"Pope said to lament ‘gay lobby’ at Vatican" by Nicole Winfield | Associated Press, June 12, 2013
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis lamented that a ‘‘gay lobby’’ was at work at the Vatican in private remarks to the leadership of a key Latin American church group — a stunning acknowledgment that appears to confirm earlier reports about corruption and dysfunction in the Holy See....
In the days before Pope Benedict XVI’s Feb. 28 resignation, Italian media were rife with reports of a ‘‘gay lobby’’ influencing papal decision-making and Vatican policy through blackmail, and suggestions that the scandal had led in part to Benedict’s decision to resign.
Related: Benedict Bails Out
Ever think God might be speaking through me?
(For the record, I don't; I'm just a concerned citizen of this planet who wants a good world for people)
The unsourced reports, in the Rome daily La Repubblica and the news magazine Panorama, said details of the scandal were laid out in the secret dossier prepared for Benedict by three trusted cardinals. Benedict left the dossier for Francis.
The sex abuse scandal all over again.
At the time, the Vatican denounced the reporting as defamatory, ‘‘unverified, unverifiable, or completely false.’’
My church.... lied to us?
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"Pope enters gay marriage debate" Associated Press, June 15, 2013
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis waded diplomatically into the gay marriage debate Friday, telling the Archbishop of Canterbury he wants to work together to promote family values ‘‘based on marriage.’’
Francis, who vigorously opposed gay marriage in his native Argentina, met Archbishop Justin Welby at the Vatican in their first encounter since both were installed in March.
Welby, spiritual leader of the large Anglican Communion, has opposed proposed legislation in Britain that would legalize gay marriage, saying it seeks to abolish and redefine the institution and would weaken one of the cornerstones of society.
I actually agree with the analysis, but am stuck with these damn principles and a trailblazing state on the issue. Furthermore, I actually endorse bans on same-sex marriage in other states purely out of $elf-inter$t. Globe tells me gays will then come here and spend money, $o.... besides, the endless wars for empire and looted economy have already done far more damage.
In his remarks to Welby, Francis said he hoped they could collaborate in promoting the sacredness of life ‘‘and the stability of families founded on marriage.’’ He noted that Welby had recently spoken out on the issue, a reference to Welby’s recent speech before the House of Lords.
Significantly, though, Francis didn’t specify that marriage should be based on a union between a man and woman, which is how Benedict XVI and John Paul II routinely defined it in a way that made clear their opposition to same-sex marriage.
Vatican officials said Francis’s phrasing was a diplomatic attempt to make his point without making a provocative pronouncement, particularly during an inaugural meeting with Welby that was aimed at getting to know one another.
Even the Pope is afraid of that Lobby.
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Related: John Paul II cleared for sainthood
While he was bumming when Bush came to visit him because he was weak and thought Bush was the Anti-Christ (I think he was for those that believe in such things; he invaded Babylon, has caused persecutions of Christians around the world with his actions, and then cleared out after 7 years and left the mess for these others guys like Obama.
That still doesn't erase the fact that under his watch Benedict buried of sex scandal.
A good man, but no saint.
"Pope visits migrants, decries apathy of their plight; Pleads with all to avoid ‘anesthesia of the heart’" by Nicole Winfield | Associated Press, July 09, 2013
LAMPEDUSA, Sicily — Pope Francis on Monday denounced the ‘‘globalization of indifference’’ that greets migrants who risk their lives trying to reach Europe, as he traveled to the farthest reaches of Italy to draw attention to their plight and to mourn those who never made it.
Yeah, if you scroll my Italy label you will see several brief items that occasionally appear in the Globe regarding such tragedies.
The tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa, a treeless, strip of rock four miles long, is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland and is the main port of entry into Europe for African migrants smuggled by boat from Libya or Tunisia.
Francis decided last week to make Lampedusa his first pastoral trip outside of Rome, compelled by a particularly deadly crossing in which a dozen migrants lost their lives. In response to the visit, the island built a makeshift lectern, pastoral staff, and chalice out of recycled wood from shipwrecked migrant boats.
