Washington D.C., May 3, 2019 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- The Catholic University of America hosted a recent special exhibit to share the stories of survivors of clerical sexual abuse and how they have coped with the trauma of their experiences. Nine people… […]
Montgomery, Ala., May 3, 2019 / 11:30 am (CNA).- The Alabama House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make performing an abortion a Class A felony offence. The Human Life Protection Act would mean doctors who perform abortion could face ye… […]
Washington D.C., May 3, 2019 / 07:15 am (CNA).- The Department of Health and Human Services has released a new rule allowing medical professionals to refuse to take part in procedures because of their religious or conscientious objections. The rule cov… […]
New York City, N.Y., May 3, 2019 / 04:00 am (CNA).- Esther Harber says she was raped by a priest in 2010. Nine years later, through grace and her own courage, Harber’s story, and her life, are moving forward in hope.
Harber is not naive. She kno… […]
Sacramento, Calif., May 2, 2019 / 05:06 pm (CNA).- Catholic Charities of the East Bay (CCEB) in California is remaining firm in its conviction against referring teenage victims of sex trafficking for contraception and abortions at a new facility, while emphasizing that medical care is not the new facility’s primary mission.
“We are not licensed to provide medical services,” said Mary Kuhn, spokesperson for CCEB. “We provide therapeutic services, shelter, case manage, and make sure the girls are getting either homeschooling or the right school, all of that…We’re not involved in their medical decisions.”
Catholic Charities is planning to open a home for teenage victims of sex trafficking, but has faced opposition from neighbors and critics who oppose the Church’s teaching on contraception and abortion.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the planned home will house up to 12 teenage sex-trafficking victims, ages 12 to 17, in Sequoyah, a forested neighborhood of the eastern Oakland hills. The facility, a former rectory, is still awaiting state approval to begin operations.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley had approached the diocese with an initiative to tackle human trafficking in the area. The new facility will be named “Claire’s House,” after O’Malley’s mother.
Kuhn told CNA that the biggest problem faced by social services agencies and advocacy groups for victims of sex trafficking is a lack of supportive homes, and Claire’s House is intended to fill that need.
The district attorney approached Oakland Bishop Michael Barber in 2015, along with other faith-based agencies in the area, asking for their help in addressing the problem of sex trafficking.
“There’s a lot of support for this program in Alameda County and the greater Bay Area,” Kuhn told CNA.
“Unfortunately there are a few people that are, quite understandably, nervous or opposed because they really just don’t want this near where they live.”
The president of the Coalition of Residents Protecting Sequoyah, the neighborhood where the home will operate, has expressed concern about human traffickers coming to the neighborhood looking for girls they have abused.
“Claire’s House is not a safehouse, and it’s not a shelter,” Kuhn clarified.
“And that’s really important…a safehouse means you’re hiding from someone, and a shelter means you’re getting a bed, but little else. Claire’s House is a home, and it’s a home for healing. It’s a home for girls who have already been separated from their exploiter,” she said.
The young people that the house will be serving will primarily be referred to the house by the county social services agency, and will be children that are already in the foster care system.
Without a place like Claire’s House, Kuhn said, they could be placed in a foster home with a family that “really isn’t prepared to provide the sort of therapeutic services and support that they need, because of their experience [of being trafficked].”
“They’re not coming in as an emergency placement or a crisis situation, so there is an assessment process. So they’re at a place where they are contemplating where to go next in their lives, and they just don’t have housing and they don’t have a place where they can be kids again.”
In alignment with Catholic teaching on the immorality of artificial contraception and abortion, the facility will not make appointments for clients at clinics that provide contraception or abortion and will also not provide transportation to those facilities.
Instead, the home will post a sign in a common area that explains the teens’ medical options. It will be up to the teens’ parents or guardians to arrange for abortion or contraception if they so choose.
“We are not a provider of medical services,” Kuhn clarified.
Per the house’s licensing, they contract with a third party medical provider who Kuhn said is equipped to work with the vulnerable group that they serve.
If there are conversations or decisions regarding abortion or contraception, that would be between the girls, their doctors, and their guardians. She said the house will likely not talk to the girls much about those topics, but that pro-life pregnancy resources are a service Catholic Charities of the East Bay would like to provide in the future.
