Catégorie : Vie de l’église

One of Pope Francis’ key advisors on clergy sexual abuse admitted that the pontiff’s signature effort to confront abuse and cover-up is « very often » not working, as part of a virtual conversation with Catholic abuse survivors on March 2.

Jesuit Fr. Hans Zollner spoke about Vos estis lux mundi, a sweeping set of laws issued by Francis in 2019, as part of a question-and-answer session with survivors of clergy sexual abuse sponsored by Awake Milwaukee, a Catholic group focused on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Zollner, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, responded to a variety of questions from survivors Esther Harber and Mike Koplinka-Loehr and then took questions from anonymous survivors in the audience.

When he was asked whether there was recourse for survivors who feel their cases have not been properly handled, Zollner explained that there are theoretically a variety of avenues for appeal in Vos estis, if survivors feel that their bishop or diocese has improperly handled their case. However, he said, « I can also tell you that very often I realize that it’s not working. »

He encouraged survivors in those situations to « document everything. »

Zollner agreed with an anonymous survivor who said that Vos estis was not being applied consistently or transparently. He noted that 10 bishops in Poland had been « basically dismissed » but that has not been the case everywhere.

The lack of transparency is often « connected to something that I would describe as complicity in just trying to preserve the good name of one particular person, » said Zollner. However, he said this reasoning was irrational.

« By doing so, you harm much more the reputation of the person and much more the reputation of the institution, » Zollner said.

Zollner also criticized Vos estis‘ broad definition of a « vulnerable person » who could be at risk of abuse. He said the definition was « not helpful » because it is « so broad » as to include a wide range of people. 

Vos estis defines a « vulnerable person » as « any person in a state of infirmity, physical or mental deficiency, or deprivation of personal liberty which, in fact, even occasionally, limits their ability to understand or to want or otherwise resist » an abuse.

Said Zollner: « Do you really want to be a ‘vulnerable person’ because you are a woman and because you are a parishioner? I don’t think so. »

The Jesuit said he prefers language such as « the person at risk » but that he is still developing his thoughts on the matter.

Zollner said an important reason that survivors can lack support in the U.S. is because of the country’s litigious culture.

He said that for many in the church « the most important priority » is attending to « the advice of lawyers, » which prevents church representatives from sitting down and listening to survivors because they think they are exposing themselves to risk.

Beyond his evaluations of Vos estis, Zollner offered suggestions for a path forward. He suggested that periodic changes in the leadership of religious communities or dioceses could prevent abuse.

« If you have a bishop who is 25 years in the same diocese, » Zollner said, many things may become so « habitual » and « unconsciously accepted » that « the danger of becoming abusive » grows « exponentially year after year. »

Zollner also urged the church to make supporting survivors a primary priority.

« Today, it is our mission to listen to survivors and that means investment of space, personnel, formation, » he said.

In a provocative essay published Feb. 28 at First Things magazine, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, appears to accuse San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy of heresy, citing the cardinal’s views on how the Catholic Church should minister to LGBTQ people and Catholics who have been divorced and remarried.

Paprocki, a hardline conservative prelate and canon lawyer, does not mention McElroy by name in the essay, but quotes directly from a Jan. 24 article the cardinal wrote at America magazine. Repeating a phrase in an October document from the Synod of Bishops, McElroy had called for a church that favors « radical inclusion » of everyone, including those whose personal situations may not strictly conform with church doctrine.

Referencing McElroy’s critique of « a theology of eucharistic coherence that multiplies barriers to the grace and gift of the eucharist, » Paprocki suggested in his First Things essay that until recently, it would have been « hard to imagine any successor of the apostles making such heterodox statements. »

« Unfortunately, it is not uncommon today to hear Catholic leaders affirm unorthodox views that, not too long ago, would have been espoused only by heretics, » Paprocki wrote in the essay, titled « Imagining a Heretical Cardinal. »

Paprocki, who last November was elected chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, also cited several passages in the Code of Canon Law, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and St. Pope John Paul II’s 1998 apostolic letter Ad Tuendam Fidem (« To Protect the Faith »), to argue that anybody who denies « settled Catholic teaching » on issues like homosexuality and « embraces heresy » is automatically excommunicated from the church.

Citing canon law, Paprocki further argued that the pope has the authority, and the obligation, to remove a heretical cardinal from office, or dismiss him outright from the clerical state, or else risk « the unseemly prospect » of a cardinal who was excommunicated latae sententiae due to heresy voting in a papal conclave.