Francis greeted newly arrived Africans and during an open-air Mass on the island’s soccer field, thanked the residents for welcoming so many men and women over the years.
But the core reason for the visit, he said, was to mourn those who died trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. He tossed a wreath of flowers into the sea in their memory, calling their deaths a ‘‘thorn in the heart’’ that occurs so often it is simply ignored.
‘‘Who wept for these people who were aboard the boat?’’ Francis asked in his homily. ‘‘For the young mothers who brought their babies? For these men who wanted to support their families?
‘‘We are a society that has forgotten how to cry,’’ he said....
I'd rather he criticized the insane drone missile strikes and EUSraeli empire actions, but.....
As his plane was landing, a boat carrying some 160 Eritreans arrived in port, the latest in a new wave of migrants taking advantage of calm seas and warm weather to make the treacherous crossing. Officials said they were in good condition, just cold....
This is not the space to argue global warming, so what is going on in Eritrea?
Also see: One-Day Wonder: Eritrea Opinion
And with calm seas they better get that ship out of there.
The Mass site was on a soccer field that in 2011 housed thousands of migrants who flooded to Italy during the Arab Spring. It’s near the ‘‘boat cemetery’’ that holds the remains of broken migrant ships that have reached Lampedusa’s rocky shores.
Recycled wood from those vessels were used for Mass: A small, painted boat was turned into the altar, the lectern was made out of a recycled ship’s helm and pieces of driftwood, and pieces of wood were crafted into Francis’ pastoral staff and the chalice used at Mass.
According to the UN refugee agency, 8,400 migrants landed in Italy and Malta in the first six months of the year, almost double the 4,500 who arrived during the first half of 2012. It’s still a far cry from the tens of thousands who flooded to Italy during the Arab Spring exodus of 2011.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has recorded 40 deaths in the first half of 2013, and a total of 500 for all of 2012. Fortress Europe, an Italian observatory that tracks migrant deaths reported by the media, says about 6,450 people died in the Canal of Sicily between 1994 and 2012.
Each a unique individual soul worthy of tears.
--more--"
Just because I want lawful and legal immigration and not cheap foreign labor insourced under the guise of reform, doesn't mean I want people to suffer or perish.
Other interests groups not so lucky:
"Italian politician under fire for slur" Associated Press, July 16, 2013
ROME — Calls mounted Monday for the Senate vice president to resign after he compared Italy’s first black Cabinet minister to an orangutan, with the Italian premier lamenting that the country had been ‘‘shamed’’ by such insults and demanding they stop immediately.
Roberto Calderoli, a leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League, has insisted he was only joking when he made the ‘‘aesthetic’’ comment about Cecile Kyenge at a League rally last weekend.
This all being presented by my Globe in the heat of Zimmerman.
This all being presented by my Globe in the heat of Zimmerman.
He told the Corriere della Sera newspaper on Monday that he compares all his colleagues to animals and that what he says at a political rally shouldn’t have any bearing on his work as the Senate No. 2.
Kyenge, a Congolese-born eye doctor, has been insulted with racist slurs from the Northern League ever since she was named integration minister in April. One Northern League politician has called her a Congolese ‘‘monkey,’’ while another has said she deserved to be raped.
Well, you don't find such things here.
Related: Italy ratifies measure to protect women
Also see: UN agency reports domestic violence at ‘epidemic’ levels
He didn't hit her, did he?
Well, you don't find such things here.
Related: Italy ratifies measure to protect women
Also see: UN agency reports domestic violence at ‘epidemic’ levels
He didn't hit her, did he?
Kyenge responded to Calderoli’s latest insult by saying it’s not for her to demand his resignation but for Italians to reflect on the merits of public office-holders.
Premier Enrico Letta, though, told League leader Roberto Maroni to put an end to the slurs from within his party ranks. ‘‘I think we’ve had enough shame so far,’’ Letta said.
