NCR Today

Cardinal George leaves Pfleger at St. Sabina

Robert McClory  |  Feb. 7, 2012

Fr. Michael Pfleger told his parishioners at Mass on Sunday that he will remain as pastor of Chicago's St. Sabina Church, apparently indefinitely. As of July 1, he said he will become co-pastor, along with Fr. Tulani Magwaza, who has been an associate at St. Sabina for more than two years.

Details of the arrangement were reportedly worked out during a meeting between Pfleger and Cardinal Francis George at the cardinal's residence Jan. 23. In addition, Pfleger announced he will become, at George's request, the official diocesan spokesperson on gun violence, and has agreed to serve as administrator at another South Side parish, St. Margaret of Scotland, whose pastor, Fr. Daniel Mallette, was severely beaten during a break-in at the rectory in December.

 

At Whom Are The Bishops Angry?

Ken Briggs  |  Feb. 7, 2012

The flurry of response to the Obama Administration's ruling that Catholic institutions must cover the cost of contraceptives has emphasized the political tensions underlying the conflict but neglects the strains created within the church itself.

Two consequences especially seem evident, if not immediately then in the months and years come.

They both stem from the failure of the birth control encyclical to persuade American Catholics that the prohibition made sense, in part because it left them, the ones most involved with the issue, out of the decision.

Has the Vatican been nursing a resentment against American Catholics ever since? I think much evidence suggests this is so. But under the prevailing customs of creeping infallibilism, the encyclical cannot be declared flawed or in need of reconsideration.

 

Vatican abuse summit: Expert blasts denial on global dimension of crisis

John L. Allen Jr.  |  Feb. 7, 2012

ROME -- One of America’s leading experts on the Catholic abuse crisis effectively told church leaders from different parts of the world today that if they think sexual abuse is not a problem in their neighborhood, they’re kidding themselves.

“Church leaders around the world began by saying, ‘This is only an American problem’,” Monsignor Stephen Rossetti told a Vatican symposium this morning. “Then, as more cases surfaced in other countries, they said, ‘This is an English speaking problem.’ Then, as the circle of abuse cases widened, they expanded it to: ‘This is a Western problem.’ The boundaries were pushed back farther and farther.”

“Each time, church leaders said, in effect, ‘It doesn’t happen here’,” Rossetti said.

Rossetti, former director of the St. Luke’s Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland, which treats abuser priests, has written widely on the crisis. He said that in reality, all the available data, based on studies by secular experts, concur that child abuse occurs at the same high rates across the various continents.

 

Vatican abuse summit: Demand for accountability 'legitimate'

John L. Allen Jr.  |  Feb. 7, 2012

New controls on bishops ‘a step that may have to be taken’

ROME -- Bishop Daniel Conlon of Joliet, Illinois, is the chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People. He’s attending the four-day “Towards Healing and Renewal” symposium as the official delegate of the U.S. bishops, and this morning he sat down with an exclusive interview with NCR.

The following is a transcript of the interview.

* * *
This morning you heard an Irish victim, Marie Collins, describe how her experiences of not being taken seriously led to what she called a “final death of respect” for church authorities. Can you understand that reaction?

tOh, I can certainly understand that reaction. I’ve not been a victim, so I can’t place myself in her position, but anybody who has been hurt and then not listened to is going to experience further hurt.

Are you confident that someone who comes forward today will be received differently?

 

Morning Briefing

Dennis Coday  |  Feb. 7, 2012

John Allen in Rome -- Vatican abuse summit: Victim reports ‘death of respect' for church leaders

Rome -- Catholic Leaders Convene to Discuss Abuse Prevention from NYT

Rome -- Rome conference on clerical abuse response from RTE.ie

Syria Renews Bombardment as US Closes Embassy and Russia Sends Envoys

2 dozen Catholic schools in Philly appeal closures

Military chaplains told not to read archbishop's letter on HHS mandate

 

Vatican abuse summit: Victim reports ëdeath of respect' for church leaders

John L. Allen Jr.  |  Feb. 7, 2012

Victim calls summit a sign of hope

ROME -- An Irish victim of sexual abuse bluntly told a Vatican summit this morning that her experience of being ignored, and her suffering minimized, by church leaders caused “the final death of any respect” she once felt for ecclesial authority.

tMarie Collins said there must be “acknowledgement and accountability for the harm and destruction that has been done to the life of victims and their families” before she and other victims can regain trust in the leadership of the Catholic church.

tCollins made the remarks at a four-day summit on the sexual abuse crisis titled “Towards Healing and Renewal” being held at the Jesuit-run Gregorian University.

In remarks to the press after her talk, Collins expressed hope that the symposium suggests the church is moving in the right direction.

"I am very hopeful about this conference. I think the fact that it is taking place here in Rome with the backing of the Vatican and the pope is a sign that the church is taking this issue very seriously and wants a global response," she said.

 

Creative priest resigns over strict missal requirements

Robert McClory  |  Feb. 6, 2012

Belleville, Ill., Bishop Edward Braxton has accepted the resignation of a diocesan priest who has refused to strictly follow the translation of the Roman missal while celebrating Mass.

Fr. Bill Rowe, 72, told NCR he has for about 20 years regularly added his personal reflections to the prayers or inserted appropriate comments elsewhere in the liturgy.

"It's the only way I can pray honestly," he said. "I can't change that."

Rowe said his improvisational approach to the Mass is not directly related to the new English missal, "though I certainly don't like the translation." But there is an indirect link, since the English-speaking bishops have been mandated to require the new translation throughout their dioceses. Last summer, Braxton made it clear to the priests that he would tolerate no deviation from full compliance. And in October, he told Rowe he was no exception. Rowe said he offered his resignation at that time but heard nothing further from the bishop until Wednesday, when he received a letter notifying him that his resignation had been accepted.

 

We need to do something about Syria

Mario T. García  |  Feb. 6, 2012

Every week, every day, we get new reports of deaths, killings, shootings, military repression, attacks on innocent civilians and other horrors in Syria. It is estimated that more than 5,000 people were killed in the last few months, and there's no end in sight of the repression of the Syrian government.

I just watched a CNN broadcast that featured a young Syrian opponent of the regime broadcasting through Skype that in one Syrian city, about 200 people were killed by army artillery and tank fire on Friday alone. With much emotion, the young Syrian told Anderson Cooper, "People are dying and the U.N. and others are doing nothing!"

He's right. Yes, there are some sanctions, but they do not seem to be effective. The U.N. Security Council is discussing a resolution asking for President Bashar al-Assad to step down. But no resolution, even assuming if it passed, is going to result in such resignation.

 

Vatican sex abuse summit: ëDon't wait for the media to make us act'

John L. Allen Jr.  |  Feb. 6, 2012

SNAP blasts event as ‘cheap window dressing’

ROME -- Conceding that church officials in various parts of the world often adopted tough policies to fight child abuse only in response to negative media coverage, the Vatican’s top doctrinal official today called for a “more proactive” approach.

In part, that's likely a reference to the fact that while the sexual abuse crisis has already exploded in North America and parts of Europe, it has not yet really arrived elsewhere, including much of the developing world -- where two-thirds of all Catholics today live.

tAmong other points, American Cardinal William Levada stressed that the sexual abuse of minors is not merely a crime under church law, but also under civil law, and that the church is therefore obliged to report “such crimes to the appropriate authorities.”

tLevada spoke this evening to a summit conference on sexual abuse hosted by the Jesuit-run Gregorian University in Rome, and co-sponsored by several Vatican departments. The four-day event is titled “Toward Healing and Renewal.”

 

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