Vatican City, May 16, 2018 / 04:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Expressing his sorrow for those who have lost their lives, Pope Francis Wednesday called for peace and dialogue in the Middle East, which has faced increased violence during the transfer of the U…. […]
Vatican City, May 15, 2018 / 02:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- This week 34 Chilean bishops are meeting with Pope Francis to discuss the country’s clerical sexual abuse scandal, which involves at least one of the bishops attending the meeting. The meeting is significant, but not unprecedented.
Francis summoned Chile’s bishops to Rome in an April 8 letter admitting he had made “serious mistakes” in judgment of the nation’s abuse crisis, and which was a follow-up to the results of an in-depth investigation into accusations of abuse cover-up carried out by Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s top prosecutor on clerical abuse.
In April 2002, Pope St. John Paul II called 13 U.S. cardinals and bishops to discuss a large-scale clerical sexual abuse crisis. Benedict XVI followed suit when the abuse crisis in Ireland came to light in 2009, inviting high-ranking Irish prelates and members of the Roman Curia to meet at the Vatican in February 2010.
It is practically unheard of, at least in recent history, that the pope would summon an entire bishops conference – or even the leading bishops and cardinals of a country – to Rome for a previously unplanned emergency visit. But sexual abuse, and cover-ups within ecclesial environments, seems to have merited that treatment more than other issues.
While John Paul was the first of the three most recent popes to make such a drastic request, Vatican observers say that a letter sent by Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland in March 2010 set the tone for the Vatican’s approach to sexual abuse crises around the world.
The letter, which was published after Benedict met with Irish prelates, is still widely read, taught, and referenced as a clear example of how the Vatican should respond to instance of abuse and cover-up.
According to veteran Vatican journalist John Allen, when the American bishops came to the Vatican in April 2002 to discuss the abuse crisis exploding in the U.S., the final results of the meeting were a mixed bag.
On one hand, John Paul II’s declaration that “people need to know that there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young” empowered American bishops to develop the June 2002 “Dallas Charter,” which set national standards in place for the prevention and reporting of child abuse.
On the other hand, Allen says, the documents outlining resolutions made by US bishops and the Vatican going into the future were rushed, and were considered by most in both the U.S. and Vatican delegations to be an inaccurate account of the discussion, and the plans that had been made.
In all, it would seem that the Vatican communiques following the meeting were a missed opportunity for the Church to send a strong, unified message to the world on the issue of clerical abuse.
However, Benedict XVI, who was present for the meeting with U.S. bishops in his capacity as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, got a first-hand account of the scope of the problem, the failures that allowed the abuse, the steps that needed to be taken in the future, and the damages done to individuals and to the credibility of the Church in an entire nation.
He likely drew from the experience when dealing with Ireland’s abuse scandal in 2009, and his insights seemed to guide his own discussion with Irish prelates, his handling of the conclusions of their meeting, and his 2010 letter to Irish Catholics.
During a May 14 press conference ahead of the meeting with Pope Francis to discuss their own country’s abuse crisis, Chilean bishops Fernando Ramos and Juan Ignacio González said they and their brother bishops had recently read Benedict’s 2010, and that it provides essential guidelines for them to follow in their own country.
In the letter, Benedict addressed Catholics in Ireland not only with the concern of a father, but also “with the affection of a fellow Christian, scandalized and hurt by what has occurred in our beloved Church.”
He divided the letter into sections addressed to particular groups of people, including victims and their families, parents, priests and religious guilty of abusing children, children and youth from Ireland, priests and religious from Ireland, Irish bishops themselves, and Irish Catholics on the whole.
Benedict apologized to victims, saying that nothing could undo the wrongs they had endured, and that it was understandable if they were unable to forgive and reconcile with the Church.
“In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel. At the same time, I ask you not to lose hope,” he said.
Among other things, Benedict urged greater formation on the issue of abuse for priests and religious, which was echoed by the Chilean bishops during their press conference.