I never use them no matter what group.
I never use them no matter what group.
--more--"
"Italian politician apologizes for race slur" by Nicole Winfield | Associated Press, July 17, 2013
ROME — The vice president of Italy’s Senate rejected calls for his resignation Tuesday for making a racist slur against the country’s first black Cabinet minister, but said he was sorry and would send her flowers to make amends.
Nice gesture, but awfully sexist!
Roberto Calderoli, a leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League, has been criticized by Italy’s president, prime minister, and a host of ministers and lawmakers for comparing the Congolese-born integration minister, Cecile Kyenge, to an orangutan.
Only being half funny when I say don't insult orangutans. You don't see them insulting each other and f***ing each other over for a buck.
Only being half funny when I say don't insult orangutans. You don't see them insulting each other and f***ing each other over for a buck.
Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s Democratic Party called for Calderoli’s resignation, and Letta warned the Northern League to put an end to such racist attacks or risk a political confrontation.
Kyenge has been targeted by racist slurs from the Northern League ever since she was named integration minister in Letta’s government in April. One Northern League politician has called her a Congolese ‘‘monkey,’’ while another has said she deserved to be raped.
Calderoli told a Northern League rally over the weekend that when he thought of Kyenge, an orangutan came to mind.
Calderoli asked the Senate to accept his apologies and said he would have resigned had a majority of Senate leaders asked for it. But he said no such majority had formed. Letta’s Democrats do not control the Senate.
That is where my printed Globe ends.
‘‘Racism is pure ignorance,’’ Giulia said during a break at an Italian multi-cultural festival where she worked as a cook earlier this summer. ‘‘In the end, someone who is racist is someone who doesn’t know, but likes to judge without knowing what’s going on.’’
There is only one form of supremacism that isn't racism.
There is only one form of supremacism that isn't racism.
********************
It’s not the first time Calderoli has been under fire for racist remarks: In 2006, he was forced to resign as a minister in Silvio Berlusconi’s government after he wore a T-shirt on state-run television featuring one of the Prophet Muhammad cartoons that had inflamed the Muslim world.
It’s not the first time Calderoli has been under fire for racist remarks: In 2006, he was forced to resign as a minister in Silvio Berlusconi’s government after he wore a T-shirt on state-run television featuring one of the Prophet Muhammad cartoons that had inflamed the Muslim world.
Calderoli is vehemently anti-immigrant, and his party has opposed Kyenge’s calls for Italy to change its citizenship laws to allow children of immigrants born in Italy to obtain citizenship. Currently, such children can apply for citizenship only once they turn 18, but bureaucratic problems often interfere.
Italian commentator Beppe Severgnini said Calderoli’s comments were clearly aimed at rallying the League’s base after the party has weathered tough times following poor electoral showings and a party funding scandal involving the family of League founder Umberto Bossi....
--more--"
"Cardinal O’Malley bars talk by priest over views; Austrian breaks with doctrine on celibacy, women" by Lisa Wangsness | Globe Staff, June 25, 2013
Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley is banning an Austrian priest from speaking at a Catholic parish in Dedham because the priest advocates ordaining women and making celibacy optional, stances that place him in opposition to church teachings.
And you thought O'Malley was one of the liberal ones?
The Rev. Helmut Schuller was invited to speak at St. Susanna Parish July 17 as part of a 15-city tour of the United States called “The Catholic Tipping Point: Conversations with Helmut Schuller,” sponsored by a coalition of reform-minded Catholic organizations, including Voice of the Faithful, based in Needham.
But O’Malley has declared he will not allow anyone to speak on church property who advocates beliefs in conflict with church doctrine....
That kind of crap goes back to Galileo, and you saw how that worked out..
--more--"
Related: Catholic Men Canceled Spencer as Speaker
There are a few of us good ones around, although don't expect so them protesting for freedom of speech (unless Vatican leaders tell them to).
