"Now I remember God bless me" *

The full text of a letter sent by Andrew Madden.

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin.
Dear Archbishop Martin,

Thank you for your letter of 11th January 2010.

In 1983 the Catholic Church in Dublin decided that I was not suitable for entry into the priesthood.

Two years earlier the same Catholic Church had allowed Ivan Payne to continue as a priest despite knowing that he had sexually abused me for 2 1/2 years when I was aged 12-14 years.

The idea that anyone sexually abusing children was more suitable for the priesthood than I was totally devastated me at that time and a belief in God and his Church, which had survived Ivan Payne’s actions, came to an abrupt and painful end.

In November 2009 the Murphy Report was published. I was deeply saddened at the sexual abuse of children and I was furiously angry at how the Catholic Church had caused the further sexual abuse of children by covering up abuse in different ways.

My anger soon turned to rage when I saw Catholic bishops, including yourself, fail to articulately take responsibility for what your Church had done.

You spoke so well about the awfulness of what some priests had done and the suffering of those abused; but there was no real mention of the sexual abuse caused by Bishops who had covered up for priests.

I was also appalled, as I believe you may have been, by the behaviour of your fellow bishops as they did everything to try and hold onto office, four of them failing, but not before they had added insult to injury by a collective failure to immediately offer their resignations in acknowledgment of what they had done, or failed to do, and out of respect for the experiences of children sexually abused by Catholic priests in Dublin.

A Church whose leading members behave in this way is not a Church I want in my life, not even in name only.

A Church whose Bishops shielded paedophile priests is not a Church I want in my life.

A Church whose priests congregate to express support for those Bishops continuing in office in direct opposition to what many victims asked for is not a Church I want in my life.

A Church which finds Bishop Drennan acceptable in its Episcopal ranks, despite having been part of a Church in Dublin between 1997 and 2004 which covered up the sexual abuse of children is not a Church I want in my life.

A Church which baptises babies but is arrogant enough to tell young people, or their parents, that defection is not possible until they are aged 18 is not a Church I want in my life.

A Church which does not value gay and lesbian people as it does heterosexual people is not a Church I want in my life.

A Church which parades itself as a State when it wants to avoid accounting to the citizens of a country whose children it has abused is not a Church I want in my life.

No priest will ever preach to me standards his own Church doesn’t even try to live up to. No priest will ever comfort me when I am sick. No priest will hear my ‘sins’.

No priest will instruct me in penance. No priest will bless my relationship with my beautiful partner, Alan.

No priest will pray over my coffin when I am dead.

And no priest will bury me in ‘consecrated ground’.

Archbishop Martin, I believe you are a good man. I believe there are good priests, I know some of them. But that is not the same as saying I believe that the Catholic Church will ever change its ways or learn from what it has done.

Yours sincerely,
Andrew Madden
* Christopher Robin is saying his prayers

“A church whose leading members behave in this way is not a church I want in my life, not even in name only.

Madden leaves Church over failure of bishops to resign
PATSY McGARRY Religious Affairs Correspondent
The Irish Times -
Monday, January 18, 2010

THE FIRST person in Ireland to have gone public - in 1995 - about his abuse by a Catholic priest has formally left the Catholic Church.

Andrew Madden, who was abused when an altar boy in Cabra parish in Dublin by Ivan Payne, wrote to the Dublin archdiocese before Christmas saying he wished to leave the Church. He received notice of his “cessation of church membership by formal act of defection. . .” from church authorities last week.

He also received a letter, dated January 11th, from Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin expressing sadness at the decision to leave and saying it made him wonder whether the church could learn from it.

Martin 'respects Madden decision'

The Irish Times.com
Monday, January 18, 2010
PATSY MCGARRY Religious Affairs Correspondent

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said he respects the decision of abuse victim Andrew Madden to formally leave the Catholic Church.

Mr Madden was the first person in Ireland to go public - in 1995 - about his abuse by a Catholic priest as a child. He was abused as an altar boy in Cabra parish in Dublin by Ivan Payne.

He wrote to the Dublin archdiocese before Christmas last saying he wished to leave the Church. He received notice of his “cessation of church membership by formal act of defection. . .” from church authorities last week.

de Diefstal

Sins of the fathers, RTV3
intervieuw

Archbishop Martin said today: “He made this application. I understand and respect his decision. He is a person who came to a priest in trust and that trust was betrayed and anyone can see where that would lead a person. I wish him every success and blessing in his life but I respect his decision.”

Asked whether he had tried to dissuade Mr Madden from leaving the Church in any the Archbishop responded “No, no..entirely it’s his decision and I respect that fully.”

Mr Madden received a letter, dated January 11th , from Archbishop Martin expressing sadness at the decision to leave and saying it made him wonder whether he church could learn from it.

...

complete artikel

President tells envoys child abuse affects us all

The Irish Times Saturday, January 16, 2010
PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent

“THE PROBLEMS addressed by the Ryan and Murphy reports, as well as the vulnerability of children to abuse in the home, are peculiar neither to Ireland nor to the Catholic Church,” President McAleese said yesterday.