“They do have access to third-party medical care providers,” she said.
“Of course, we’ll talk about health and hygiene, life skills, things like that. But our goal is to get them stabilized, enable them to pursue their education, get them the therapeutic services they need, and enable them to start participating in things kids do.”
The overarching Catholic values that come from their work help the teenagers to heal, she said.
“A lack of supportive homes for children who have left their exploiters— that is the single biggest problem that’s faced by social service organizations and advocacy groups, and Claire’s House fills this desperate need,” she reiterated.
The survivor led-community is supportive of the house, she said, and she said she hopes that other Catholic Charities organizations around the country can follow the same model.
“We are a national system, and we have deep experience serving people on the margins,” Kuhn said.
“And other entities would have a difficult time matching what Catholic Charities is able to do.”
The home plans to begin accepting its first clients as soon as the state approves a care license for the facility. Kuhn said Catholic Charities of East Bay will not be publicly announcing when they begin their services out of respect for the privacy of the children.
Wichita, Kan., May 2, 2019 / 04:10 pm (CNA).- By a single vote, the Kansas legislature failed to override a governor’s veto of a bill requiring doctors who administer the two-pill abortion drug regimen to tell women that the abortion pill can be … […]
Washington D.C., May 2, 2019 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has approved a controversial equality bill paving the way for a full vote on the floor of the House. Critics of the bill warn that the legislation will dam… […]
Oklahoma City, Okla., May 2, 2019 / 12:16 am (CNA).- The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a state law restricting the way in which the abortion pill is used.
The 7-1 decision rejected H.B. 2684, a five-year-old piece of legislation signed… […]
Camden, N.J., May 1, 2019 / 05:19 pm (CNA).- Affordable housing is a problem for many Americans, but for the low-income residents of Camden, a Catholic non-profit is working hard to make sure they have the budgeting skills, the life skills, and the com… […]
Atlanta, Ga., May 1, 2019 / 03:45 pm (CNA).- The bishops of the state of Georgia have vowed to be open and transparent as the attorney general conducts an investigation into clerical sex abuse in the state.
In a statement released by Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta on Tuesday, April 30, the archbishop said that both he and Bishop Gregory Hartmayer of Savannah, had “offered [their] full support and cooperation to Attorney General Chris Carr for a third party file review of both Georgia dioceses.”
According to Gregory, both he and Hartmayer have cooperated fully with authorities regarding the investigation and file review, and they have all agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding.
At the conclusion of the review, a report detailing sexual abuse by members of the clergy in the state will be released.
“I reiterate my genuine concern for all who have been hurt directly or indirectly by abuse of any kind by anyone and I renew my commitment to healing, transparency and trust,” said Gregory. “I believe this review is an important step in the long journey forward.”
Carr, the Georgia attorney general, told an Atlanta news station that the investigation was months in the making, and that there has already been an agreement into how the review process and investigation will be conducted. The investigation will be run by the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia.
In November, the Archdiocese of Atlanta released a list containing the names of 15 priests, deacons, and seminarians who had been accused of sexual abuse of minors. Every individual on the list was either dead, removed from active ministry, or had been convicted of a crime.
Carr is urging any and all victims of sexual abuse to come forward. He said he is unsure how long the investigation and review will take.
On April 4, Gregory was announced as the new Archbishop of Washington, DC. He will be leaving the Archdiocese of Atlanta later this month, and installed in Washington on May 21. At a press conference announcing his appointment to the Archdiocese of Washington, Gregory pledged to be truthful and transparent during his time leading the archdiocese, as he had during his time in Atlanta and leading the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“I walked away from my time as president [of the USCCB] knowing this one thing: that I told them the truth as best as I could. And that’s what I will do with the Archdiocese of Washington,” said Gregory at the April 4 press conference.
During his time leading the USCCB from 2001-2003, Gregory helped shape the Church’s response to the sexual abuse crisis, playing a leading role in the drafting and implementation of the Dallas Charter and USCCB Essential Norms.
Gregory is currently part of a special task force, along with Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, charged by the USCCB with examining proposals for increasing episcopal accountability in matters of clerical sexual abuse.
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