McElroy and Paprocki were both not immediately available for comment at press time. In a Feb. 28 interview with The Pillar, Paprocki said he did not intend to single out a particular cardinal for criticism, and that he « intended the discussion to be more rhetorical. »

« I think the reason I did this is because this debate has become so public at this point that it seems to have passed beyond the point of just some private conversations between bishops, » Paprocki told The Pillar.

The bishop’s explanation struck some observers as disingenuous.

« If I were to take him at face value, I would suggest that he have wise and prudent people read his essays before he publishes them, » said Jesuit Fr. Tom Reese, a journalist who has covered the U.S. bishops for decades.

Reese told NCR that Paprocki’s essay reflects not only deep divisions in the U.S. Catholic hierarchy but also a level of public animosity, open disagreement and strident rhetoric among bishops that Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI would not have tolerated.

« On the other hand, there wouldn’t have been this kind of discussion under John Paul II because the Vatican would have shut it down, » said Reese, who added that Francis has encouraged open discussion on sensitive issues such as figuring out new ways to accompany LGBTQ Catholics and same-sex couples.

« Francis has opened the church up for discussion again and [conservative bishops] just don’t like it. They’re trying to shut it down by using this kind of inflammatory rhetoric, even against cardinals, » Reese said.

Cathleen Kaveny, a law and theology professor at Boston College, told NCR that Paprocki « should know better as a canon lawyer » than to accuse someone of heresy, which she said is a formal charge. Canon 751 specifically defines heresy as the « obstinate denial or obstinate doubt … of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith. »

« What [Paprocki] is doing is running together statements and teachings of different levels of authority in the church, and claiming that any disagreement with any of them amounts to heresy. And that’s just false, » Kaveny said.

As for McElroy’s essay in America, Kaveny said she did not understand the cardinal’s point to be that homosexual acts are not sinful: « I read him as saying that they don’t automatically rise to the level of a mortal sin, and that seems to be the kind of development in our tradition that could take place.

« The underlying question in all of this is whether development in church doctrine can take place, » Kaveny added. « I would recommend people read John Henry Newman on that, and look at the history of the church’s teaching on usury while they’re at it, » she said, referencing the church’s development over the centuries on whether it is acceptable to charge interest on loans.

Every time Maria del Rosario Gomez gets to have a 15-minute call with her son, Jose Ruben Hernandez Gomez, she asks him, « My precious son, what did you eat today? »

Even though it’s challenging, she tries to send him $150 a month so that he can eat something better than what he is served at the Mesa Verde Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center, and share some of that food with others.

But the weekend before Lent started, Jose Ruben told her, « As the word of God says, ‘One does not live by bread alone,’  » quoting Matthew 4:4, where Jesus tells the devil in the desert, « One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. »

On Feb. 17, 82 people began a hunger strike at two central California immigration detention centers, protesting the facilities’ conditions and demanding their closure. Since then, numbers of hunger strikers have fluctuated as new people have joined and others have stopped due to health concerns. 

The hunger strike at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield and the Golden State Annex in McFarland follows a 10-month-long ongoing labor strike demanding that detained workers who undertake tasks such as cleaning dormitories and dining halls be paid California minimum wage instead of $1 a day.

In December, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined the GEO Group, the private prison company that operates Mesa Verde and the Golden State Annex, $104,510 for six violations of state codes at the Golden State Annex.

Minju Cho, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, told NCR that in response to the labor strike, « ICE and GEO reacted with an intensity that belies the idea that [the voluntary work program] is actually voluntary. If it were truly voluntary, then folks could choose to stop participating in it at any time without consequence. » The ACLU is part of a coalition that is supporting advocacy efforts led by detained people. 

Throughout the labor strike, participants have alleged they have faced retaliation, including being placed in solitary confinement and receiving what they describe as « sexually abusive pat-downs. »

On Feb. 23, five hunger strikers filed a class action lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and GEO Group. In the lawsuit, the hunger strikers say that since they began their strike they have been denied access to worship services, family visitation and the detention center yard, and have been threatened with solitary confinement, or kept in dorm rooms that were painfully cold.

Through the hunger strike, participants are asking they be paid California minimum wage for the work they have completed, for safer working conditions, that they have free and accessible ways to communicate with loved ones, that the « sexually abusive » pat-downs end, and for GEO to comply with ICE’s detention standards, including those regarding receiving new clothing and footwear, prompt medical attention, and fresh and high quality food.