In a seeming retort to comments by Cardinal Claudio Hummes, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, in the Vatican earlier this week, President McAleese said: “These are global problems and to assume otherwise is to offer abusers the same dishonourable secret veil which gave them protection and immunity for far too long.

“I hope the world’s children will benefit from the greater scepticism and vigilance that our experience rightly demands in order to better protect our children.”

She was speaking at Áras an Uachtaráin to members of the diplomatic corps at the annual presentation of new year greetings.

Before she spoke, the papal nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, dean of the diplomatic corps, conveyed “sincerest greetings” to the President in a brief address on behalf of his fellow diplomats.

Earlier this week Cardinal Hummes, a Brazilian, said clerical sex abuse scandals in Ireland were not representative of the behaviour of the vast majority of priests in the Catholic Church.

During an interview last Wednesday in the Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano , he said it would be wrong to “make generalisations” as a result of the Irish experience.

“The painful Irish happenings – which by the way have seen some bishops assume their responsibilities and resign – simply do not relate to the entire episcopal ministry. The bishops are good fathers for their priests,” he said.

He continued: “Certainly, there are some unbecoming situations but they are very limited in number. Unfortunately, we are talking about situations linked to the human condition. And that’s what happened in Ireland.”

Asked whether, in his view, the credibility of priests worldwide has been undermined by such scandals, he said: “Unfortunately, in a society that has little inclination to dig deep in its search for the truth, [such scandals] damage the image of the priest. Above all because the media concentrate on these events rather than on all the good that is done by the vast majority of priests.”

In a wide-ranging address yesterday President McAleese spoke of the lessons learned about “the utter vulnerability of children in the absence of stringent vigilance and accountability of those charged with their care. Irish State authorities and Catholic Church authorities were found seriously wanting and innocent children were hurt as a consequence”.

“Thanks to victims and their advocates, we have been able to offer redress and reassurance that child protection is a high priority, infinitely more important than the status of any institution or individual, and that child abuse is, as it has always been, a heinous crime – but today it is a crime that will be pursued, not suppressed. These matters rightly absorb us in Ireland . . .” she said.

She also told the diplomats “many of you will have seen the strong, caring and generous character of the Irish people showcased in their response to this winter’s recordbreaking floods and freezes. You will also have seen the solid determination of our people to right past wrongs in the publication of the Ryan and Murphy reports into child abuse.”

When asked by The Irish Times later yesterday about the President’s remarks, Archbishop Leanza responded that he had “no comment.”

Zur telefonischen Hotline DBK ehemalige Heimkinder: Wir sind Kirche fordert niederschwellige Beratung für alle Opfer sexueller Gewalt in der Kirche

Kon je bij het besluit van de Bischopsconferentie je al afvragen hoe dat dan wel aangepakt zou gaan worden, meer dan joechei we zijn er, om het meer dan een loos gebaar te laten worden, het is in ieder geval een volgende noodzakelijke stap van noodzakelijke erkenning .
Maar ik ben toch wel heel erg nieuwsgierig naar wat de reacties maar vooral de werking hiervan zal zijn tbv overlevers en slachtoffers van het residentieel misbruik.

Zelfs mijn toch meestal wel redelijk werkende erkenning van bepaald niet - en dan nog op meerdere terreinen ook - onbevooroordeeld te zijn, weerhoud niet hier toch wel heel erg chagarijnig van te worden en dan is dat nog een understatement ook.

Een utilitaristische erkenning is geen erkenning, maar nog steeds utilistarisme.

Wat schieten (voormalige) slachtoffers (en hun organisaties) in vredesnaam op met dergelijk zichzelf verschonend goedkoop gepolitiseer?

Wir sind Kirche fordert niederschwellige Beratung für alle Opfer sexueller Gewalt in der Kirche - Zur telefonischen Hotline der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz für ehemalige Heimkinder

(München/wsk) - Die KirchenVolksBewegung Wir sind Kirche begrüßt, dass die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (DBK) jetzt eine telefonische Hotline für Menschen eröffnet, die als Kinder und Jugendliche in kirchlichen Heimen körperliches oder seelisches Leid erfahren haben. Gleichzeitig mahnt die katholische Reformbewegung an, endlich auch vergleichbare niederschwellige Angebote für Menschen einzurichten, die durch Priester und Ordensleute Opfer sexueller Gewalt wurden.

Wir sind Kirche schlägt deshalb vor, die von der DBK zusammen mit der Ehe-, Familien-, und Lebensberatung im Erzbistum Köln realisierte telefonische Hotline für ehemalige Heimkinder auch all denjenigen zu öffnen, die anderswo unter sexueller Gewalt in der römisch-katholischen Kirche gelitten haben oder noch leiden.

Damit würde endlich auch für diese Fälle eine bundesweite, niederschwellige und unabhängige Beratung und Hilfe möglich sein.
Denn einzelne Diözesen scheinen trotz der 2002 von der DBK verabschiedeten „Leitlinien zum Vorgehen bei sexuellem Missbrauch Minderjähriger durch Geistliche im Bereich der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz“ immer noch überfordert zu sein. Dies ist z.B. der Fall, wenn der Personalreferent oder ein Domkapitular als Ansprechpartner fungieren soll, dem die dringend notwendige Distanz zu dem unter Tatverdacht stehenden Geistlichen fehlt.

