Los Angeles, Calif., Aug 8, 2018 / 03:12 pm (CNA).- John Paul II taught often that science and religion follow complementary paths toward the same goal- truth.
A new high school in Los Angeles- the St. John Paul II STEM Academy- aims to help students … […]
Washington D.C., Aug 8, 2018 / 02:30 pm (CNA).- A group of young Catholic writers, intellectuals, and activists released an open letter Aug. 8 calling for an independent investigation into the alleged crimes of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick. The letter also calls Catholic leaders to recommit themselves to the Church’s teaching on sexuality.
The letter was published Wednesday on the website of First Things.
Matthew Schmitz, senior editor at First Things and a signatory of the letter, told CNA that it was written by a “diverse group of Catholics from a whole host of backgrounds.”
The letter’s signatories said their letter was written in part to respond to a Vatican request that young people offer reports on their faith and the role of the Church in their lives, in advance of an upcoming Church synod on young people and vocations.
The letter noted the the signatories were all children in the decades before the public sexual abuse scandals of 2002, and that they are now faithful adult Catholics.
“We ask you to agree to a thorough, independent investigation into claims of abuse by Archbishop McCarrick, both of minors and of adults. We want to know who in the hierarchy knew about his crimes, when they knew it, and what they did in response. This is the least that would be expected of any secular organization; it should not be more than we can expect from the Church,” the letter said.
In June, the Archdiocese of New York deemed an allegation that McCarrick serially sexually abused a minor to be “credible and substantiated.”
Since that initial allegation became public, additional accusations have surfaced concerning McCarrick’s alleged misconduct with adult seminarians, including confirmation of two out-of-court settlements reached with adult-aged accusers by dioceses previously led by McCarrick. Pope Francis accepted Archbishop McCarrick’s resignation from the College of Cardinals July 28.
Schmitz told CNA that the letter was a call for transparency and accountability by the hierarchy.
“We’d like to see light come in. We want an investigation. We want a new attitude on the part of the bishops.”
Such an investigation would be carried out by people not directly connected to the McCarrick, and would report to both the Vatican as well as the Catholic faithful, Schmitz said.
Schmitz said the letter addresses a problem that goes beyond the McCarrick allegations. The signatories called for renewed emphasis on the Church’s teachings on sexuality and chastity, as well as “acts of public penance and reparation” by bishops to begin to restore trust among the Catholic faithful.
“I think over the last 50 years in our culture, with the sexual revolution, there’s been a sense that the Church needs to broadly accommodate itself to sexual sins,” said Schmitz.
“McCarrick, I think, shows one of the possible outcomes of that accommodation.”
Schmitz warned of a slippery slope if the Church were to change or ignore her teachings on sexuality, bringing up the example of St. Peter Damian, an eleventh-century Benedicte monk, who confronted sexual sins in his own community. The saint recognized that sexual sins compound on another, explained Schmitz, suggesting there exists such a possibility in the contemporary Church.
“I don’t think that this crisis would have happened had the Catholic community not succumbed to various sins and made compromises with the flesh,” he said.
The letter emphasized this point: “As Catholics, we believe that the Church’s teaching on human nature and sexuality is life-giving and leads to holiness. We believe that just as there is no room for adultery in marriages, so there is no room for adultery against the Bride of Christ. We need bishops to make clear that any act of sexual abuse or clerical unchastity degrades the priesthood and gravely harms the Church.”
Schmitz also cited the recent accusations of widespread sexual abuse and misconduct in Honduras’ national seminary, as well as claims from former seminarians in the United States.
He said that there is a prevailing attitude among bishops to mitigate or dismiss the severity of abuse against adult men, and that this also must change, and that the laity have a duty to make their objections to this behavior known.
“I think the laity should make itself heard and let the bishops know that it is an act of abuse for a bishop to molest the seminarians,” said Schmitz.
“Even if any of these acts were perfectly consensual, they are contrary to the Church’s teaching and so profoundly scandalize the faithful.”
The letter expressed gratitude for “the way good priests and bishops lay down their lives for us day after day. They say the Mass, absolve us from sin, celebrate our weddings, and baptize our children. Through their preaching, teaching, and writing, they remind us that Jesus Christ has conquered evil once and for all. Their daily sacrifices give us blessings of infinite worth. For all of this, we are profoundly thankful.”
