Sunday, September 26, 2010

Post #73

Excerpt from the Daily Mail: "Cash for Pope claims: Multi-millionaires who funded the Pontiff's trip to Britain met him in private"

The Pope’s visit to Britain has come under fresh scrutiny after it was revealed that multi-millionaires funded a significant proportion of the trip and were granted a coveted private audience with the Pontiff. During the four-day visit, many of the donors met Benedict XVI at a series of gatherings, one of which took place just before Mass at Westminster Cathedral.

Costs for State events during the visit, including the Pope’s meeting with the Queen, were met by the taxpayer, but the Catholic Church was faced with a £10 million bill for staging religious events such as the Hyde Park prayer vigil. The Church still needs to raise another £3.5 million to cover this bill and it is set to approach many of the donors again to see if they are prepared to make up the shortfall.

A national collection in the parishes earlier this year raised only about £1 million. Catholics last night voiced their unease over the need to raise money from businessmen. One insider said: ‘It is always an uncomfortable place for the Church, cosying up to the rich. Some Catholics will feel distinctly queasy, especially as donors had the rare chance to meet and talk to the Pope face-to-face.’

Catholic theologian Tina Beattie, a prominent commentator on the visit, said she was ‘disappointed’ by the disclosures. Professor Beattie said that while the Pope may have had to shake hands with wealthy backers to pay for his visit, she did not believe they had influenced his overall message, which had included a sideswipe at reckless bankers.

A spokesman for the Church said it never confirmed the identity of donors and there was no understanding that benefactors would necessarily meet the Pope during the visit.

Sources include
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315281/Pope-hire-row-rich-pay-millions-meet-him.html
http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Pope-Visit-Thousands-Gathering-In-Londons-Hyde-Park-For-Papal-Prayer-Vigil/Article/201009315734536?f=rss
http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/staff/TinaBeattie

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Post #72

Excerpt from The Guardian: "Vatican bank chief investigated over money laundering claims"

The head of the Vatican bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, has formally been placed under investigation in an inquiry into a suspected violation of Italy's money-laundering laws, judicial sources said today.

At the same time, a judge in Rome ordered a freeze on €23m (£19.5m) held in an account opened by the Vatican bank, the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), at another financial institution in the Italian capital. It was thought to be the first time such action had been authorised against the IOR in Italy.

Since last September, the Bank of Italy has classified the Vatican bank as a non-EU institution whose dealings with other banks are thus subject to especially close scrutiny.

The sources said that last Wednesday, on the eve of Pope Benedict's departure for Britain, a unit of the Italian revenue guard alerted prosecutors to an anomaly in an account owned by the IOR at the Rome branch of Credito Artigiano, which has close historic ties to the Catholic church.

Of the €28m deposited, €23m was destined for transfer to JP Morgan in Frankfurt and another €3m to another Italian bank. But in neither case, it is alleged, had the Vatican's bankers supplied details of the individual or corporation for whom they were acting, as required by a 2007 legislative decree.

The sources said the president of the IOR, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, and another senior executive were under investigation. It was not immediately clear whether there was any connection between this inquiry and another in which the Vatican bank has been named, which concerns suspect property dealings.

The Vatican has a long history of withholding co-operation from Italian investigators seeking access to its bank's books. The IOR was involved in a major scandal in 1982 arising from the fraudulent bankruptcy of Banco Ambrosiano, then Italy's largest private bank.

Sources include
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/21/vatican-bank-chief-investigated-laundering
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Works_of_Religion
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ettore_Gotti_Tedeschi
http://www.cattolici-liberali.com/organizzazione/persone/EttoreGottiTedeschi.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banco_Ambrosiano

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Post #71

The following article appeared in the online version of the National Catholic Reporter on September 13, 2010 in response to an article by John L. Allen Jr. entitled “Fraternity of the disgraced keeps growing”. Sister Maureen Paul Turish asks the important question, “Will the institutional Church take ownership for the complicity of its leadership?”  Sr. Turish, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, is a victims' advocate and writes from New Castle, Delaware

Excerpt from the National Catholic Reporter

Clericalism has often been described as the pursuit of ecclesiastical power at the expense of the laity. It is viewed as an elite caste unaccountable to the People of God.

It is this mindset peculiar to bishops and priests that renders otherwise ordinary good men so insensitive to the moral depravity present in some of their fellows that they will go to any lengths to enable, protect and cover up for them even years after the fact and in the case of ordinary priests renders them incapable of challenging Church leadership in the face of such evil.

Failing to protect the innocent from childhood sexual abuse all those decades ago and enabling further abuse by becoming complicit in covering up for perpetrators makes one wonder whether or not church leaders believe the words of Jesus in the Gospel.

