience. We shared with Pope Francis our situation in the United States – how the Body of Christ is lacerated by the evil of sexual abuse. He listened very deeply from the heart. It was a lengthy, fruitful, and good exchange.”
The meeting follows a series of calls by commentators for the Pope Francis to release files held on Archbishop McCarrick in Rome and at the apostolic nunciature in Washington, D.C.
While the statement did not specify if McCarrick’s case or Vatican files related to it were discussed during the meeting, DiNardo has previously called for greater transparency by Church authorities on matters of sexual abuse, and especially that case of Archbishop McCarrick.
DiNardo’s statement said he, together with Cardinal O’Malley, Archbishop Gomez, and Msgr. Bransfield, looked forward to continuing to work together with Pope Francis on resolving the crisis facing the Church in the United States.
“As we departed the audience, we prayed the Angelus together for God’s mercy and strength as we work to heal the wounds. We look forward to actively continuing our discernment together identifying the most effective next steps.”
Earlier this week, Pope Francis announced a special meeting with all the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences to discuss sexual abuse in the Church. That meeting is expected to be held in February of next year.
Bucharest, Romania, Sep 13, 2018 / 10:00 am (CNA).- A referendum on the definition of marriage appears headed for a national vote in Romania. The ballot measure, strongly support by the Romanian parliament, would clarify that the country’s consti… […]
Vatican City, Sep 13, 2018 / 04:52 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis Thursday accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael J. Bransfield from the pastoral government of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, and asked the archbishop of Baltim… […]
Mexico City, Mexico, Sep 12, 2018 / 05:52 pm (ACI Prensa).- The Mexican bishops’ conference published Tuesday the “Catholic Church’s Plan for Building Peace,” in an effort to “redouble efforts and united action” against corruption and violence racking the country.
The goal of this plan, the bishops explained Sept. 11, is to “make known and assist in the coordination of all peace building efforts” undertaken by both Catholic and civil society organizations.
The bishops stated that building peace in Mexico will be a “pivotal axis” in their work of pastoral social ministry.
The plan will thus promote continuity in the work of caring for victims, the “workshops for forgiveness and reconciliation” will be reactivated, and strategies will be developed to care for the victims of human trafficking throughout the country.
The plan includes pastoral accompaniment and oversight for the work of the migrant centers and shelters spread throughout Mexico, working with prisoners, the care of orphans, preserving green spaces as common areas, and working with the media to get out messages that foster peace in the country.
The Mexican bishops also emphasized the importance of “collaboration with the new administration elected in our nation in 2018.”
To that end, the Mexican bishops met Sept. 4 with president-elect Andres Manuel López Obrador and had a “fraternal and proactive” dialogue.
In statement released Sept. 5, the bishops indicated “the main items” covered in their meeting with López.
The first item was the president-elect’s “presentation of the administration’s program” for the country.
The second item discussed at the meeting was “mutual concern for attention to the pressing issues: poverty, migration, violence, corruption, impunity, life and religious liberty for all confessions.”
The possibility of establishing an ongoing open channel for dialogue with the government was also addressed.
Additionally, the apostolic nuncio Archbishop Franco Coppola met with López Sept. 10. Afterwards, foreign minister designate Marcelo Ebrard emphasized that one of the points in common with the incoming administration and the Catholic Church is “the search for peace in Mexico” as well as the effort to reduce inequality in the country.
Ebrard also noted that López “has met or will meet with almost all” the religious communities in Mexico “to invite them to participate in the peace process,” seeking to bring about “a conversation and common reflection on how we can achieve peace in Mexico.”
The next Mexican foreign minister also said regarding the position of the Vatican on the peace forums in Mexico “we are not expecting from the Holy Father more than his message and point of view. The Holy Father gives important messages every day.”
The Mexican bishops’ conference has agreed to participate in these forums intended to lead to a National Reconciliation Pact.
In an Aug. 16 statement, the bishops said proposals coming out of these forums will provide input “to develop public policies that will allow progress in overcoming violence, building peace and national reconciliation.”
The “Catholic Church’s Plan for Building Peace” comes in the context of the July 1 presidential elections in Mexico. López won with 53 percent of the vote and his National Regeneration Movement party obtained majorities in both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies.
López campaigned against corruption and violence, but he or his party have also expressed support for abortion, gay marriage, and assisted suicide.
Washington D.C., Sep 12, 2018 / 04:50 pm (CNA).- An archdiocesan spokesman has confirmed that Cardinal Donald Wuerl will soon ask Pope Francis to accept his resignation as the Archbishop of Washington, D.C.
In a Sept. 11 letter to priests, Wuerl said … […]
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