However, Schmitz said an investigation should consider those clerics who have been negligent in uncovering sexual sins among the clergy, along with those who know about misconduct and failed to act. An investigation is needed to ensure a focus on individual responsibility, said Schmitz, and it should not simply result collective statements of fault and regret, as that would dilute the failings of those most responsible.
It is not acceptable for a bishop to plead ignorance, he said, as they are part of the Church hierarchy and must be accountable.
“A shepherd is supposed to protect his sheep, and if the wolves come and attack them, he can’t simply say, ‘well, I was asleep.'”
Iowa City, Aug 8, 2018 / 10:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A Christian student group is suing the University of Iowa after being kicked off campus because it requires its leaders to be Christians.
“Universities should allow students the space to form t… […]
South Bend, Ind., Aug 7, 2018 / 07:00 pm (CNA).- The University of Notre Dame announced that it will not rescind the honorary degree conferred upon Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, whose resignation from the College of Cardinals was accepted July 28 by P… […]
Baltimore, Md., Aug 7, 2018 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson pledged the fraternal organization’s continued efforts to aid and rebuild persecuted Christian communities in the Middle East, during his Aug. 7 addre… […]
Washington D.C., Aug 7, 2018 / 02:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A new survey of motives of U.S. churchgoers and non-churchgoers reveals that a significant percentage of Catholics who don’t go to church claim to practice their faith “in other ways… […]
Washington D.C., Aug 7, 2018 / 01:16 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- More than 100 members of Congress are asking the federal government to issue new regulations ensuring greater transparency in health insurance plans that include abortion.
“Consumers have… […]
Washington D.C., Aug 7, 2018 / 03:14 am (CNA).- The largest global Christian prison ministry is applauding reports that U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled a willingness to include sentencing reform measures in a pending prison bill.
“We&rs… […]
Washington D.C., Aug 7, 2018 / 12:20 am (CNA).- Amid a renewed public conversation about what can be done to keep children safe from abuse, studies show that unstable family structure is a major risk factor for abuse.
When looking at overall trends in… […]
Albany, N.Y., Aug 6, 2018 / 04:45 pm (CNA).- The Bishop of Albany said Monday that a commission of lay Catholics should be formed to investigate claims of abuse or misconduct made against bishops.
“What is needed now is an independent commission led by well-respected, faithful lay leaders who are beyond reproach, people whose role on such a panel will not serve to benefit them financially, politically, or personally,” Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany wrote in a statement released Aug. 6.
“I think we have reached a point where bishops alone investigating bishops is not the answer. To have credibility, a panel would have to be separated from any source of power whose trustworthiness might potentially be compromised,” he added.
The statement was Scharfenberger’s second public comment on the scandal in the U.S. Church that began when the Archdiocese of New York announced June 20 that it had concluded an investigation into an allegation that then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had sexually abused a teenager, finding the claim to be “credible and substantiated.”
Since that time, media reports have detailed additional allegations, charging that McCarrick sexually abused, assaulted, or coerced seminarians and young priests during his time as a bishop. McCarrick’s resignation from the college of cardinals was eventually accepted by Pope Francis.
“Let me be clear in stating my firm conviction that this is, at heart, much more than a crisis of policies and procedures. We can – and I am confident that we will – strengthen the rules and regulations and sanctions against any trying to fly under the radar or to ‘get away with’ such evil and destructive behaviors. But, at its heart, this is much more than a challenge of law enforcement; it is a profoundly spiritual crisis,” the bishop wrote in a July 29 letter to priests and deacons of his diocese.
In his Aug. 6 statement, Scharfenberger wrote that “it is time for us, I believe, to call forth the talents and charisms of our lay faithful, by virtue of their baptismal priesthood. Our lay people are not only willing to take on this much-needed role, but they are eager to help us make lasting reforms that will restore a level of trust that has been shattered yet again. In speaking with them, we all hear their passion for our universal Church, their devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and their hunger for the truth. They are essential to the solution we seek.”
“We bishops want to rise to this challenge, which may well be our last opportunity considering all that has happened. We must get this right. I am confident we can find a way to look outside ourselves, to put this in the hands of the Holy Spirit, and to entrust our very capable lay people, who have stood with us through very difficult times, to help us do the right thing. We need an investigation — the scope of which is not yet defined but must be defined — and it must be timely, transparent and credible.”
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