Pope Francis' letter to bishops: no place in church for sex abusers

NBC News
February 5, 2015

Pope Francis wrote to Catholic bishops around the world Thursday, ordering them to cooperate with investigations into sex abuse and telling them: "Families need to know that the Church is making every effort to protect their children."

The open letter, published on the Vatican website, came a day before the first full meeting of the Church's own commission to examine investigate and prevent such scandals.

Families "should also know that they have every right to turn to the Church with full confidence, for it is a safe and secure home," the pontiff wrote. "Consequently, priority must not be given to any other kind of concern, whatever its nature, such as the desire to avoid scandal, since there is absolutely no place in ministry for those who abuse minors."

One of the members of the commission, Marie Collins of Ireland, herself a victim of sexual abuse, told Reuters that commission members had asked the pope to write a letter to thwart any resistance from bishops to its work.

Francis said he had been "deeply moved" at a meeting in July with abuse victims at which he heard "the depth of their sufferings and the strength of their faith."

He wrote: "This experience reaffirmed my conviction that everything possible must be done to rid the Church of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors and to open pathways of reconciliation and healing for those who were abused."

New faculty handbooks in San Francisco include statement developed by Archbishop Cordileone

Dan Morris-Young
National Catholic Reporter
February 4, 2015

Faculty handbooks of the four high schools owned and operated by the San Francisco archdiocese will carry a new, free-standing section for the 2015-16 school year that puts teachers and faculty on notice about heightened demands regarding adherence to Catholic teaching, particularly on sexual issues, and warns against taking public positions that are contrary to church teaching.

The section:
Delineates areas of church teaching on "sexual morality and religious practice" it says needs more clarity and emphasis;
Underscores that "administrators, faculty and staff of any faith or no faith are expected to arrange and conduct their lives so as not to visibly contradict, undermine or deny" church doctrine and practice;
Calls on "administrators, faculty and staff who are Catholics" to "not only avoid public contradiction of their status as professional agents in the mission of Catholic education," but to also "conform their hearts, minds and consciences, as well as their public and private behavior, ever more closely to the truths taught by the Catholic Church";
Warns educators to "refrain from participation in organizations that call themselves 'Catholic' but support or advocate issues or causes contrary" to church teaching.
Developed by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and titled "Statement of the High Schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Regarding the Teachings and Practice of the Catholic Church," the new 2,000-word faculty handbook section was made public Tuesday afternoon during meetings between administrators of the four schools and their faculties and staffs.

Copies of the document as well as a cover letter by Cordileone were also emailed to administrators of the other 10 Catholic high schools in the archdiocese by Melanie Morey, director of the Office of Catholic Identity Assessment, which began operation in January.

The archdiocesan newspaper, Catholic San Francisco, produced a four-page section made available online Tuesday that reports on the faculty handbook statement, Cordileone's letter, and teacher union contract negotiations. The coverage includes a question-and-answer feature on issues involved.

The newspaper's coverage, Cordileone's letter, a video statement by Cordileone posted on YouTube, and comments by Superintendent of Schools Maureen Huntington all said the faculty handbook's new section does not signal that archdiocesan officials will be prying into educators' private lives.

Controversy erupted in the neighboring Oakland, Calif., diocese last year when Bishop Michael Barber introduced teacher contract language that many felt crossed the line of invading people's private lives. That approach has been modified, and teachers in the diocese on Monday were shown language that declares they should "demonstrate a public life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church, and refrain from taking a public position contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church."

Oakland teachers "will be officially offered contracts on April 15 and have until May 15 to sign them," The San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.

In his letter to teachers, Cordileone wrote: "At the outset ... I wish to state clearly and emphatically that the intention underlying this document is not to target for dismissal from our schools any teachers, singly or collectively, nor does it introduce anything essentially new into the contract or the faculty handbook."

Cordileone and Huntington both said the handbook statement is aimed at countering societal forces on students and faculty "to conform to a certain agenda at variance with, and often aggressively so, our Christian understanding of the human person and God's purpose in creation," in the archbishop's words.

"The pressure is exerted relentlessly in the media, in entertainment, in politics, in academia, in corporations -- in short, in all of the influences of popular culture," Cordileone wrote.

The archdiocese simultaneously released the language of three clauses it is asking be included in the contracts of teachers in its four high schools. Those contracts are currently being negotiated with the union representing those schools.