"Priest says grouping parishes will weaken church" by Lisa Wangsness | Globe Staff, July 18, 2013
An Austrian priest who advocates ordination of women and married men, a position that led Boston church leaders to bar him from speaking at a local parish, said Wednesday that plans like the one Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley has put forward to group parishes and priests into clusters weaken the church rather than strengthen it.
The Rev. Helmut Schuller, who has long been concerned about how power is concentrated at the top echelons of the church hierarchy, is organizing a major priests’ movement in Austria that grew out of priests’ opposition to parish closings and restructuring plans that require clergy to minister to multiple churches. He argues that expanding the priesthood is a better answer than clustering plans that spread priests too thin, undermining their relationships with parishioners....
The new Martin Luther?
“They are doing it like downsizing a corporation, but we are not a corporation,” he said. “We are not the post or the train system or Starbucks. The local parish is very important, because it’s a question of companionship with the people in their lives.”
Schuller spoke in an interview at the Globe Wednesday in advance of an evening talk at a Unitarian-Universalist church in Dedham, where more than 500 people sat in sweltering heat to hear him. He lamented at one point a system that has overburdened priests dispensing sacraments “like a supermarket.”
That's out of Lutheran Reformation days!
--more--"
Speaking of you ladies:
"Vatican denies internal split on US nun crackdown" by NICOLE WINFIELD / Associated Press / May 7, 2013
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Tuesday denied there were any internal divisions over its crackdown on the largest umbrella group of U.S. nuns after a top Vatican official complained that he had been sidelined by the reform project.
Related: Sunday Globe Special: Catholic Centerfolds
They look heavenly!
The head of the Vatican’s office for religious orders, Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, was quoted over the weekend as saying his office wasn’t consulted or even advised by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith about its decision to overhaul the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents 80 percent of American sisters. He said the crackdown had caused him ‘‘much pain.’’
The Congregation last year placed the Leadership Conference under the authority of a U.S. bishop after determining that the sisters took positions that undermined Catholic teaching on the priesthood and homosexuality while promoting ‘‘radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.’’
Braz de Aviz was quoted by the National Catholic Reporter as telling an international gathering of sisters in Rome on Sunday that he only learned of the Congregation’s crackdown after its report had been completed. He said he told the then-prefect of the Congregation, U.S. Cardinal William Levada, that the issue should have been discussed with his office but wasn't.
Braz de Aviz was quoted as saying he hadn’t spoken out publicly before about the lack of consultation because he ‘‘didn’t have the courage to speak.’’
On Tuesday, the Vatican said Braz de Aviz’s words were misinterpreted....
The Vatican’s crackdown unleashed a wave of popular support for the sisters, including a U.S. Congressional resolution commending the sisters for their service to the country.
Why are they wasting time sticking their noses into church robes?
It also cost Braz de Aviz’s deputy his job: Archbishop Joseph Tobin was removed after he spoke publicly about the need for the Vatican to mend fences with American sisters. Tobin is now archbishop of Indianapolis.
The sisters’ hopes for a change in approach with the arrival of Pope Francis — a Jesuit dedicated to the poor — were dashed last month when Mueller said he had discussed the crackdown with Francis and that the pontiff had reaffirmed the original findings and reform plan....
No Pope of Hope there.
That's where my printed copy ended, and it looks like a long sermon, so.....
--more--"
Back to the rectory:
"Priest, ex-teacher get prison in abuse case" by Maryclaire Dale | Associated Press, June 13, 2013
PHILADELPHIA — Exceeding sentencing guidelines, a judge on Wednesday handed down prison terms of at least six years to a Roman Catholic priest and a former teacher in a sex-abuse case that brought down a Philadelphia church official.
The Rev. Charles Engelhardt and Bernard Shero maintained their innocence, and the judge threw out the most serious conviction against Engelhardt for lack of evidence.
Still, Engelhardt, a 66-year-old Oblate who had not previously been accused of abusing children, was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison. And Shero, convicted of rape, was sentenced to eight to 16 years.
