Olympia, Wash., Oct 12, 2018 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- The use of the death penalty is arbitrary, racially biased and unconstitutional, the Washington state Supreme Court has said in a unanimous decision barring its use.
The ruling was issued Oct. 11 and mak… […]
Boston, Mass., Oct 12, 2018 / 11:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Archdiocese of Boston announced Thursday that it is expanding its sex abuse investigation to include all three of its seminaries.
The investigation will now include Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary and Redemptoris Mater Seminary, along with St. John’s Seminary, which has been under investigation since August after two of its seminarians filed abuse claims.
In his announcement of the expansion, Cardinal Sean O’Malley said that the decision to include the other two seminaries came about in consultations about the investigation into St. John’s.
“While the initial review was specific to St. John’s, I have concluded that to meet the generally expected levels of transparency and accountability, it is best to expand the review to include all three seminaries,” O’Malley said.
“I want to reassure the seminary communities and the wider public that these are institutions committed to the highest standards of integrity, respect and safety for our seminarians, faculty and staff,” he added.
It is not known if there were additional accusations brought forward involving the additional seminaries. CNA asked the Archdiocese of Boston whether additional allegations have been made; the archdiocese referred CNA back to its statement issued Oct. 10.
An updated version of the statement includes a Frequently Asked Questions section, which poses the question: “Why include all three seminaries if the initial issue involved only Saint John’s Seminary?”
The answer to that question provided by the Archdiocese states: “While the issues pertained to St. John’s Seminary, the Cardinal wants to reassure the Catholic community and wider public that we owe it to future generations of seminarians that all three of our seminaries meet the highest level of exceptionalism and holiness for priestly formation.”
On August 10 of this year, O’Malley announced a major investigation into St. John’s Seminary in the Archdiocese of Boston, following allegations made by two former seminarians on social media. The cardinal also announced that the rector of the seminary, Monsignor James Moroney, had been placed on immediate leave to allow for a “fully independent inquiry.”
At that time, O’Malley said the two men who had brought the accusations forward had “witnessed and experienced activities which are directly contrary to the moral standards and requirements of formation for the Catholic priesthood” and that they would be taken seriously.
O’Malley, who also serves as the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, also announced in his Oct. 11 statement a change in the committee that will be conducting the investigation.
He said that the scope of the new investigation would be too broad for the original committee, and added the members of the original committee all had ties to St. John’s which might have compromised their objectivity.
“For these several reasons I have decided to engage (the lawfirm of) Yurko, Salvesen and Remz to conduct the review of the Archdiocesan seminaries,” O’Malley said.
“The review will be led by former U.S. Attorney Donald K. Stern, with the assistance of Doug Salvesen and others at the firm. Yurko, Salvesen and Remz has significant experience with the process of review that we seek and does not have an existing relationship with any of the seminaries or the Archdiocese of Boston.”
O’Malley encouraged anyone with relevant information to contact the investigating firm directly.
An independent report highlighting concerns, and steps to address them, will be issued once the investigation has been completed, O’Malley noted.
He added that the investigation will be done in such a way as to allow for “as little disruption as possible to the academic year now underway at the seminaries.”
He said that the Archdiocese is “blessed” to have its three seminaries, and that he looked forward to ordaining the largest number of new priests in more than two decades for the Archdiocese in the upcoming ordinations for the class of 2019.
He also noted that while he encourages everyone to pray for religious vocations, the role of the laity is also vital in the Church.
“In times such as we are experiencing it is of ever greater importance that we embrace the dedication, commitment and experience of the laity if we are to provide the path for our future priests to serve as witnesses of the love and mercy of Jesus.”
Washington D.C., Oct 11, 2018 / 05:15 pm (CNA).- The benefits and drawbacks of different Catholic campus ministry models were the focus of a new U.S. bishops’ report released Oct. 9. The report also highlighted a lack of a Catholic presence espec… […]
Minneapolis, Minn., Oct 11, 2018 / 03:13 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Thousands of young Catholic students gathered for Mass, music, and a winter clothing drive on Wednesday morning in a stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Drawing children from 79 Catholic sch… […]
Austin, Texas, Oct 11, 2018 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- All 15 Catholic dioceses in Texas plan to release names of clergy who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor, according to a release from the Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops. The relea… […]
Madison, Wis., Oct 11, 2018 / 04:01 am (CNA).- A Wisconsin man was sentenced to 22 years in prison Oct. 9 for spiking his pregnant girlfriend’s drink with an abortion-inducing drug, in an attempt to induce a miscarriage. His girlfriend reportedly… […]
Washington D.C., Oct 10, 2018 / 04:50 pm (CNA).- A new congressional report slams China’s Communist Party for increasing its repressive control over many aspects of Chinese society, and for its numerous extreme and unprecedented human rights viol… […]
Burlington, Vt., Oct 10, 2018 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- The Diocese of Burlington, the only Catholic diocese in Vermont, is forming a lay committee to investigate personnel files relating to sexual abuse of minors by priests, Bishop Christopher Coyne announced in a statement Oct. 10. When is concludes its review, the committee will publicly release a list of accused priests.
The committee will examine the same files covered by a previous investigation conducted by the Vermont attorney general’s office in 2002. That investigation covered allegations relating to the years 1950-2000. The files do not include any contemporary accusations of sexual misconduct occurring after 2003, Coyne said.