The four high schools under archdiocesan jurisdiction are Archbishop Riordan and Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco, Marin Catholic in Kentfield, and Junipero Serra in San Mateo. The other 10 are private and/or sponsored by religious communities.

The contract language sought by the archdiocese includes a section stating "the Union and its members acknowledge that all faculty and staff are ministers engaged in this religious mission regardless of individual job description or subject matter, and that they teach and educate, and thus serve their ministry of Catholic Education, not only by the performance of their job duties but also by their word and example, inside and outside the classroom, on and off campus."

While the handbook section and the contract clauses are separate issues, labor contract negotiations and content of the faculty handbook have long been intertwined, Huntington told NCR.

While Catholic San Francisco reported that "the handbook additions will take effect in the 2015-16 school year and are not part of the [teachers'] contract," a legal expert consulted by NCR said faculty handbooks do have legal bearing.

"The only document the union has control over is the contract," union official Susan Woodall, a teacher at Marin Catholic, told NCR. "The handbooks come under the authority of the [school] presidents in concert with the archbishop."

Union leader Lisa Dole, also a Marin Catholic teacher, provided Catholic San Francisco with a statement "on behalf of her executive board" late Tuesday night that stated in part: "The amount of attention being paid to this proposed language shouldn't diminish how proud we are of the day in, day out efforts of our teachers. We are pleased that the document acknowledges that the teachers in our high schools are not all the same -- like many Catholics around the world who struggle with their adherence to some of the teachings of the church. However, there are still concerns with the proposed language and some key issues that the union and archbishop are hopeful that we will be able to work out."

One of those issues could be declaring Catholic educators "ministers," which, say some legal experts, reduces legal protections against discriminatory firing.

One of the questions in Catholic San Francisco's question-and-answer page is: "Will teachers be required to sign an 'oath' or 'affirmation' of religious belief as part of this collective bargaining agreement?"

"No," says the response:

The Archdiocese has no intention of 'rooting out' those who are not Catholic or those who do not assent completely to Catholic teaching. The Archdiocese and the schools stand for the teachings of the Catholic Church in their entirety, and the handbook for each of our high schools will contain a statement affirming certain key facets of these teachings. But these statements are of the school as an institution, not of the individual teachers. On the contrary, the statement specifically acknowledges that not all of our teachers will agree with everything the Catholic Church teaches.

Similarly, the point of the CBA [collective bargaining agreement] is not to require assent to any of the teachings of the Catholic Church. But it will, as it has for years, ask teachers as a matter of professional obligation to honor the Catholic identity and mission of our schools, which is now more clearly stated in the teacher handbooks. If they cannot do so in their beliefs, then they should at least avoid publicly undermining the lessons taught at the school of their employment.

Developed by Cordileone, the faculty handbook statement includes 15 "affirm and believe" declarations on church teaching on what he terms "hot button issues," including women's ordination, Sunday Mass obligation, homosexuality and human reproduction. Among the segments:

Four deal with human reproductive issues -- the church's prohibitions of abortion, artificial birth control, human cloning and "artificial reproductive technology."

Three focus on marriage -- church teaching that marriage is "a partnership of the whole life between a man and a woman of permanent and exclusive fidelity ordered to the procreation and education of offspring and the mutual good of both spouses"; that homosexual unions and homosexual acts are contrary to church law and natural law; and that "every person is called to chastity in accord to their present state of life" with "the intimacy of sexual union" reserved for married couples.

One underscores "the obligation to participate in Mass on all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation," the "Real Presence of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist," and the requirement to seek "absolution in the sacrament of penance" before receiving communion if a person is "aware of having sinned mortally."

Cordileone calls attention to the handbook's new structure, which places the schools themselves as the affirming party of the teachings outlined, not individuals.

"This is a statement made on behalf of the institution, not all individuals in the institutions," he wrote. "Our Catholic high schools try to hire people who do believe what the Church teaches, but in our schools we have good teachers who belong to other Christian faiths or to no faith at all. They are members of the school community. The language 'affirm and believe' acknowledges the good activity of the entire corps of faculty and staff by making this claim on behalf of the institution. That is, in the first instance, 'affirm and believe' refers to the Catholic high school itself, and, secondly, to many faculty who identify with the Catholic teachings behind which the high school as a whole stands."