Asked for comment about the strike and the lawsuit, an ICE spokesperson told NCR the agency does not comment on ongoing or pending litigation.

In 2022, Mercy Sr. Joan Marie O’Donnell from Burlingame*, California, took part in an interfaith pilgrimage to every immigration detention center in California. She told NCR it was powerful to hear the stories of witnesses who came back to speak outside the facilities where they were detained.

At the Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex detention centers, O’Donnell said, « What they’re describing is expired food at meal times. They’re required to pay astronomical prices for items that they buy in their commissary. They receive inadequate medical care. They lack visitation opportunities with their loved ones. »

O’Donnell said she continues to be motivated to pray and advocate for immigrants in her retirement because of Isaiah 61’s promise of freedom for prisoners and the call in the constitution of the Sisters of Mercy to collaborate in acts of mercy. 

Gomez, Jose Ruben’s mother, is worried about the possibility of his deportation to Mexico. Jose Ruben came to the U.S. when he was 3 years old.

With Jose Ruben in detention, Gomez says he is not the only one who suffers. « I suffer so much that you cannot imagine it, » she said. Jose Ruben used to take her to Mass. Now, she prays constantly that God will take care of him. 

When asked about the spiritual life of detained Catholics in the two detention facilities, Chandler Marquez, spokesperson for the Diocese of Fresno, told NCR that the diocese has not been allowed to provide chaplaincy services in the two facilities since the beginning of the pandemic. The diocese had not known about the hunger strike and is not involved in the strikers’ advocacy. 

A deacon who is a chaplain for both detention facilities remains in contact with the facilities, and he has not been told he is allowed to return to serving Catholics detained in them, said Marquez.

When NCR asked why chaplaincy was restricted and when the Diocese of Fresno would be able to provide chaplain support again, a spokesperson for GEO group wrote, « We strongly reject these allegations. »

« Both the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center and Golden State Annex have dedicated facility chaplains on staff who administer religious programming and facilitate interactions with outside/volunteer ministry personnel who are allowed to visit in compliance with the CDC’s COVID-related visitation guidelines, » said the spokesperson. 

The GEO group spokesperson also said that their facilities provide access to legal services, recreational amenities, and « around-the-clock access to medical care » and that three meals a day are based on nutritional menus that are approved by a registered dietitian.

Regarding the allegation of retaliation, the GEO group spokesperson pointed to their grievance process and zero tolerance policy for staff misconduct. « Any alleged misconduct by GEO staff is promptly investigated and addressed, » they said.

Gomez said she is praying for Jose Ruben as he continues his hunger strike. « I know my son has a good heart and that he doesn’t do it just for himself, but for others, so that the situations in those detention centers change, » she said.

*Correction: The original version of this article misidentified Mercy Sr. Joan Marie O’Donnell’s hometown. We apologize for the error.

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Robert Taylor Jr. ruled Feb. 24 that a redacted version of the Maryland Attorney General Office’s report on child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore must be released publicly.

The judge ordered the attorney general’s office to redact more than 200 names from the report and submit it to the court by mid-March.

« Ever-aware of the pain endured by survivors of child sexual abuse, the archdiocese once again offers its sincere apologies to the victim-survivors who were harmed by a minister of the church and who were harmed by those who failed to protect them and who failed to respond to them with care and compassion, » said Christian Kendzierski, archdiocesan spokesman.

He made the remarks in a written Feb. 24 statement issued in response to Taylor’s ruling.

« As we said publicly last year, » Kendzierski continued, « we respect the court’s decisions in this matter and will continue to cooperate with the court and the Maryland attorney general’s office. The archdiocese continues to pray this report brings some measure of healing of the deep wounds caused by the scourge of child sexual abuse in the life of the church. »

In a letter sent to Catholics in the archdiocese Nov. 17, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori acknowledged information in the report would be a source of renewed pain for many, « most especially those harmed by representatives of the church. »

The report investigates 80 years of allegations of sexual abuse and the response by the archdiocese to those allegations.

According to a copy of his ruling posted by the Baltimore Sun, Taylor said 208 individuals in the report need to be notified that they are in the report and must have an opportunity to review sections of the report that pertain to them.

The proposed release of the attorney general’s report has prompted calls in the Maryland General Assembly to look again at the statute of limitations in civil cases. There is no criminal statute of limitations in Maryland for sexual abuse of minors.