He also highlighted several factors he said were causes in the abuse crisis. In addition to a rapidly changing and secularized cultural landscape, he said the procedures for finding suitable candidates for the priesthood and religious life were “inadequate,” and cited “insufficient human, moral, intellectual and spiritual formation in seminaries and novitiates” as one of the causes of institutional failure.
Also a problem, he said, was clericalism and an exaggerated respect for those in authority, as well as a “misplaced concern for the reputation of the Church and the avoidance of scandal, resulting in failure to apply existing canonical penalties and to safeguard the dignity of every person.”
In terms of concrete action, Benedict proposed a number of concrete initiatives, the first of which was to do penance.
He asked Ireland’s bishops to dedicate Lent of that year, 2010, as a time “to pray for an outpouring of God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church in your country.”
Benedict also asked that Irish Catholics offer their Friday penances for that intention for a year – from Lent 2010 to Easter 2011 – requesting that they offer their regular prayer, fasting and acts of charity for healing and renewal for the Church of Ireland, and that they go to confession more frequently.
He said special attention ought to be paid to Eucharistic adoration, especially in parishes, seminaries, religious houses and monasteries in order to “make reparation for the sins of abuse that have done so much harm” and to ask for the grace of a renewed sense of their mission.
Benedict also announced that he would carry out an apostolic visitation to certain dioceses, seminaries and religious congregations and said he would implement a mission for bishops, priests and religious from Ireland.
The hope for the mission, he said, was that by access to holy preachers and with a careful rereading of conciliar documents, liturgical rites of ordination and recent pontifical teachings, consecrated persons would “come to a more profound appreciation of your respective vocations, so as to rediscover the roots of your faith in Jesus Christ and to drink deeply from the springs of living water that he offers you through his Church.”
During the press conference Monday with Chilean bishops, Ramos and González called Benedict’s letter “a precious and beautiful text full of guidelines that we will follow or are following.”
They also made comments reminiscent of the sentiments voiced by Benedict XVI, saying they are coming into the meeting this week with “shame and pain,” but they also voiced hope that the discussion will be a fresh start for the bishops, and will provide a decisive direction going forward.
However, while they have Benedict’s guidelines in mind, the bishops said that as far as this week goes, they are in Rome at the beckoning of Pope Francis, and their task “is to listen to Peter, to listen to the pope.”
“Conclusions will come, new paths will come out,” González said, adding that “the pope gives us light” indicating the path to be taken.
Meetings between Pope Francis and the Chilean bishops began early in the afternoon Monday, and will continue through Thursday, May 17. Unlike the 2002 meeting, the Vatican has already said there will be no communique or press release after the meeting, in order to keep the discussion confidential.
Vatican City, May 15, 2018 / 01:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican published an instruction Tuesday aimed at applying norms established in Pope Francis’ 2016 apostolic constitution on women’s contemplative orders, which emphasizes the need… […]
Vatican City, May 15, 2018 / 12:22 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- At the end of his morning homily Tuesday, Pope Francis asked Catholics to pray for priests, bishops, and the pope, who he said, must learn to leave their posts when it becomes necessary.
Pr… […]
Vatican City, May 15, 2018 / 11:44 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On their first day of meetings with Pope Francis, Chilean bishops have been asked to make a 24-hour retreat, using the time to pray and reflect on specific themes provided by Pope Francis until their next audience on Wednesday.
According a May 15 Vatican communique, Pope Francis met with the Chilean bishops today at 4pm local time, marking the first session of the May 15-17 gathering.
Francis gave the bishops a text “with different themes for meditation.” Those themes have not been made public.
From the moment they received the text, “a time dedicated exclusively to prayer and meditation” was inaugurated, which will last until their next meeting Wednesday afternoon.
After Wednesday’s session, the bishops will have two additional meetings on Thursday. Meetings have been planned as a group; it is unknown whether Pope Francis will also hold private audiences with particular bishops.
In a May 14 press conference ahead of the 3-meeting, two Chilean bishops said they came to Rome with “pain and shame” given the magnitude of the abuse scandal in Chile.
The bishops – Fernando Ramos, auxiliary bishop of Santiago, and Juan Ignacio González of San Bernardo – said clerical sexual abuse is “unacceptable” and “intolerable,” and is something they are committed to eradicating.