Or is it rather that some do not consider Jesus’ words binding if following the words of the Lord embarrass one, causing him to lose statute and authority in the church? Is it a choice between arresting one’s advancement in this highly clericalized system and speaking truth to power?

Is it for all of these reasons and more?

This latest example of the abuse of power and authority in the Roman Catholic Church by Cardinal Godfried Danneels, the former leader of the Belgian Church, puts the lie to statements made not so many years ago by members of the hierarchy that the sexual abuse of children by clergymen was uniquely an American phenomenon.

And probably not the half of what has been going on in the Belgian Church is really known at this time. This in a country that is approximately the size of the state of Maryland in square miles.

Here in the United States previously sealed depositions that church authorities never expected to be made public support the fact that attempts at containment know no national boundaries.

Crimes against humanity? No question.

As such they should be brought before the world court. After all, the Holy See is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child even though it has submitted none of the periodic compliance reports beyond the initial one.

Will the institutional Church take ownership for the complicity of its leadership in covering up for the actions of those who have preyed on the young and their own actions in putting so many more children in harm’s way?

Doubtful.

To date, have any complicit bishops in the U.S. been sanctioned for their actions? Rewarded, yes. Sanctioned, no.

The crisis continues worldwide while in the U.S. bishops and state Catholic Conferences continue to viciously oppose legislative reform in any state where bills addressing it have been introduced. New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and Colorado are a few examples.

Certainly not what one expected when the bishops promised Accountability & Transparency in 2002.

Can the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church be blind to the fact that its actions in continuing on its present course are speeding up an already unprecedented erosion of credibility among the ordinary faithful who want to cling to the belief that church leadership is capable of telling the truth and being accountable for its failures in protecting children?

Is it not this hubris of leadership, this horrific abuse of power that has created the rough seas, that perfect storm in which the Barque of Peter now finds itself floundering?

Or did Jesus’ words mandating the protection of children, the most vulnerable among us, include the caveat that his words were binding only if in protecting the children the cost was not too high?

Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
Victims’ Advocate
New Castle, Delaware

Sources include
http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/fraternity-disgraced-keeps-growing
http://www.companionsinhope.com/TheGarden/Advocates/SisterMaureen.htm
http://www.sndden.org/

Post #70

The Pope’s visit to Scotland and England enters its third day today. There has been mixed reaction to the visit. The political organizers of the visit were upset when the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland chose not to meet the Pope after an event in London.  The politicians are concerned that it puts a negative spin on their attempt to show a united Christian community.

Excerpt from the BBC: Irish Presbyterian Moderator defends his stance on the Pope

Dr Norman Hamilton will attend the service at Westminster Cathedral but will not meet the Pope. The Presbyterian Moderator has reiterated his choice not to meet the Pope after a service in London on Friday evening.   Dr. Hamilton has been invited to a special service in Westminster Cathedral on the second day of the Pope Benedict's visit.  He insisted his stance was not a snub to Catholics or Pope Benedict XVI.

The Presbyterian moderator explained why he was declining the invitation to meet the Pope after the service but denied there was any discourtesy involved.  "From where I stand, to be true to myself, I would want a meeting with the Pope to be substantive rather than a passing few courtesies because there are many things that trouble us over in Ireland so I am wanting to meet the Pope.  "I am wanting to have a proper engagement with him. I'm simply saying that the context of being presented to his holiness is not enough for us to help resolve some of the issues," he added.

Dr Hamilton said he would welcome the opportunity to have a "face to face" meeting with the Pope.  "I would welcome the opportunity to have a proper meeting with the Pope to sit down with him, man to man and discuss a number of troubling issues," he said.  "Some of those would be biblical and theological because we regard the Roman Catholic church as a church in error, others would be pastoral while others would be practical," he said.

Sources include
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11340154
http://www.presbyterianireland.org/assembly/moderator.html

Friday, September 17, 2010

Post #69

Excerpt from the BBC: Papal visit: Pope Benedict in London

The Pope has warned that religion - and Christianity in particular - is "being marginalised" around the world.

His comments came in his keynote speech to UK MPs, senior members of British society, and religious leaders at Westminster Hall in central London.  Pope Benedict XVI warned that there were some people who wanted to see "the voice of religion be silenced".  He called on those in attendance to seek ways to promote faith "at every level of national life".

BBC correspondent Peter Hunt described the speech as "a rallying call, and a plea - for religion not to be squeezed out by secular society".

In his speech, the Pope said: "I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalisation of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance.  "There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere.  "There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none."

