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DIOCESE/State Watch
The Violence Against Children Act is gaining interest and support. The act
would create a national data base of known sexual abusers of children. For
details, click here.
Ohio: The Columbus Dispatch reports: “The finance director for the
Columbus Roman Catholic Diocese was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday
on 23 counts of taking nearly $800,000 in kickbacks while working in Cleveland.”
and the Plain Dealer reports: “A high-ranking priest in the Cleveland diocese
approved creating a secret investment account and $270,000 in payments to Joseph
Smith, the former financial officer charged in an elaborate kickback scheme,
according to court documents.” VOTF NRC representative (Region 6) Kris Ward notes, “Joseph Smith, the former
Chief Financial Officer of the Diocese of Cleveland who was charged by the
FBI is the current Chief Financial Officer for the Diocese of Columbus, OH.”
California:
Santa Rosa: Bishop Walsh’s delayed reaction to an admitted abuser priest provided the priest enough time to leave the state, much to the concerned outrage of all who are depending on the USCCB Charter to end clergy sexual abuse of children. The bishop issued an apology (excerpted below). Reactions both welcomed and questioned the bishop’s apology. See Commentary – “From Apology to Justice: Watching Santa Rosa”. Also note recent coverage:
- The Press Democrat reports the District Attorney defended his
decision to probe the Santa Rosa diocese with regard to the fugitive priest
Xavier Ochoa. Read more.
Santa Barbara: Victims of abuse by Franciscan friars have settled
their suits with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. For the full story, visit
Independent.com and
KSBY6.com. San Francisco: Sally Vance-Trembath reports on the July 7th VOTF
meeting with Archbishop Niederauer: “The conversation was cordial but frank
and direct.” For
details, go to the VOTF Northern California web
site.
Boston, MA: After their first meeting with Cardinal O’Malley,
VOTF Boston’s Dorothy Kennedy said the meeting could prove to be "the beginning
of a collaboration around solutions to bring all Catholics together; hierarchy,
clergy, and laity, in the pursuit of the mission of the church. We had an honest
exchange of views about issues that concern us." Read
more.
- A message from VOTF Boston Area Council on lay involvement in pastoral
selection: “In your experience, has the laity been consulted in the selection
of your pastor? Have pastors simply been assigned to your parish without
community involvement? Have you noticed a change in practice over the
years? Does the process for pastoral selection seem to be uniform across
parishes? In your view, is the process transparent and predictable or
does it seem arbitrary and capricious?
In this time of the decline in
the number of priests and particularly the aging of the priest population,
it is even more important that a positive
and fruitful match be made between the priest and the community he serves.
Though an interview protocol is no guarantee that a fruitful
priest/community match would result, at least community involvement in the
process might increase the probability of a successful match. A
pre-appointment engagement with the community would basically be a humane
attempt to reduce friction between a receiving community and a new priest.
Lay involvement in a pre-appointment process would favorably reflect
the early church when the community would call forth their priest from
their
own number. In addition, a laity/hierarchy collaborative process would
also be in concert with Vatican II and recent papal statements as well.
Please share your experiences, thoughts and feelings about lay involvement
in pastoral selection. Contact Boston Area Council of VOTF Structural
Change Working Group, ddraheim@rcn.com or benhar@earthlink.net.”
Springfield, IL: The Post Dispatch Springfield Bureau
reported in St. LouisToday.com: “An internal investigation of the Catholic
diocese that includes Madison County acknowledges that ‘a culture of secrecy’ has
protected diocese priests who engaged in sexual and financial misconduct.” For
full story, click here.
Philadelphia, PA: The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, “The
Catholic Church said its passive approach on Pennsylvania sex-abuse bills did
not indicate opposition.” For
an excellent overview of what this is all about, click
here. See Survivor Community
News for more on Philadelphia.
Bridgeport, CT – A Darien parish’s gross financial mismanagement by the pastor
may be worse than it once seemed. According to a July 29 New York Times article, “ A
Roman Catholic priest in Darien with a taste for the high life helped himself
to $1.4 million in church funds in the roughly six years before his ouster,
according to a report prepared by auditors for the Bridgeport Diocese.” Read
more. |