The announcement comes one day after an article appeared online about Vermont attorney general’s decision that it “would not be prudent” to release the results of the 2002-2003 enquiry into clerical sexual abuse. According to BuzzFeed News, that investigation resulted in the names of 21 men being turned over to state authorities. In most cases, the accused were either deceased or no longer in ministry.
No charges for sexual crimes against minors were brought following the attorney general’s investigation.
There has only been one credible accusation of priestly sexual abuse in the Diocese of Burlington since 2002, which concerned an “at-risk adult.” No priests currently in ministry in the diocese have been accused of sexual abuse, according to the diocese.
The new lay-led committee will also examine files that were initially not fully investigated by the state in 2002, Coyne told CNA in a phone interview. These files contained allegations against deceased priests but were not deemed worthy of further investigation.
Coyne wants the committee to reexamine all the allegation in order to determine whether or not the names of the accused should be made public.
“There’s some files that are old, that the priests were deceased, there was no investigation,” he said. “They said, ‘You know, we’re not going to investigate this, there’s only one allegation, this was an old file, and the priest is deceased and he can’t clear his name.’”
“So there’s a few of those, and that’s what I want the committee to look at, and I want them to make a decision as to whether we’re going to release the names of priests that are deceased prior to 2002.”
He explained that other dioceses have only chosen to release the names of priests who either admitted to abuse, were the subject of a settlement, or had been made aware of the accusation prior to their deaths so they would have a chance to defend themselves.
Other files, he told CNA, include details of behavior that does not rise to the level of a criminal complaint, but is still “creepy” and a violation of boundary issues. Coyne wants the committee to examine these files to ensure that no additional action needs to be taken.
“(There was some behavior by a priest) that we said, ‘Okay, we can’t put you back in ministry,’ but we want to look at those files too and say, ‘You know, do we need to do anything here, have we done that right?’,” he explained.
Coyne told CNA that he is unsure as to why the report was not released in 2003, but suspects that the attorney general’s office was reluctant to release names in cases they would not be prosecuting.
“I wish I could give you an answer. I don’t know,” said Coyne. “They may have decided that since they couldn’t prosecute and they weren’t able to bring any charges against anyone that they couldn’t name names.”
Coyne is, however, “very confident” that his diocese has taken appropriate measures in responding to allegations of sexual abuse. Since 2002, the Diocese of Burlington has had a policy of immediately involving law enforcement following any allegation of clerical sexual abuse.
“We went one step further in that as a matter of policy from that point on, any allegation that was deemed to be initially credible, namely that it had some sense of truth to it, was turned over to the authorities,” he told CNA. Even if the person making the complaint refuses to go to the police, the diocese would still take the matter to the authorities, he said.
The committee will also determine which details to include in the public list of the accused, such as birth, death, and ordination dates, and Coyne hopes to form the committee soon, so they can start work as quickly as possible.
“I think this is the way forward. I think every diocese has to do this, otherwise we’re going to continue to have these stories break every few months all over the country,” he told CNA.
“And every time it breaks, the cloud of guilt goes across all of us.”
Los Angeles, Calif., Oct 10, 2018 / 02:01 pm (CNA).- A lawsuit in California is accusing bishops from all of the state’s dioceses, as well as the California Catholic Conference and the Archdiocese of Chicago, of covering up sexual abuse.
Jeff An… […]
Oakland, Calif., Oct 9, 2018 / 06:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Michael Barber of Oakland has announced that the diocese will release the names of all clerics credibly accused of the sexual abuse of a minor.
“I hope and pray the publication of these names will help the innocent survivors and their families in their journey to wholeness and healing,” he wrote in a letter dated Oct. 2 and released Oct. 7.
The list will include the names of diocesan and religious priests, as well as extern priests. Anticipated to be released in roughly 45 days, the list is meant to be as accurate as possible, the bishop said, noting it will take some time to verify information on international and religious priests.
Aformer FBI official known for advocacy for justice in clercy sex abuse, Dr. Kathleen McChesney, will
assist in the review of clergy files and the audit of the diocese’s process. Once the list is published, McChesney and her associates will fully review the files “to ensure our list is as accurate as possible,” Bishop Barber said. He said this second review will not be completed before Jan. 1, 2019.
Bishop Barber expressed hope that this list would help purify the Church and create a transparent environment.
“This is the latest step in the ongoing commitment of the Diocese of Oakland to stop the scourge of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults,” he wrote.
“This public accountability will allow you and others in our community to see we are keeping our promises. We have nothing to hide. It is the right thing to do.”
The bishop said the Diocese of Oakland has continually improved its accountability process, “utilizing background checks and mandatory safe environment training for all church employees and volunteers.” He also said the diocese welcomes regular audits from outside firms to guarantee all parishes and schools are compliant.
Bishop Barber expressed support for the mutual support group, No More Secrets Group, which has been meeting in the diocese since 2002, helping adult survivors through sexual abuses that occurred in childhood.
If anyone is aware of sexual misconduct by a clergy member or employee of the diocese, he asked them to make a report to the authorities or Stephen Wilcox, chancellor and victims assistance coordinator for the diocese.
“I realize other victims may step forward with new information. Any accusation will be fully investigated by our independent Diocesan Review Board. We intend to update our list as we receive new information.”
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