A Catholic educator in the Bay area with extensive administrative experience called the institution vs. individual affirmations "game playing."

"The 'institution' as a collective says, 'I affirm all these propositions' but the individual teachers don't have to sign?" the person wrote in an email, adding: "But they are still vulnerable because the institution made the affirmation. What this sets up is the conditions for a teacher to be fired for on-campus or off-campus behavior. Clearly, they can't be seen marching in San Francisco's Gay Pride parade, or attending any events at which the GLBT is present, nor attending a gay wedding. Even a family event photo can't be posted on a teacher's Facebook page. The worst part of this -- any deviation or perceived deviation could be grounds for being fired even though the archbishop denies this is his purpose."

Cordileone will be the keynote speaker at a convocation of high school faculty and staff Friday at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep. Huntington said the archbishop has said he will respond to written questions following his address. About 350 had registered to attend as of Tuesday, she said.

The gathering will follow a 9:30 a.m. Mass at adjacent St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral. Cordileone is also scheduled to appear at a 2 p.m. press conference Friday at the Cathedral.

A Latin American pope, a Latin American martyr

John Thavis
February 4, 2015


“We had to wait for the first Latin American pope to beatify Oscar Romero."

That’s how Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia described the long wait for the Vatican’s green light for the beatification of the Salvadoran archbishop.

"There's a connection between the pontificate of Pope Francis and the beatification of Romero, which I would sum up in the phrase: 'a church that is poor and for the poor,'" Archbishop Paglia said, citing Francis' remark shortly after his election in 2013. Archbishop Romero, an outspoken defender of the poor and a critic of human rights abuses, was murdered in 1980.

Archbishop Paglia, the postulator for Romero’s sainthood cause, spoke at a Vatican p

ress conference Wednesday. He said Romero is expected to be beatified in San Salvador sometime later this year -- the earlier the better. Pope Francis’ decision to approve the martyrdom of Archbishop Romero, announced Tuesday, fit well with the Argentinian pope’s vision of the church’s place in society, the role of the bishop and the process by which sainthood is recognized. It also underscores some similarities and a few important differences with his two predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II.

Re-reading some of Romero’s writings and homilies, one immediately senses an affinity with Pope Francis’ emphasis on a church that is close to the people, especially the poor, and that is not afraid to be socially and politically involved.

Archbishop Romero: “When we struggle for human rights, for freedom, for dignity, when we feel that it is a ministry of the church to concern itself for those who are hungry, for those who have no schools, for those who are deprived, we are not departing from God’s promise. He comes to free us from sin, and the church knows that sin’s consequences are all such injustices and abuses. The church knows it is saving the world when it undertakes to speak also of such things.”

Pope Francis in his document Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel): “If the just ordering of society and of the state is a central responsibility of politics, the church cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice.”

As it happens, Pope Francis was quoting Pope Benedict in that particular passage. Pope Benedict once said Romero deserved beatification, and Pope John Paul II once prayed at Romero’s tomb. But both Benedict and John Paul II were hesitant to promote his sainthood cause. Pope Benedict feared that a “Saint Romero” would be politically manipulated in Latin America, and one presumes John Paul II had the same apprehensions. On the other hand, according to Paglia it was Benedict who unblocked Romero’s cause late in 2012, little more than a month before the German pope resigned.

Over the years, Archbishop Paglia recounted, strong opposition was expressed to Romero's beatification. A "mountain" of paper arrived in Rome with objections, including accusations of doctrinal errors that needed to be investigated by the doctrinal congregation. The strongest objections were that Archbishop Romero was too political.

Pope Francis does not appear to be intimidated by political fallout when it comes to such causes. I think that’s because he expects the church to be deeply involved in the lives of the people, even if that creates waves and provokes criticism – or, as he said famously in Brazil, “a mess.” He also wants bishops to be closer to their flocks, sharing their suffering.

It was interesting that on the same day he approved Romero’s beatification, Pope Francis also signed off on the martyrdom of three priests killed by the leftist guerrillas in Peru in 1991. It was as if to say that “hatred of the faith” can come from anywhere along the ideological spectrum.

Francis has spoken of the price Christians must sometimes pay for witnessing the faith.

“The disciple is ready to put his or her whole life on the line, even to accepting martyrdom, in bearing witness to Jesus Christ, yet the goal is not to make enemies but to see God’s word accepted and its capacity for liberation and renewal revealed,” the pope said in Evangelii Gaudium.