They said 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.
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 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.
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 those involving the Marist Brothers in Chile, 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.
Although updates might be published throughout the 3-day encounter, the Vatican has said there will be no final document or communique in order to ensure confidentiality.
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.
Vatican City, May 14, 2018 / 11:21 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A custom Lamborghini Huracan that had been donated to Pope Francis last year was auctioned for nearly $1 million on Saturday, with proceeds going to charity.
The car was auctioned at Sotheby’s in London, and went to an unidentified buyer for $950,000, Fox News reports.
The sports car had been donated to Pope Francis by the Italian automaker last year. It was presented to Francis in front of his residence at the Vatican’s Saint Martha Guesthouse Nov. 15. He blessed and autographed it in the presence of top executives from the auto company.
All proceeds will go to three papal-selected charitable causes: the restoration of villages on the Nineveh Plain in Iraq, assisting victims of human trafficking, and missionary work in Africa.
At a base cost of roughly $250,000, the Huracán made its debut at the March 2014 Geneva Auto show, and was released in the second quarter of the year, quickly becoming Lamborghini’s most popular and best-selling car.
The name, which is Spanish for “hurricane,” is reminiscent of the fighting bull “Huracán” that fought in the late 1800s and was known for its courage. The choice of the car’s name follows suit with Lamborghini’s style, which often uses historic Spanish fighting bulls as a scheme for naming vehicles.
It has 610 metric horsepower and 4-wheel drive, as well as a naturally aspirated V10 engine and a full-LED lighting system. In 2014, the Huracán was named “Supercar of the Year” by car magazine Top Gear.
With six different models of the Huracán on the market, the papal-version marks a special 7th edition – white with gold lines running along the hood and angles of the car’s body – created specifically for Pope Francis.
Francis has done similar auctions for high-end gifts in the past, with each item going for well beyond its market sale price.
In 2013, he was given a Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide, which was sold to a private buyer for roughly $327,000, far exceeding the $16 – 22,000 pre-sale estimate.
For his September 2015 visit to the United States, FIAT Chrysler made a pair of FIAT 500Ls available for the Pope to use during his time in Philadelphia. Both of those cars were auctioned off to support local charities.
Vatican City, May 13, 2018 / 06:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After multiple bombings at churches in Indonesia left 11 dead dozens more injured, Pope Francis prayed for the repose of the souls of those who died and asked God to bring an end to hatred and violence.
“I am particularly close to the dear people of Indonesia, in a special way to the Christian communities of the city of Surabaya who have been strongly hit by the serious attack against places of worship,” the pope said May 13.
He offered his prayer for the victims and their relatives, and asked pilgrims to pray with him for “the God of peace to stop these violent acts, and that in the heart of all may be found space not for hatred or violence, but for reconciliation and fraternity.”
The pope’s appeal came after 11 people were killed and at least 40 injured in three separate May 13 suicide bombings in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city, which took place at churches as worshipers were gathered for Sunday services.
According to BBC News, the first explosion took place between services at Santa Maria Catholic Church around 7:30a.m. local time and involved a motorbike. The second blast took place at a Pentecostal church, and at a third location, witnesses say the attack was carried out by one or more veiled women who came into a church with children.
Sunday’s attacks were the deadliest the country has seen since 2005, when suicide bombings in Bali killed 20 people.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, which took place within minutes of each other, however, according to ABC News, police have determined that the attacks were each carried out by members of the same family who had been radicalized by ISIS in Syria before moving to Indonesia.
More than 90 percent of Indonesians are Muslim, however, there are a large number of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists in the country.
In his reflection on the day’s readings, which spoke of Jesus’ ascension into heaven, Pope Francis noted how on one hand the text directs the reader to heaven, while on the other it reminds Catholics of the Church’s mission on earth.
Jesus’ ascension, then, serves as a reminder to both look to heaven, and also to be attentive to the task the Risen Lord has entrusted to his disciples.
This mission, Francis said, is “a boundless mission – that is, literally without limits – which overcomes human strength.”