Da die von den deutschen Bistümern beauftragten Ansprechpartner und Ansprechpartnerinnen für durch Geistliche sexuell misshandelte Kinder und Jugendliche nur schwierig zu ermitteln sind, hat Wir sind Kirche eine Liste der Beauftragten zusammengestellt

Solange die deutschen Bistümer der Forderung nach Einrichtung unabhängiger Beratungsstellen immer noch nicht nachkommen, hält Wir sind Kirche weiterhin das im Jahr 2002 eingerichtete Notruf-Telefon für Opfer sexueller Gewalt durch Priester und Ordensleute bereit: bundesweite Rufnummer 0180-3000862 zu 9 ct pro Minute oder Email an zypresse@wir-sind-kirche.de.

Gegen die „Kultur des Verschweigens und Augen-Verschließens“

Der Ende Mai 2009 in Irland veröffentlichte Ryan-Report straft die oftmals wiederholte Versicherung Lügen, die Misshandlungen seien nur von einzelnen „abnormalen Individuen“ innerhalb kirchlicher Heime begangen worden. Aber auch australische und US-amerikanische Untersuchungen zeigen: Das zur Prävention sexualisierter Gewalt geforderte NEIN!-Sagen ist keine Stärke in Institutionen, die den absoluten Gehorsam fordern. Gewalt, die in streng hierarchischen Systemen von oben her ausgeübt wird, landet irgendwann in potenzierter Form unten bei den Schwächsten.

Auch in Deutschland ist die Zahl kindlicher und jugendlicher Opfer emotionaler, physischer und sexueller Gewalt wesentlich höher, als zunächst von den Kirchen angegeben. In den 1950er- bis 1970er-Jahren existierten etwa 1.500 katholische Heime. Aber die „Kultur der Misshandlungen“ in den Heimen wurde durch eine „Kultur des Verschweigens und Augen-Verschließens“ verschleiert.

Leider besteht bis heute ein großes Interesse, die ganze unsägliche Thematik von Gewaltausübung bis hin zur sexualisierten Gewalt im kirchlichen Bereich möglichst nur sehr kontrolliert zu bearbeiten.

Eine für den 2. Ökumenischen Kirchentag 2010 in München intensiv vorbereitete Podiumsdiskussion wurde kurzfristig von der Kirchentagsleitung abgesagt und in die Zuständigkeit von Caritas und Diakonie verwiesen – die allerdings selber in großem Maße Träger von Heimerziehung waren und sind.

Wir sind Kirche-Not-Telefon für Kinder und Jugendliche bei sexueller Gewalt in der Kirche

Von Wir sind Kirche erstellte Liste der Beauftragten in deutschen Bistümern

Day Two in Haiti (Pre-Earthquake)

January 15, 2010
By: Paul Kendrick '72
The Mirror

Warning: This article contains some graphic language and content that may be upsetting.

Editor’s Note – This is the second in a five part series of diary entries written by Fairfield alumnus Paul Kendrick ‘72, who is currently spending a week in Haiti. Kendrick is a long time advocate for sex abuse victims and a co-founder of Voice of the Faithful in Maine, which formed in response to the Roman Catholic sex abuse cases. He had visited Project Pierre Touissant, which was run by fellow Fairfield alumnus Doug Perlitz ‘92 in 2003. Last year, Perlitz was indicted by a Bridgeport grand jury on ten counts of abusing Haitian children. His trial is scheduled to start in April.

Cap-Haitien, Haiti – Forty percent of the Haitian population is under 15 years old. Kids are everywhere. In the early morning, one can see them in multitudes as they walk to school all dressed up in their crisp uniforms. They hold hands and giggle with each other. They walk on streets full of pot holes, many of which are strewn with garbage.

On a previous visit to Port Margot, located north of Cap-Haitien, I was standing in the town square at 6:00 a.m. when a little boy came walking by in his checkered brown school uniform. He was walking backwards, staring at me, obviously infatuated by the color of my skin. He was so intent upon looking at me that he didn’t pay attention to where he was going and the poor little guy tripped over himself and fell. When I went to help, he quickly got up and ran away as fast as he could.

I am reporting that more former Project Pierre Toussaint students came to speak with me today. I listened quietly as they told me what Doug Perlitz did to their bodies and souls. In yesterday’s diary, I referred to the two boys I spoke with on Monday as “alleged” victims. I did that to be politically correct, to satisfy Doug’s supporters who believe that people like me are on some kind of a “witch hunt.”

No more. I know for sure that these kids were sexually assaulted and raped by Doug. The trial, if there is one, will only serve to put everything on the record. I have to believe that Doug is already in the process of trying to strike a plea bargain with federal prosecutors. He really has no choice. The boys need to be constantly reassured that Doug will not come back to hurt them.