Archbishop Romero, who was killed at the altar by a gunman believed linked to right-wing death squads, once said, “I don’t want to be an anti, against anybody. I simply want to be the builder of a great affirmation: the affirmation of God, who loves us and who wants to save us.”

In general, Pope Francis seems to have an implicit trust in Catholics to recognize saints, relying less on Roman procedures to verify a life of holiness or martyrdom. He has several times waived the miracle requirement for canonization. In that sense, I think the strong conviction among many Latin American Catholics that Archbishop Romero was a saint helped move his cause forward once Francis assumed the papacy.

Priest group asks US bishops to 'start the dialogue' on married clergy

Brian Roewe
National Catholic Reporter
February 3, 2015

A group representing approximately 1,000 U.S. Catholic priests has asked their bishops "to start the dialogue" toward the ordination of married men to the priesthood.

In letters mailed Jan. 23 to all members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests said they made the request primarily with concern for "the pastoral care of souls," and that married priests are needed "to serve the pastoral needs of the people."

"The time has come. The door is open. The need for this is urgent," the priests said.

The letter is signed by 12 members of the priest association's leadership and staff, representing nine dioceses and one religious order; its executive secretary Franciscan Sr. Jackie Doepker also signed her name to the document.

Fr. Bob Bonnot, a priest in the Youngstown, Ohio, diocese and chair of the priests' association, told NCR that to his knowledge there has not been a response so far from the bishops' conference or individual bishops. He said they are not asking the bishops to respond to them, but to take up the issue among themselves. He added that the association has encouraged its members, where appropriate, to discuss the issue of married priests with their individual bishops.

"This might be an issue that priests in some situations would say, ‘Bishop, we think you ought to be thinking about this.’ It’s up to them to make that decision," Bonnot said.

Among the reasons the priests cited in their letter for beginning the conversation:

the Roman Catholic church's inclusion of ordained married clergy from other Christian denominations, such as the Anglican church; calls from the laity for a discussion of married priests;

the continued declining number of active priests -- and resultant parish closures;

and the spiritual, mental and physical health of current priests, particularly those experiencing "an increasing and sometimes overwhelming workload."

"The health and vitality of the priest's role within the faith community is critical to the life of the Roman Catholic tradition and its ministry. Given the signs of the times and the diversity and challenges facing the church at this time, the ministerial priesthood needs creative options. The witness that could come from married priests serving the church with celibate priests is a crucial option to be explored," the letter said.

"There are many voices in the church waiting to be heard on this -- including our own," said the priests.

The priests' association based its request of married priests on the belief that Pope Francis is open to the possibility, if brought to him by a national bishops' conference. They referenced an April 2014 interview in an Austrian newspaper in which the pope reportedly told a Brazilian bishop that it was up to regional bishops' conferences to seek and find consensus on church reforms, and then bring them to Rome.

According to a report on the interview by the U.K.-based Tablet, Bishop Erwin Kräutler told the Salzburger Nachrichten that in a conversation about a shortage of priests in his Xingu diocese, Francis expressed open-mindedness to finding solutions.

"The Pope explained that he could not take everything in hand personally from Rome. We local bishops, who are best acquainted with the needs of our faithful, should be corajudos, that is 'courageous' in Spanish, and make concrete suggestions," the bishop said, according to the Tablet.

Kräutler confirmed that he and the pope discussed the ordination of viri probati ("proven married men") into the priesthood. "It was up to the bishops to make suggestions, the Pope said again," the bishop said.

In their letter, the U.S. priest association asked their bishops to "accept the offer of Pope Francis to consider the possibility of ordaining married viri probati as priests." They requested the bishops begin a broad consultation process that would seek input from diocesan staffs, parish priests, deacons and the laity.

Bonnot told NCR that at this point the association does not have additional actions planned, and that it will give the issue "time to brew."

The request to review the possibility of married priests was among eight resolutions the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests considered at its third annual assembly, held in St. Louis in June. The group, largely composed of Vatican II-era priests, formed in August 2011 as a support network for priests and to allow for them to speak in a unified voice.

"We’re trying to be a voice of joy and hope in our pilgrim church and that we think that expressing the views of priests with regard to issues such as this is something we hope is a positive contribution to the life of the church in this exciting time," Bonnot said.