“It really seems too daring that Jesus entrusts the task to a small group of simple men without great intellectual abilities!” he said, noting that despite this fact and despite the powers of the world, they were able to bring Jesus’ message to “every corner of the world.”
However, this task “can only be realized with the strength that God himself grants to the apostles,” the pope said, adding that light of this, Jesus in the Gospel assures them that their mission will be sustained by the Holy Spirit, telling them that they will receive the “strength of the Holy Spirit” and will bear witness to him throughout the world.
This mission was passed on and continues to this day, Francis said, explaining that each person, by virtue of their baptism, has the ability to announce the Gospel.
“The Ascension of the Lord into heaven, while inaugurating a new form of the presence of Jesus in the midst of us, asks us to have open eyes and open hearts to encounter him, to serve him and to bear witness to others.
And to do this means being men and women of the ascension, who look for Christ in the signs of modern times and who bring his message of salvation to everyone, above all the poor, Francis said.
Just as the Risen Christ sent his apostles out with the strength of the Holy Spirit, “today he is also sending us, with the same strength, to propose concrete and visible signs of hope,” he said.
After his address, Pope Francis greeted pilgrims present from different countries and associations. He also noted how Sunday marked the World Day of Social Communications, and prayed that journalists and those who work in media would “seek the truth of the news, contributing to a more peaceful and just society.”
Durban, South Africa, May 13, 2018 / 03:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the wake of a mosque attack that left one dead and two other critically injured, the Catholic bishops of South Africa have offered their prayers and condolences to the victims, and stro… […]
Vatican City, May 12, 2018 / 05:42 am (CNA/EWTN News).- From May 15-17 Pope Francis will meet with 33 Chilean bishops to share his personal take on the country’s massive clerical abuse crisis and help the local Church to find a way forward implementing processes of healing and prevention.
During the discussion, Francis will share his reflections on the results of an investigation into abuse cover-up by Church hierarchy in Chile conducted by Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna earlier this year, and the subsequent 2,300 page report he drafted on conclusions of the investigation.
According to a May 12 Vatican communique, Pope Francis, “questioned by the circumstances and the extraordinary challenges that the sexual abuse and abuses of power and conscience planted in Chile in recent decades, considers it necessary to profoundly examine their causes and consequences, as well as the mechanisms which in some cases have led to the cover-up and serious omissions from the victims.”
The objective of the 3-day “synodal process,” the Vatican said, is for the pope and Chilean bishops to place themselves in the presence of God and discern together the culpability of both individuals and of the local Church as a whole “in these devastating wounds.”
They will also study “the adequate and lasting changes” which ought to be implemented in order to prevent the repetition “of these always reprehensible acts.”
Set to take place in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, the meeting will also be attended by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
The meeting with Chilean bishops falls just two weeks after he held individual meetings with three survivors of clerical sexual abuse from Chile: Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Andres Murillo.
After their meetings with the pope, Cruz, Hamilton and Murillo said they believed Francis was largely misinformed by people around him, and called out Archbishop Ivo Scapolo, nuncio to Chile since 2011, and Chilean Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz, Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago and a member of Pope Francis’ council of cardinal advisors, as main agents in the cover-up.
Notably, Errazuriz will not be present for the meeting with Pope Francis this week, saying he would be skipping the event due to “personal reasons.”
Pope Francis invited the survivors to meet with him and at the same time summoned Chilean bishops to Rome April 8 after reading the concluding report of Scicluna’s investigation, assisted by Spanish Fr. Jordi Bertomeu of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and admitting to having made “serious mistakes” in judgment of the situation given a lack of “truthful and balanced” information.
Initially 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 not only covering up Karadima’s abuses, but at times also participating.
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, most of whom were 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.
In the May 12 communique, the Vatican said Pope Francis is grateful to his brother bishops in Chile for “being attentive to the docile and humble listening to the Holy Spirit,” and he renews his appeal to Catholics in Chile “to continue in a state of prayer so that the conversion of all might take place.”
No public statement or press release is expected after the encounter in order to ensure confidentiality.
© Catholic World Report