On October 6, 2000, Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, spoke at Santa Clara University about faith and justice in Jesuit higher education. He said in part, “Students must let the gritty reality of this world into their lives so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, respond to its suffering, and engage it constructively. They should learn to perceive, think, judge, choose, and act for the rights of others, especially the disadvantaged and the oppressed.”

Here’s a bit of the “gritty reality” that I am immersed in this week in Haiti. I hope you will engage yourself in this simple exercise so you will better understand how it has been for me to be in the presence of the innocent suffering of Doug’s former students.

I want you to close your eyes and imagine that your child is being brought to the headmaster’s residence at the boarding school your child attends. i want you to envision the headmaster leading your child to his bedroom. The headmaster turns on the TV and begins playing a pornographic movie. The headmaster excuses himself, goes off to take a shower and then reappears in the bedroom with no clothes on. Your child is confused, not understanding what is happening. The headmaster senses this, so he rubs his hand on your child’s arm, gently saying that everything is OK. He suggests that your child take a shower. While your child is showering he can hear the headmaster urinating in the toilet. Your child says, “What are you doing?” “Don’t worry,” says the headmaster, “everything is OK.”

When your child returns to the bedroom after showering, the headmaster is still naked. He tells your child it will be OK if your child sleeps with him in the bed. Your child is beside himself, but he does not dare to say no. He knows of others who have been treated badly by the headmaster when they did not do as he asked. Sometime later, your child is awakened as he feels the headmaster’s body close to his. Your child jumps up when he feels the headmaster’s ejaculation on his body. “What are you doing?” he yells at the headmaster. “Don’t worry, everything will be ok,” he tells your child. Your frightened child freezes up and does not move.

If, instead of describing the sexual abuse of a child in such detail, I described the harms and injuries inflicted on children as a result of a drunk driver crashing head on into their school bus, you would say, “Oh, my God, how are the children?” If I described the gritty reality of their injuries in gory detail, you would say, “Oh, my God, how can I help?” If I showed you photos of their bloodied bodies you would say, “Oh my God, we must hold the other driver responsible and accountable for what he has done to these kids.”

But when I tell you the disgusting things that a popular, charismatic and much admired person has inflicted upon vulnerable children who are among the poorest of the poor – kids who have no home to go to – kids who have no money to pay for school – kids who have nothing to eat – kids who have no one to tuck them in at night – kids who have no one to tell them how loved they are – kids who don’t like themselves – kids who look away in shame when they talk about their abuse – you will quickly say the victims are lying, that they just want money. You will defend Doug at all costs.

I can tell you for sure that the children in Haiti who were sexually molested need our love, compassion and understanding. We need to show them we care.

Jesus said to the disbelievers, “Come and see.”

Supreme Juridical Court confirms Shanley conviction

By David E. Frank
Published: January 18, 2010
In a closely watched case that impacts repressed-memory trials in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court has upheld the rape and indecent assault convictions of defrocked priest Paul Shanley.
Shanley, who is serving a 12- to 15-year prison sentence, appealed his conviction on grounds that Superior Court Judge Stephen A. Neel improperly allowed a jury to consider his victim's claim of repressed memories.The victim testified at a 2005 trial that more than 20 years had passed before he remembered what had happened to him. He said his memory came back in 2002 after seeing widespread media coverage about the church abuse scandal.

Shanley's appellate lawyer, Robert F. Shaw Jr. of Cambridge, argued that trial attorney Frank Mondano provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to properly challenge the repressed-memory evidence.

But the SJC disagreed.

Justice Robert J. Cordy, writing for the court, held that Neel did not abuse his discretion when he admitted expert testimony on the subject of dissociative amnesia.

"[T]he judge's finding that the lack of scientific testing did not make unreliable the theory that an individual may experience dissociative amnesia was supported in the record, not only by expert testimony but by a wide collection of clinical observations and a survey of academic literature," he wrote.

Although Cordy found that the judge's instruction on the statute of limitations was erroneous, he concluded that it did not require a reversal.

Neel told the jury that the statute of limitations for the indecent assault and battery offense would have expired on Sept. 9, 1999, "unless the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not usually and publicly a resident of the Commonwealth for at least 1,015 days between October 5, 1986, the last date of the offenses, and June 20, 2002, the date the indictments were returned in this case."

Whether the defendant resided in Massachusetts before the statute of limitations began to run, Cordy said, "is not relevant to whether, once statutorily commenced, the six-year period was thereafter tolled for any period of time by the defendant's absence."

The judge wrote that Neel's instruction should have focused the jury's attention only on the defendant's residence after Sept. 9, 1993.

But where the evidence was not objected to and did not involve an element of the crime, Cordy wrote, it did not give rise to a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice.

"The Commonwealth's evidence that the defendant left the Commonwealth in 1990 and, but for a forty-three day period in 1993, was not usually or publicly a resident of Massachusetts until he returned in May, 2002, was very strong," he wrote. "It was so strong that even though defense counsel had cross-examined the Commonwealth's witnesses, he made no reference to the issue in closing argument."

In a written statement, Middlesex County District Attorney Gerard T. Leone said the court gave credence to the legitimacy of the prosecution's theory of the case.