The Maryland Catholic Conference, legislative advocacy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops, issued a statement Dec. 19 indicating support for legislation that would prospectively eliminate statutes of limitation for civil litigation involving cases of child sexual abuse.

Similar legislation eliminating the statute of limitations for a minor victim of a human trafficking offense or federal sex offense to file a civil action to recover damage was signed into law at the federal level in September.

« That bipartisan federal legislation also allows individuals an unlimited amount of time to file civil litigation in future cases of child sexual abuse, » the state Catholic conference said.

Prospectively eliminating the statutes of limitations would affect cases of sexual abuse that occur now or in the future. It would not affect cases that happened in the past, retroactively. In general, the statute of limitations that applies in a case is the one that was in effect at the time of the abuse, not when it was reported.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore was one of the first in the country to publicly disclose the names of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse, even if they had not been criminally charged.

At that time, 57 men were named. Other names have been added in the intervening years as allegations became known. More were added in 2018 after a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailed allegations that included some priests who had served in Maryland or cases where the alleged abuse occurred within the boundaries of the archdiocese.

In April 2019, an additional 23 names were added of priests who had been accused of child sexual abuse after they were deceased.

The Biden administration Feb. 21 proposed its most restrictive border control measure to date, announcing it plans to issue a temporary rule blocking asylum-seekers who cross the border without authorization or who do not first apply for protections in other nations before coming to the United States. Catholic immigration advocates condemned the proposal.

The proposed rule would introduce a « presumption of asylum ineligibility for certain noncitizens » and instead “encourage migrants to avail themselves of lawful, safe and orderly pathways into the United States, » according to the text of the document. Otherwise, it said that migrants should « seek asylum or other protection in countries through which they travel, thereby reducing reliance on human smuggling networks that exploit migrants for financial gain. »

U.S. immigration policy generally differentiates those fleeing persecution in other countries from other migrants who cross the border unlawfully. The proposal, which the administration has characterized as temporary, would scale back that approach.

The move comes as Republicans have made immigration and border security a key point of contention with the Biden administration, and as the primary cycle for the November 2024 presidential election begins in earnest. Biden, a Catholic Democrat, is widely expected to seek a second term in the White House.

The proposed rule will first be subject to a 30-day public comment period before it could be formally implemented.

The U.S. bishops, however, voiced concern the rule would impose punitive restrictions on the right to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. In a statement, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, said the USCCB is « deeply troubled by this proposal, which perpetuates the misguided notion that heavy-handed enforcement measures are a viable solution to increased migration and forced displacement. »

« Decades of similar approaches have demonstrated otherwise, » Seitz said. The El Paso bishop said the U.S. bishops have recognized « our country’s right to maintain its borders, » but have « consistently rejected policies that weaken asylum access for those most in need of relief and expose them to further danger. »

« Because that is the likely result of this proposal, we strongly oppose its implementation, » Seitz said.

He added that while the USCCB appreciates the administration’s « desire to expand lawful pathways to the United States, especially through increased refugee processing, » he emphasized those efforts should not take place « at the expense of vulnerable persons urgently seeking protection at our border. »

« Above all, the sanctity of human life remains paramount, » he said.

Biden administration officials, however, said the proposed rule would incentivize lawful migration.

« We are a nation of immigrants, and we are a nation of laws, » Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

« We are strengthening the availability of legal, orderly pathways for migrants to come to the United States, » he said, « at the same time (we are) proposing new consequences on those who fail to use processes made available to them by the United States and its regional partners. »

Mayorkas said providing individuals a « safe, orderly and lawful path » to the U.S. makes them less likely « to risk their lives traversing thousands of miles in the hands of ruthless smugglers, only to arrive at our southern border and face the legal consequences of unlawful entry. »

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Department of Justice, which exercises oversight of the U.S. immigration courts, is establishing temporary rules for asylum eligibility to be in place once the Biden administration lifts the Title 42 public health order.

« We look forward to reviewing the public’s comments on this proposed rule, » he said.

Other Catholic immigration advocates, however, joined with the USCCB in sharply criticizing the proposal.

« The ban unfairly targets those fleeing from northern Central American countries, for whom the administration has provided no parole options, » Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute, said.

« There is nothing but a lack of courage preventing this administration from taking positive steps now to repudiate the damage of the previous administration and finally put in place a functioning, safe, rights-respecting system at the border that works for asylum-seekers and our border communities, » he said.

Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., or CLINIC, said, “In continuing with this rule, the Biden administration is betraying its own commitment to uphold asylum, as well as violating the principles of U.S. law and Catholic social teaching with respect to migration. »

CLINIC compared the proposed rule to an “asylum ban » issued by the Trump administration, which was later struck down by a federal court.

« The right to seek asylum through a full and fair process is a bedrock principle of international and domestic law, » Gallagher said. « These new restrictions undermine that right and will have inhumane and horrific consequences for our immigrant brothers and sisters. »

Ronnate Asirwatham, director of government relations at Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, said the Biden administration was « ending the right to seek asylum on our southern border. »

« (The) success of our southern border, » Asirwatham said, « should not be measured by the number of people we turn away to death and persecution, but by the number of people we welcome to safety. »

Pope Francis has essentially nationalized all assets and property owned by Vatican departments and affiliated institutions, declaring them to be sovereign patrimony owned by the Holy See and not any individual or office.

The action outlined in a new law published Feb. 23 marks Francis’ latest initiative to centralize Vatican assets so they can be managed properly, following years of mismanagement that led to huge losses and, prosecutors allege, criminal wrongdoing.

Francis previously stripped the Vatican’s secretariat of state of its 600 billion-euro ($635 billion) portfolio and ordered the assets transferred to the Vatican’s patrimony office following a scandal involving a 350 million-euro investment in a London property.

Vatican prosecutors have charged 10 people, including a cardinal, of defrauding the Holy See of tens of millions of euros through the London venture.

The new law makes clear that the Holy See owns any asset, security or property owned or acquired by a Vatican office or affiliated institution. This « ecclesiastic public property » is « entrusted » to individual departments to use but is destined for the universal needs of the church to fulfill its mission, the law states.

In previous stages of Francis’ financial reforms, the Vatican ordered all Vatican offices to submit to standardized annual budgeting and accounting measures. Individual offices, or congregations, were allowed to operate in financial silos before then.

The pope also centralized and overhauled the Vatican’s investment strategy to ban speculative investments and to prioritize prudent investing in industries that promote the common good.

Wrapping up his three-day visit to Poland Feb. 22, President Joe Biden attended Ash Wednesday Mass in his hotel room in Warsaw.

The Mass took place at the Marriott Hotel, where the U.S. president stayed during his trip to Poland’s capital, and was celebrated by a Polish priest, Fr. Wieslaw Dawidowski.

« Today, I join Christians worldwide in observing Ash Wednesday, » Biden wrote on Twitter. « The Lenten season is a time for reflection and discernment and an opportunity to recommit ourselves to God and to one another. »

« May we continue to keep the faith and look with hopeful hearts towards Easter, » the Catholic U.S. president added.

Social media users quickly observed a faded cross on the president’s forehead on the pictures from the Feb. 22 Bucharest Nine (B9) summit held at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.

In Poland, ashes are sprinkled over one’s head, which left social media commentators surprised at the smear of ash on the president’s forehead during the official meeting hosted by Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Dawidowski, an Augustinian, shared his experience of the Ash Wednesday Mass with Biden on his Facebook page.

« Today is Ash Wednesday. Even the most powerful in this world take ashes — if they belong to the Catholic tradition, » Dawidoswki said. « I had the honor today of placing ashes on the forehead of the US President Mr. Joe Biden. »

The priest posted a photo of an improvised altar in a hotel room, the U.S. presidential seal, and himself with Biden.

« Everything took place in great secrecy, but now I can speak: in an improvised chapel, next to the President’s apartment, we prayed for peace, the conversion of Russia and the light of the Holy Spirit for Mr. President, » he wrote.

Dawidowski was arrested and sentenced to six months in prison during the time of martial law in communist Poland for his involvement in anti-communist movement. Martial law existed between Dec. 13, 1981, and July 22, 1983.

Biden concluded his three-day visit to Poland, which followed a Feb. 20 surprise visit to Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, days before the Feb. 24 anniversary of Russia’s full scale invasion of the country.

During his visit to Poland, in a conversation with Duda, Biden recalled his meeting with St. John Paul II, which took place in the Vatican, at the beginning of Biden’s political career.

« At one point (John Paul II) said, ‘Senator, please remember that I spoke to you as a Pole, not as the pope. Then I understood the power of Poland, » Biden said, according to KAI news agency.

Biden’s suprise visit to Kyiv and the scheduled visit to Poland, marking one year of war in Ukraine, has been hailed by commentators as one of the foreign policy highlights of Biden’s presidency.