Bishop says church was not trying to hide files

The Latest on police searching the Catholic Diocese of Dallas (all times local): 4:30 p.m. Bishop Edward Burns has brushed aside statements in a police affidavit that his diocese stymied efforts to obtain files about clerical abuse, saying church officials are being as transparent as possible. The bishop for the Catholic Diocese of Dallas responded at a press conference to sworn statements from a city police investigator.

https://kristv.com/news/state-news/2019/05/15/the-latest-investigation-led-to-other-church-abuse-claims/ 

C’mon Pope Francis: You Can Do Better Than That

Pope Francis has received positive headlines for his new regulations requiring priests and members of orders to report child sex abuse to the governing bishop or superior, and some changes in the church’s investigation process. Lawmakers must stop waiting for the Church to fix itself.

https://verdict.justia.com/2019/05/10/cmon-pope-francis-you-can-do-better-than-that 

Pope orders abuse to be reported, bishops to be investigated

Pope Francis issued a groundbreaking new church law Thursday requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-ups by their superiors to church authorities, in a new effort to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for failing to protect their flocks.

https://www.hotsr.com/news/2019/may/10/pope-orders-abuse-to-be-reported-bishop/

President criticises those who perpetuated and ignored institutional abuse

Welcoming survivors from the Christine Buckley Centre to the Aras today, a charity which supports those who suffered trauma while in industrial schools and other historic institutions, Michael D Higgins condemned those who turned a blind eye to the “trauma inflicted on children by the failures of the Irish state”, and “distortion of religious ideology” that perpetuated the abuse.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/president-criticises-those-who-perpetuated-and-ignored-institutional-abuse-923289.html 

Bishop Brennan, Diocese of Fresno issued a statement regarding victims of abuse by the clergy

Bishop Joseph Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno issued a statement regarding victims of abuse by the clergy. photo Bishop Joseph Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno issued a statement May 10, 2019 regarding victims of abuse by the clergy. Earlier this week, a protest was held in Fresno by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which is also known as SNAP. It's demanding that the bishop release a list of priests and clergy accused of sexual abuse. The group says the bishop's statement "falls short" of showing compassion for victims. In response to Brennan's statement Friday, SNAP says:

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/bishop-brennan-diocese-of-fresno-issued-a-statement-regardingvictims-of-abuseby-the-clergy/1995761630 

Catholic missionaries woo ‘nones’ on college campuses

More than 20% of all adults and over a third of millennials in the United States are not affiliated with a religion. For at least a decade, this number has been on the rise. Sexual abuse by clergy and a poor response by the church hierarchy has led many young Catholics to lose trust in their religious institution. Some 36% of those without religious affiliation report having grown up Catholic.

https://the-journal.com/articles/138158 

Overdue crackdown

hose who created/encouraged the mindset that to even talk about sexual misconduct would invite the proverbial “fires of Hell” will now have to be wary ~ the principle of accountability has been established, and it will progressively extend itself into all spheres of the Church’s functioning. The revised legal framework that Pope Francis has just prescribed to deal with sexual abuse could go down in history as the most progressive reform that the Catholic church has initiated since the Second Vatican Council of the early 1960s.

https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/overdue-crackdown-1502754234.html 

Seth Meyers Lives In A Bubble

In his NBC-TV show this week, Seth Meyers told viewers that “Pope Francis has announced new rules designed to change how the Catholic Church deals with abuse accusations, and not 2,000 years too soon.” This guy lives in a bubble. There is no town or city in America that houses more sexual predators per square inch than Hollywood, yet late-night talk show hosts rarely take shots at their own home-grown molesters.

https://www.eurasiareview.com/11052019-seth-meyers-lives-in-a-bubble-oped/ 

Religion in Quebec: The bigger picture

A cross-dressing sailor deported because of her hidden religion. Bans on Protestant and Jewish immigration. A mandatory anti-pope oath for public officials. A restaurant owner’s liquor licence revoked over his Jehovah’s Witness activism. Quebec was born as a Catholic colony and the vast majority of its population still identifies with the religion, but other faiths have long been part of the province’s fabric.

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/since-quebecs-early-days-religion-has-been-a-burning-issue 

SNAP, with its fiery brand of victim advocacy and support, has critics and controversy

Joey Piscitelli, Esther Hatfield Miller and a woman who identified herself as CJ, all members of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, hold signs and photos of themselves during a news conference outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno on Tuesday. They called on the bishop of the Fresno diocese to be more considerate of victims who are alleging abuse by popular Bakersfield priest Craig Harrison.

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/snap-with-its-fiery-brand-of-victim-advocacy-and-support/article_ad1fc3ce-736f-11e9-8e51-e38a1512a39c.html 

Very Deep Wound’: Sex Abuse Inaction Sees German Catholic Women Boycott Church

A grassroots women's organization in Germany has begun a week-long boycott of the Catholic church in the country in an effort to condemn sexual abuse by clergy members and open the priesthood to women. Protesters plan to hold rites outside German Catholic churches in 50 locations until May 18, according to Deutsche Welle.

https://sputniknews.com/society/201905121074926723-german-catholic-women-boycott-church/

How a Catholic AG Brought Prosecutors and Priests to the Table Over Issue of Child Sex Abuse

“As Attorney General of Georgia and a Roman Catholic myself, I remain concerned and angered by reports of abuse in the Catholic Church,” Chris Carr said. “Georgians—Catholic and Non-Catholic alike—need to be certain that reports of abuse anywhere and by anyone are taken seriously and handled properly.”

https://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/2019/05/08/how-a-catholic-ag-brought-prosecutors-and-priests-to-the-table-over-issue-of-child-sex-abuse/?slreturn=20190409002646 

Ex-judge tried to intimidate investigators of Saginaw Diocese sex scandal, Attorney General says

Former Appeals Court Judge Michael Talbot, who served as the Saginaw Diocese's delegate in overseeing allegations of sexual misconduct. Talbot left that position in Oct. 2018, the diocese said. When the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw last year appointed a former Michigan Court of Appeals judge to oversee its sexual abuse scandal, prosecutors weren’t happy. They decried the judge’s appointment as inappropriate.

https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2019/05/ex-judge-tried-to-intimidate-investigators-of-saginaw-diocese-sex-scandal-attorney-general-says.html 

The Seal of the Confessional Is Under Attack in California

In response to pending bill requiring Catholic priests to report child sex abuse learned about through the sacrament, priests insist on upholding sacred trust. California state Sen. Jerry Hill introduced a bill to the state Legislature on Feb. 20 that would require Catholic priests to report child sex abuse learned about in the confessional.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-seal-of-the-confessional-is-under-attack-in-california

How to Write about Sex Abuse

It’s good to have a response from Paul Baumann to my article in the New Yorker (titled “Acts of Penance” in the April 15 print issue, and “What Do the Church’s Victims Deserve?” online). Paul is one of the hundred or so people I spoke with while reporting the article.

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/how-write-about-sex-abuse