"As the SJC recognized, repressed memories of abuse is a legitimate phenomenon and provided a valid basis for the jury to find that the victim, a child at the time of the assaults, repressed memories of the years of abuse he suffered at the hands of Paul Shanley," he wrote.

The 50-page decision is Commonwealth v. Shanley, Lawyers Weekly No. 10-014-10.

The full text of the ruling on Bishop Accountability here

Mrs. Stienstra vs Mgr Eijk, Archbishop Utrecht

in English

Day One in Haiti

January 13, 2010
By: Paul Kendrick '72
The Mirror

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of diary entries written by Fairfield alumnus Paul Kendrick ‘72, who is currently spending a week in Haiti. Kendrick is an advocate for sex abuse victims and member of the organization Voice of the Faithful, which formed in response to the Roman Catholic sex abuse cases. He had visited Project Pierre Touissant, which was run by fellow Fairfield alumnus Doug Perlitz ‘92 in 2003. Last year, Perlitz was indicted by a Bridgeport grand jury on ten counts of abusing Haitian children. His trial is scheduled to start in April.

Cap-Haitien, Haiti – For me, it was a highly emotional day. Here I was, sitting in a small office at Justinian Hospital, face to face with two of the many former students who have reported to law enforcement officials that they were sexually abused by Douglas Perlitz, former executive director of Project Pierre Toussaint and Fairfield University alumnus.

Also in the room was Margaret, a compassionate and loving Haitian social worker who has devoted her time and energy to helping the boys by being available to listen to their problems and Cyrus Sibert, a Haitian journalist who first broke the story about the allegations of abuse against Perlitz in late 2007. Margaret was previously employed as the social worker at the Project’s daytime “drop-in” center.

I had decided before traveling to Haiti that I want the boys who have reported their abuse to know that there are tens of thousands of abuse survivors, along with their supporters, advocates and caring and concerned people in the United States and elsewhere who support and encourage their efforts to bring these charges before the U.S. judicial system. Further, I want to know from people here in Haiti what they think it would take to resurrect the Project and reopen the school.

As a long time advocate for priest abuse victims in the Church, I have watched time and time again as Catholic parishioners have rallied to the support and defense of a popular and well-liked priest with no regard for the well being of the alleged victim(s) and no consideration of the evidence being presented. The same situation occurred in this case, as many prominent and influential Fairfield County Catholics abandoned the alleged victims, insinuated that the boys were lying and lobbied financial donors in such a way that funds dried up and the Project was forced to close.

It broke my heart to listen to the boys tell me their stories. It’s difficult to remain calm when an innocent child has been forced to endure such horrific trauma. The disgusting details of their abuse would cause most people to turn away. As in most child sex abuse cases, the boys were groomed by a cunning, manipulative and charismatic child molester. One of the boys told me that Doug told him that he was like a father to the boy.

When I began to speak to the boys, my voice cracked and I had to take a moment to compose myself. I told them that what happened to them should never happen to any child. I told them that it was not their fault. I thanked them for having the courage to report their abuse to law enforcement officials. I thanked them for helping to protect other children.

How can we help you, I asked?


These kids are the poorest of the poor. Cyrus showed me the roof that they sleep on each night behind a church. They have no blankets or pillows. There’s nothing for them to eat when they awake in the morning. There’s no place for them to take a shower. They are always hungry.

I hadn’t thought of it when Cyrus mentioned to me that, sadly, the boys who attended the school have received one very clear message: report child abuse and you will have no school or drop-in center to go to, you will have no place to sleep, no food to eat, many people will attack you for causing problems and some will even threaten you.

It was a great privilege and honor to be with the two boys, Cyrus and Margaret today.

In 2002, an Ursuline nun from Waterville, Maine wrote the Stations of the Cross for child abuse victims. She said in part: “The sexual abuse of a child is a non-erasable fact. It affects the healthy lives of young and old, rich and poor, successful and not successful.”

And I also remember well the words of former Superior General, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J. who said, ”When the heart is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change. Personal involvement with innocent suffering, with the injustice others suffer, is the catalyst for solidarity which then gives rise to intellectual inquiry and moral reflection.”

Irish clerical abuse not typical of church, says Vatican prefect “The bishops are good fathers for their priests”

...
The Church courts, according to Monsignor Dolan, became little more than marriage tribunals, the penal (criminal) law of the Church fell into disuse; and the modern generation of canonists lackedf any experience of it.

Mgr. Dolan " "It remains true that law and authority had a role in the church that was over oerstated which could tend to stifle other values which could be harmful to individuals" " (Murphy 4 on the role of Canon Law )

...This in fact never took place because of the response of Rome to the Framework Document.
According to Mgr. Stenson, Rome had reservations about its policy of reporting to the civil authorities. The basis of the reservation was that the making of a report put the reputation and good name of a priest at risk.
Mgr. Dolan told the Commission that the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome had studied the document in detal and emphasised to the Irish bishops that it must conform to the canonical norms in force.
The congregation indicated that "the text contains procedures and dispositions wih are contrary to canonical discipline.
In particular "mandatory reporting "gives rise to serious reservations of both a moral and canonical nature".
Mgr. Dolan said that the congregation regarded the document as "merely a study document".
...
7.14 ...It was his vieuw that the only way a bishop could properly proceed canonically was with the accused priest's co-operation...

