This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD


Suspension of 21 priests revives sex-abuse scandal


Michael Sean Winters in Washington


THE ARCHDIOCESE of Philadelphia this week removed 21 priests from active ministry – the largest single suspension of clergy in US history. The men were named in a grand jury report published last month which indi- cated that the archdiocese had failed to remove clergy against whom credible allegations of sexual abuse had been lodged. The report marked the worst crisis since the sex-abuse scandal exploded in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002. In response to the report, Philadelphia’s archbishop, Cardinal Justin Rigali, last month announced that the chancery was suspending three named priests and re-opening investi- gations into 34 other cases. On Tuesday, 21 of the 34 priests were informed that they were being put on administrative leave and told to vacate their rectories. In a statement, Cardinal Rigali said: “These administrative leaves are interim measures. They are not in any way final determinations or judgements.” In the month between the suspensions and the dismissals, no canonical process was undertaken, but a well-regarded former lay prosecutor, Gina Maisto Smith, was hired by


Archdiocese runs up debts of €800m


THE HEAD of the Catholic Church in Slovenia has urged priests and bishops to show greater financial care after an archbishop resigned when his diocese ran up debts of some €800 million (£689m), mostly in company liabilities, writes Jonathan Luxmoore. “In future, we must be more astute in managing our material goods – those responsible for the abuses should also face the consequences,” said Archbishop Anton Stres, the Slovene bishops’ conference president. The 68-year-old archbishop issued the


statement in the wake of the forced resignation of Archbishop Franz Kramberger, who was replaced as Archbishop of Maribor last Sunday by his auxiliary, Mgr Marjan Turnsek, after allowing his diocese to plunge into the unprecedented debt.


32 | THE TABLET | 12 March 2011


the archdiocese to review the initial investi- gations. The cases of the removed priests will now be sent to Rome and decisions will be made on whether they should be laicised. The revelation that clergy remained in min-


istry despite the existence of credible allegations raises the possibility that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has failed to abide by the norms for dealing with clergy sex abuse established by the US bishops in 2002. The bishops have always insisted that their adherence to the norms guaranteed the safety of children in the future. In a rare criticism from a fellow bishop, Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond of New Orleans told a radio interviewer: “What has happened in Philadelphia, quite frankly, is very embarrassing to us.” Asked if chancery officials should be held legally accountable for criminal negligence and child endanger- ment, Archbishop Aymond said, “Yes. We are not, as clergy, above the law. If we do anything that is wrong, criminally, then we should have to pay for that.”


Nicholas Cafardi, a canon and civil lawyer,


told The Tablet: “What troubles me is that the Dallas norms failed in Philadelphia or they weren’t being properly followed.” Dr Cafardi, author of Before Dallas: the US bish-


Cardinal


Justin Rigali. Photo: CNS


ops’ response to clergy sex abuse, and an orig- inal member of the US Bishops’ National Review Board for Child Protection, said that “according to those norms, these men were not supposed to be in ministry”. Dr Cafardi said the credibility of the entire American hierarchy was being tested by the Philadelphia revelations. “The bishops made promises to the American faithful and it now appears a major archdiocese, led by a prominent cardinal, did not keep those promises.” Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, an Associated


Press investigation has found that some 50 former priests, removed from ministry because of sex abuse, have been living in California with no requirements that they inform neighbours or employers of the charges. Most of the cases never went to trial because the statute of limitations had lapsed.


Christians fearful after Bhatti’s ‘martyrdom’


CHRISTIANS ARE living in fear now that their most outspoken champion is gone, the head of the Pakistan bishops’ conference said following the assassination last week of Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, writes Ellen Teague. Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need that Pakistan’s 2.5 million Christians are now more exposed to violence and intim- idation by Islamic extremists particularly under a “weak” Government. Lahore’s Sacred Heart Cathedral is under police guard with cameras, cement barriers, sandbags and raised perimeter walls installed. Mr Bhatti, a Catholic and Pakistan’s only


Christian cabinet minister, was shot dead in his unguarded car by extremists in Islamabad on 2 March. He campaigned vigorously for better rights for non-Muslims and specifically the abolition of the blasphemy laws. At a memorial service for Mr Bhatti at a church in Islamabad on Friday last week amid


heightened security Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani called it a black day for Pakistan and promised that the Government would do its utmost to catch his killers. However, only one mid-ranking leader of the ruling PPP party to which Mr Bhatti belonged turned up for his burial. This took place in his home village of Khushpur where some 20,000 peo- ple turned out to pay tribute, many of them vowing to continue Mr Bhatti’s campaign to protect religious minorities. The Catholic bishops of Pakistan will con- sider a proposal at their forthcoming meeting to ask the Vatican to declare Bhatti a martyr. At a memorial Mass for Bhatti in Rome, organised by Pakistani Christians in Italy, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, thanked God “for having placed an authentic martyr in our path”. He reported that Mr Bhatti told him last November that “I know that they will kill me, but I offer my life for Christ and for interreligious dialogue”.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40
Produced with Yudu - www.yudu.com