The Pope then visited Westminster Abbey for a celebration of evening prayer.

Earlier, he met the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, at Lambeth Palace.  It comes at a time when Anglican moves towards appointing women bishops have unsettled relations with Rome.  But the Pope said he wanted to focus on the "deep friendship" between the two churches rather than their differences.

The Lambeth Palace meeting marked the first time a Pope has met the Archbishop at his official residence.  It was viewed as an important event more than 40 years after official talks began about possible reunification of the two churches.  Divisions remain over Roman Catholic opposition to the ordination of women priests. Meanwhile the Church of England's General Synod left the way open for appointing women bishops at its meeting in July.  The Vatican angered many supporters of women's ordination by describing it as a "grave crime" to be dealt with in the same process as sex abuse, though it denied it was equating the two.

Sources include
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11347073
http://www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/
http://www.westminster-abbey.org/
http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambeth_Palace

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Post #68

In this blogger’s humble opinion, one of the best commentators about things Catholic is Eugene Cullen Kennedy, the emeritus professor of psychology at Loyola University, Chicago. He writes regularly in the National Catholic Reporter in the USA and captures the essence of the situation regarding the sex abuse scandals in this recent article entitled “Now we know what the bishops 'don't get'.” The following is an excerpt from Kennedy’s article. Please pay special note to his comments at the end about the pastoral inexperience of so many current bishops.

Excerpt from National Catholic Reporter: “Now we know what the bishops 'don't get'.”

That sex abuse was a crime was certainly not a revelation to those who had suffered the assaults but were told to keep quiet about them or, in the fashion of making the raped person into the provocateur, were rebuked for having made a story up about Father -- whom everybody knows is a good guy and you just misunderstood him when he played those games with you on those camping trips. Why do you want to make trouble for him?

Maybe we can concede a few things to the bishops who also called on a group of distinguished lay Catholics to look into the problem on their behalf, supplying the old blue ribbon committee ploy used reflexively by politicians to dodge big problems. They delegate threatening issues to a first class panel and then -- as the bishops did with their lay committee -- ignore their findings and criticize their work and motivation.

And maybe we can concede that they reacted just like other social groupings primarily interested in preserving themselves and their assets. Like Hollywood producers protecting moneymaking stars by sending them for rehab just to get a letter from the doctor allowing them to go back to work, the bishops sent their sex abusing priests for rehab and got them back to work. Yes, that was the prevailing response for all professional groups in the years before America began to understand the plight of the largely forgotten victims.

Even allowing for their high roller customs, the bishops did not get that they were not Hollywood producers, bankers, or the industrialists who solved their problem at the Bhopal, India chemical explosion but walked away from the people whose lives were permanently altered by the disaster. The bishops were and are religious leaders who have no excuse for allowing lawyers and insurers to persuade them to solve the sex abuse scandal by fighting anybody seeking information and any victim seeking legal recompense.

Now, thanks to Belgium’s once highly regarded Cardinal Godfried Danneels, we understand what bishops really don’t get. The cardinal now says that he was naïve in urging the nephew of Bishop Roger Vangheluwe to remain silent about the fact that the bishop had sexually abused him from the time he was five until he was 18.

"The bishop," Danneels urged -- like a pastor who knows best rather than a prelate doing his worst -- in audio recordings from April leaked to the Belgian media this weekend, "will resign next year, so actually it would be better for you to wait. ... I don’t think you’d do yourself or him a favor by shouting this from the rooftops…to drag his name through the mud."

The cardinal cannot seem to hear the victim’s anguished response.

"He has dragged my whole life through the mud," the nephew said. "Why do you feel so sorry for him and not for me?"

What the bishops don’t get is the human suffering that sex abusers inflict on their victims. They have missed -- with a few exceptions such as New York’s Timothy Dolan when he was archbishop of Milwaukee -- the pastoral challenge to respond to the wounds beyond words. And to describe what these clerical Doctor Jekylls -- those ‘good guys everybody likes’ -- inflicted on the innocent when, devoured by the half-developed Mr. Hydes within them, they devoured the innocents in their care.

Perhaps we are finally paying the price for the years of selecting candidates for the episcopacy who had no pastoral experience -- and spent most of their lives inside diocesan offices trying not to blot their copy paper so as not to stunt their careers. Maybe they don’t get it because they haven’t sat at the bedsides of enough dying people, haven’t been the ones to break the news that a child has been killed, haven’t embraced enough of the broken-hearted, and haven’t suffered with their people through any of the other commonplace sorrows of life.

Source:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/bulletins-human-side/now-we-know-what-bishops-dont-get
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Kennedy