(Murphy 7, The framework Document)

The Irish Times - Thursday, January 14, 2010

...
The cardinal was asked if events “in certain parts of the world” did not suggest that something had “gone wrong” in relations between bishops and their priests.

“The painful Irish happenings – which by the way have seen some bishops assume their responsibilities and resign – simply do not relate to the entire episcopal ministry.
“The bishops are good fathers for their priests,” he said.


“Certainly, there are some unbecoming situations but they are very limited in number. Unfortunately, we are talking about situations linked to the human condition. And that’s what happened in Ireland.

“This is a very painful business which, it is true, hurts above all the victims but it also profoundly wounds the heart of the church. Once responsibility for so much evil has been objectively established, then we need to go all the way, handing the matter over to the state judicial authorities.”

L’Osservatore asked Cardinal Hummes if, in his view, the credibility of priests worldwide has been undermined by such scandals: “Unfortunately, in a society that has little inclination to dig deep in its search for the truth, [such scandals] damage the image of the priest. Above all because the media concentrate on these events rather than on all the good that is done by the vast majority of priests.

“It is undeniable that painful episodes have happened but we are talking about a limited number of cases which, according to the numbers, are proportionately modest.

“These are of course very serious, criminal happenings which the church can in no way tolerate. But let me repeat it, the vast majority of priests worldwide are decent people, committed to their ministry, ready to give their entire lives, often lose their lives, for the Gospel.”
...

complete artikel

society that masks 'totalitarianism' with 'hope' will destroy itself, warns Archbishop Burke
CNA
...
Archbishop Burke then presented the story of St. Thomas More, a lawyer who was martyred for choosing to serve God instead of the king. The patron saint of lawyers, the archbishop reminded, is known for exclaiming, “I die the king’s good servant, and God’s first.” “Saint Thomas More understood that there could be no contradiction between his service of his nation and his service of God, and that, in fact, he could only serve his nation truly and faithfully by his true and faithful service of God,” Archbishop Burke declared.

As he reflected on the calling of those in the legal profession, the archbishop called to mind the traditional formulation of a definitive sentence, “the judge, in giving the final disposition of the sentence, always first declared: 'Having God only before my eyes.'”

“The minister of justice bears a most heavy burden, the burden of emptying himself of himself, in order to have God alone before His eyes, in declaring what is just and right on behalf of his fellow citizens,” noted the archbishop. “At the same time, he enjoys the grace of the Holy Spirit for the carrying out of his service.”

This is no easy task, the Vatican-based archbishop noted as he assessed the current state of the American society.

In our culture, “the law more and more dares to force those with the sacred trust of caring for the health of their brothers and sisters to violate the most sacred tenets of their consciences, and to force individuals and institutions to cooperate in egregious violations of the natural moral law,” he said. “In such a society, the administration of justice is no longer a participation in the justice of God, an obedient response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, but a façade cloaking our own selfishness and refusal to give our lives for the sake of the good of all our brothers and sisters.”

“It is a society which is abandoning its Judeo-Christian foundations, the fundamental obedience to God’s law which safeguards the common good, and is embracing a totalitarianism which masks itself as the 'hope,' the 'future,' of our nation. Reason and faith teaches us that such a society can only produce violence and death and in the end destroy itself,” Archbishop Burke warned.

Addressing the lawyers and politicians present, he stated, “All of us depend upon you to speak what is just and right on our behalf and on behalf of all our brothers and sisters, especially those whose lives are in any way threatened.”

Acknowledging the difficulty of this task, he prayed that all ministers of justice would always enjoy the comfort, strength, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Archbishop Burke concluded his homily by praying, “Let us lift up to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus those charged with the administration of justice on our behalf, imploring for them the gift of the Holy Spirit to inspire and strengthen them in declaring what is just and right on behalf of all our brothers and sisters, especially those who are in most need."...

Kardinale gotspe

En dit, kardinaal, is een gotspe!

Prefect van de Congregatie voor de clerus:
Pedofiele priesters moeten gestraft worden door de “gewone Justitie”
Geplaatst door onze redactie op woensdag 13 januari 2010

VATICAANSTAD (RKnieuws.net) - De priesters die beschuldigd worden van seksuele misbruiken of van pedofilie moeten gestraft worden, ook door de “gewone Justitie”. Dit heeft kardinaal Claudio Hummes, prefect van de Congregatie voor de Clerus, dinsdag verklaard in een interview met de l’Osservatore Romano.
In de misbruikzaken die recent in Ierland aan het licht kwamen moet men volgens de kardinaal de verantwoordelijkheden objectief vaststellen en de zaken tot op het bot uitspitten. ‘Deze zaak schaadt op de eerste plaats de slachtoffers maar ook het hart van de katholieke Kerk’, aldus de prelaat.