Another Delhi Catholic church vandalized

Vatican Radio
February 2, 2015


Another Christian place of worship has been vandalized in the Indian capital, New Delhi, the 5th such incident in two months. The attackers broke open the main gate of St Alphonsa’s Church in the Vasant Kunj area, early Monday morning and entered the sacristy, before opening the tabernacle and scattering the host, Delhi archdiocese spokesman Father Savarimuthu Shankar told UCANews. In the morning, parish priest, Fr. Vincent Salvatore found the tabernacle open and the ciborium missing. The sacred hosts were scattered on the altar and the floor. The parish is named after Sister Alphonsa, India’s first woman saint canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. Church officials didn’t blame anyone for lack of proof, and police registered it as theft. The Christian community has seen a spate of attacks since December 1 when St Sebastian Church in the Dilshad Garden area of the city was allegedly torched. A few days later rocks were thrown at a Catholic Church in Jasola district, causing minor damage. A crib for a Nativity scene was found burned earlier this month at a church in Rohini district, while on January 14, a Catholic church was attacked and its grotto smashed by three unidentified men.

Fr Shankar said the Christian community planned to hold a candle light vigil Monday evening to protest against the St Alphonsa Church attack. He also said authorities have done nothing since Church officials spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee about the earlier attacks. “It is getting very disturbing now. The community is left with no option but to come out on streets and protest,” he said.

Two cases of child pornography possession in Vatican in 2014

Philip Pullella
Reuters
January 31, 2015

(Reuters) - The Vatican, which is still struggling with the effects of a worldwide pedophilia scandal in the Catholic Church, discovered two cases of possession of child pornography within its own walls last year, its chief prosecutor said on Saturday.

Gian Piero Milano, whose official title is Promoter of Justice, reported the cases in a 50-page report read to Vatican officials at a ceremony marking the start of the city-state's judicial year.

The Catholic Church has been hit by scandal involving the sexual abuse of children by priests around the world in the past 15 years. Pope Francis has vowed zero tolerance for offenders but victims of abuse want him to do more and make bishops who allegedly covered up the abuse accountable.

In his report, Milano said Vatican police had investigated "two delicate cases, of varying degrees of seriousness, of possession of child pornography material" by people living or working inside the city-state, which is the headquarters of the 1.2 billion member Church.

The prosecutor gave no details but a Vatican spokesman said one of them involved Jozef Wesolowski, a former archbishop who was arrested last September in the Vatican on charges of having paid for sex with children while he was a papal ambassador in the Dominican Republic.

Francis approved the arrest - the first inside the Vatican related to allegations of sexual abuse - in order to send a strong signal that even high-ranking Church officials would be held accountable if they committed abuse, the Vatican said at the time.

Italian media reported at the time of his arrest that child pornography was found on his computer. He is currently under arrest in the Vatican awaiting trial.

The Vatican spokesman gave no details of the other case.

The prosecutor also mentioned investigations in 2014 related to embezzlement involving former bank managers of the Vatican bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR).

Milano also referred in his report to the case of a Polish monsignor who was convicted of embezzling funds from a Rome basilica where he worked as an accountant. There were three attempts in 2014 to deliver illegal drugs into the Vatican by mail from foreign countries, he said without giving details.

Spanish judge charges 10 Catholic priests with child sexual abuse

Sonya Dowsett, Robin Pomeroy
Reuters
January 27, 2015

(Reuters) - Ten Spanish priests were charged with child sexual abuse on Tuesday, in a case brought after Pope Francis telephoned the victim to offer the Church's apology, court documents showed.

The victim, now 24, wrote to the pope to say he had been molested when he was an altar boy. The pope called the man in August to apologize, Spanish news site Religion Digital reported in November, a report later confirmed by the pope himself.

The pope said in November that he had ordered a church investigation. The Archbishop of Granada, Francisco Javier Martinez, removed several priests linked to the case from their duties.

The victim said the abuse had happened over a period of years from when he was 14 to the age of 17 in a house rented by the abusers in a suburb of Granada, the court said.

Pope Francis has promised a policy of zero tolerance for sexual abuse of children by clerics after church scandals in several countries over many years. Groups representing victims say he has still not done enough.

The Vatican said last year it had defrocked about 850 priests between 2004 and 2013 who had been accused of sexually abusing minors.