“I think the fact that she’s a Catholic and still pushed this investigation forward shows that she did it at great cost.”
Sexual Abuse
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
Understanding the value of public penance in the age of clerical abuse, mass incarceration and #MeToo
This week’s guest is Eve Tushnet. We discuss her article “The value of public penance in the age of clerical abuse, mass incarceration and #MeToo.” We also discuss these articles: What is motu proprio? Will a 40-foot cross finally push the Supreme Court to revisit public religious displays? Pope Francis calls for an ‘all-out battle’ against […]
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican to open canonical investigation into Cardinal Pell, now in Australian prison
If tried and found guilty, the penalties can vary depending on the seriousness of the crime and, often, the age of the accused; possible penalties include removal from office, restricted ministry, “a life of prayer and penance” without any public ministry and dismissal from the clerical state.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
‘We dare not fail’: Australia’s top bishop on the church’s sex abuse crisis
After the Vatican’s historic summit on the sexual abuse of children, Archbishop Mark Coleridge says “the mission of the church” is at stake.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican: Cardinal Pell news is ‘painful’ and he has right to defend himself to the end
The Vatican said the conviction is “a painful news that, we are well aware, has shocked very many persons, not only in Australia.” At the same time, “it reaffirmed maximum respect for the Australian judicial authorities.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Cardinal Pell, most senior Catholic charged with child sex abuse, convicted
He faces a potential maximum 50-year prison term after a sentencing hearing that begins on Wednesday.
Posted inFaith, News
Summit affirms need to hold bishops accountable, U.S. cardinal says
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo attended the Feb. 21-24 summit as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Despite external pressure, little talk of homosexuality at Vatican abuse summit
“To generalize, to look at a whole category of people is never legitimate,” said Archbishop Charles Scicluna, one of the Vatican’s point man in the fight against sex abuse. Homosexuality and heterosexuality are “human conditions,” he said, adding, “they are not something that predisposes to sin.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis calls for an ‘all-out battle’ against the evil of sexual abuse
“I make a heartfelt appeal for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors both sexually and in other areas, on the part of all authorities and individuals, for we are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth,” the pope said.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Journalist at abuse summit: The press is not the enemy of the church
“The faithful do not forgive the lack of transparency because it is a new assault on the victims,” Valentina Alazraki, a Mexican television reporter, told the 190 church leaders attending the Vatican summit on the protection of minors.