De kardinaal betreurt de impact van dit soort zaken op het imago van de priester. Hij verwijt de media de schijnwerpers te plaatsen op dit soort aangelegenheden in plaats van de aandacht te vestigen op de goede zaken die de meerderheid van de priesters doen. Men kan niet ontkennen dat er feiten gepleegd worden die niet door de beugel kunnen maar het gaat om beperkte gevallen, stelt kardinaal Hummes. ’De grote meerderheid van de priesters gedragen zich waardig, doen hun werk met overtuiging, zijn bereid hun leven te geven en verliezen het soms omwille van het evangelie’, aldus de prefect.

Calvez ""De staart van de ezel is een slechte gids.""

GrossArt

KEULEN (RKnieuws.net) - Tot in de jaren zeventig werden vele tehuiskinderen geslagen en onderdrukt - zowel in staats- als kerkelijke instellingen. De Katholieke Kerk begint woensdag een hotline voor mensen die in hun tehuis werden mishandeld. Daarmee wil de kerk een duidelijk signaal sturen, dat er rekening wordt gehouden met de aantijgingen, zei secretaris Hans Langendörfer (foto) van de Duitse Bisschoppenconferentie (DBK) maandag in Keulen


't Blijven knappe jongens, die Duitse katholieken.
Die zijn, en dat terwijl het nationaal onderzoek-hulpproject nog niet halverwege is of tussentijdsverslag heeft uitgebracht, zélfs in staat mensen te trainen in wat tot een jaar terug nog door de katholieke kerk duitsland werd ontkend.
Een zelfreinigend vermogen dat een traan opwekt in een glazen oog, hoor ik een Ier haast zeggen.

Lullig dat Keulen en Aken nog steeds niet op één dag kunnen bouwen.

Hoera, de volgende onzin

Diarmuid, hoeveel nonsenssprongen zijn er nodig om een stap vooruit te komen?

Wortelvoorstel aan de Europeese bisschopsconferentie

Start, en dan nog vanaf 2010 ook, een nieuwe europeese processie in Echternach op 20 mei, te beginnen met 1 minuut stilte in het EParlement.
Vroegere gestichtsbewoners kunnen 3/4 van hun reiskosten declaren bij nationale overheden, verblijf eigen risico.

Wonderen verzekerd en 't zou nog wel eens weldadig kunnen zijn ook.

Conflict met aartsbisschop Eijk escaleert

Nelly Stienstra vraagt om bemiddeling bisschoppen van Luyn en De Korte

Geplaatst door onze redactie op maandag 11 januari 2010 om 00:05u

UTRECHT (RKnieuws.net) - Dr. Nelly Stienstra, voorzitter van het ‘Contact Rooms Katholieken’, heeft zondag in een brief de aartsbisschop van Utrecht, Mgr. Dr. W. Eijk, verzocht, om in het conflict dat hij met haar heeft, samen “naar een billijke oplossing te zoeken om rechtsgedingen te voorkomen”.
Vorige week eiste de aartsbisschop van Utrecht in een brief, dat mevrouw Stienstra “met onmiddellijke ingang haar activiteiten als vrijwilliger in de St. Catharinakathedraal in Utrecht staakt”. De voorzitter van het CRK legt zich niet neer bij dit besluit van de aartsbisschop.

Bemiddeling door bisschoppen van Luyn en De Korte

In haar brief stelt mevrouw Stienstra aartsbisschop Eijk voor, om de voorzitter van de Nederlandse bisschoppenconferentie, Mgr. A. van Luyn en de bisschop van Groningen-Leeuwarden, Mgr. G. De Korte, te vragen als bemiddelaar op te treden. “Ik heb hen hierover niet voorafgaand benaderd, aangezien een dergelijk verzoek alleen zinvol is wanneer dat door beide partijen wordt gedaan. Leidt dit niet tot een oplossing dan verzoek ik uitdrukkelijk dat het Diocesaan Geschillenbureau wordt ingeschakeld om het geschil te beslechten”, aldus mevrouw Stienstra.

Kritisch over sluiting ‘Arienskonvikt’

Dr. Nelly Stienstra liet zich onlangs o.a. in het dagblad ‘Trouw’ kritisch uit over het besluit van aartsbisschop Eijk om de priesteropleiding van het aartsbisdom Utrecht, ‘het Ariënskonvikt’, wegens geldgebrek op te heffen. Volgens haar was “er een bedrag van een paar miljoen beschikbaar”.

Integriteit openlijk in twijfel getrokken

Mgr. Eijk liet mevrouw Stienstra vorige week weten dat zij “afbreuk heeft gedaan aan het noodzakelijkerwijs vereiste wederzijds vertrouwen en respect door mijn integriteit openlijk via de media in twijfel te trekken en door meer dan eens tijdens een liturgische viering in de kathedrale kerk van St. Catharina ostentatief te laten blijken dat u het met mijn beleidsbeslissingen niet eens bent. Van vrijwilligers in parochies, vooral wanneer zij publiek hun medewerking verlenen mag tijdens liturgische vieringen, loyaliteit en een waardig optreden worden verwacht”, aldus aartsbisschop Eijk vorige week.

Bisschoppelijke collegialiteit geschonden

Mevrouw Stienstra schrijft in haar brief van 11 januari dat zij het oneens is met het besluit van Mgr. Eijk, dat zij na 21 jaar haar werk als vrijwilligster in de kathedrale St. Salvatorparochie per direct moet staken. Zij verwijt Mgr. Eijk dat hij “zich niet heeft gehouden aan canoniekrechtelijke bepalingen betreffende consultatie van kapittel en priesterraad” en dat hij “de collegialiteit onder de bisschoppen heeft geschonden. Uw woordvoerder heeft dat afgelopen week nog eens overgedaan door de stuitende wijze waarop hij zich heeft uitgelaten over kardinaal Simonis”, aldus mevrouw Stienstra.

Gelovigen wenden zich af

“U hebt zich onzorgvuldig gedragen jegens vele direct betrokkenen door besluiten te nemen, die voor hun verdere leven diepgaande gevolgen hebben zonder zelfs maar op enig moment de suggestie te wekken dat U daarmee rekening hebt gehouden, laat staan dat U daarvoor begrip hebt en meeleeft. Gevolg van Uw beleid is dat vele gelovigen zich niet alleen van het aartsbisdom, maar ook van de Kerk afwenden, aangezien zij geen enkele affiniteit hebben met de wijze waarop U opereert”, schrijft Nelly Stienstra in haar brief.

‘U hebt geen boodschap aan opvattingen van derden’

“Als leek heb ik niet alleen de vrijheid maar zelfs de plicht mij uit te spreken uit overwegingen van beperking van verdere schade met inachtneming van artikel 212 paragraaf 3 CIC, zeker omdat inmiddels ampel bekend is dat U geen boodschap hebt aan opvattingen van derden, zelfs niet als U canoniekrechtelijk gehouden bent die derden te consulteren. Mijn uitlatingen in de media waren en zijn bedoeld als een uiterste middel om te bevorderen dat de sluiting van het Ariënskonvikt ongedaan wordt gemaakt: er resteren nog ongeveer zes maanden om dat te bewerkstelligen”, aldus de voorzitter van het ’Contact Rooms Katholieken’ in haar brief aan Mgr. Eijk.

Bijstand van een advocaat

Mevrouw Stienstra vraagt aartsbisschop Eijk om gehoord te worden op haar bezwaar en meldt dat zij zich zal laten bijstaan door een advocaat. Zij vindt het besluit van Mgr. Eijk haar te verbieden nog langer op te treden als vrijwilligster “buitenproportioneel”.

‘U sluit zich af voor andere mening’

“Op de eerste plaats in het licht van het feit dat ik goede redenen had mijn mening te uiten, te meer omdat U zich afsluit voor iedere andere mening dan de Uwe en bestuurt door voldongen feiten te presenteren, kennelijk vanuit de verwachting dat het stof mettertijd wel neerdaalt en U Uw zin hebt doorgezet, zonder dat daarbij de vraag wordt beantwoord of het kerkelijk belang in redelijkheid met Uw éénzijdig wilsbesluit in overeenstemming is”.

‘Schending van door U geëiste loyaliteit’

“Op de tweede plaats neemt U wel sancties tegen mij omdat ik Uw beleid niet onderschrijf maar treedt U niet handhavend op ten aanzien van schending van kerkelijke voorschriften (en kerkelijke leer), liturgische voorschriften daaronder begrepen. Deze overtredingen worden door U kennelijk van minder betekenis geacht dan pretense schending van de door U geëiste “loyaliteit” voor wat betreft Uw persoonlijke beleidsbeslissingen”, aldus mevrouw Nelly Stienstra.

Afschrift van brief naar Vaticaan

De voorzitter van het CRK schrijft tenslotte dat zij een afschrift van haar brief heeft verstuurd aan Mgr. F. Bacqué, de apostolisch nuntius in Den Haag, kardinaal Rylko, voorzitter van de Pauselijke Raad voor de Leken, kardinaal Grocholewski, de prefect van de Congregatie voor het Katholieke Opvoeding, kardinaal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect van de Congregatie voor de Bisschoppen en kardinaal Bertone, staatssecretaris van het Vaticaan.

Joost Middelhoff

Sssttt, whisper. Who dares?

Het speelkwartier dat de Nederlandse Kerkprovincie
al veertig jaar verlamt

lijkt voorbij nu er een aartsbisschop is aangetreden die zelf de touwtjes stevig in handen neemt.

Jan Peeters, Katholiek Nieuwsblad 8-1-2010

So what could it be ?
Now I remember God bless me

Klimaat pareltjes zien, soms even;

Fernando Pereira

Chaves (Portugal), 10 mei 1950 -

Auckland (Nieuw-Zeeland) 10 juli 1985

deelt een raam in de voormalige kapel
van de Voorzienigheid, Amsterdam.

Grote moers zoen van Alexandrie; Mary Daly overleden

“
When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed.
But when we are silent, we are still afraid.
So it is better to speak

”

"It was Mary's wish that if women or people want to memorialize her in any way they should stay in their own locality and have a get-together where they read or discuss her work," said Linda Barufaldi of San Diego, one of several former graduate students of Dr. Daly's who cared for her as her health declined.