‘‘I’ve accepted this injustice and I will continue to do so until it is righted, because I believe it will be righted,’’ said Engelhardt. ‘‘I had no interaction with [the accuser].”
--more--"
Another priest who protested the same:
"Former priest seeks back pay in Wisconsin" Associated Press, July 22, 2013
MILWAUKEE — The list of creditors for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee includes hundreds of child sexual abuse victims, along with a bank, pension funds, and others typical in bankruptcy cases. It also includes one less usual: a priest removed from the priesthood amid allegations of abuse.
Marvin Knighton was charged with child sexual abuse in 2002 but acquitted by a jury the next year. The church still removed him from the priesthood, however, saying its investigation found two allegations against him had merit.
Knighton fought his dismissal and has put in a claim for $450,000 for back pay from the archdiocese in federal bankruptcy court. A church bankruptcy expert said while the claim is not unique, it is unusual. Knighton’s victims called it ‘‘disturbing’’ and ‘‘grossly inappropriate.’’
‘‘That money should be going to survivors, not child molesters,’’ said Thomas C. Bersch Jr., who said he was abused by Knighton in the 1970s. ‘‘During the bankruptcy proceedings, if he gets even a nickel of this money, it would be the most unbelievable thing that could happen.’’
Attorney James Stang, who has represented sexual abuse victims on creditors councils in nine bankruptcy cases involving Catholic dioceses and religious orders, said a few priests have filed claims for back pay, health care, or legal costs even when they’ve been accused of abuse. In most cases, the claims are dismissed.
The Milwaukee archdiocese is the eighth in the United States to file for bankruptcy. Five of the other seven said no priests filed claims during their bankruptcies. In Wilmington, Del., three priests who had been removed from ministry after allegations of abuse filed claims, diocese spokesman Bob Krebs said.
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At least this Pope is going to be open about such things, right?
"Pope updates Vatican law, criminalizing sex abuse, leaks; New laws apply to clergy, others in the city-state" by Nicole Winfield | Associated Press, July 12, 2013
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis overhauled the laws that govern the Vatican city-state on Thursday, criminalizing leaks of Vatican information and specifically listing sexual violence, prostitution, and possession of child pornography as crimes against children that can be punished by up to 12 years in prison.
Who does he think he is, president of the United States?
(I have a friend who thinks he is president of the world. His reasoning? Every country has a president; there is only one pope)
The legislation covers clergy and laypeople who live and work in Vatican City and is different from the canon law which covers the universal Catholic Church.
It was issued at a critical time, as the Vatican prepares for a grilling by a UN committee on its efforts to protect children under a key UN convention and prevent priests from sexually abusing children. The Vatican signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 yet only now — 23 years later — has it updated its legislation to reflect some of the treaty’s core provisions.
The Vatican’s penal code is based on the 1889 Italian code, and in many ways is outdated. Much of the laws passed Thursday — which range from listing crimes against humanity to the illicit appropriation of nuclear material — bring the Vatican up to date with many UN conventions it has signed over decades.
Well, we see who has the power on this earth.
Others were needed to comply with global norms to fight money-laundering, part of the Vatican’s push toward financial transparency. Others were designed to update Vatican ways with contemporary practice.
Meanwhile, the Vatican bank is a mess.
One new crime stands out as a response to the leaks of papal data last year that represented one of the gravest Vatican security breaches in recent times.
Paolo Gabriele, the butler for then-Pope Benedict XVI, was convicted by a Vatican court of stealing Benedict’s personal papers and giving them to an Italian journalist. Using the data, Gianluigi Nuzzi wrote a book on turf wars, bureaucratic dysfunction, alleged corruption, and homosexual liaisons in the highest levels of Catholic Church governance.
How could anyone believe in the Church anymore?
--more--"
"Dolan sought Vatican permission to shield assets; Files from Wisc. further implicate NYC cardinal" by Laurie Goodstein | New York Times, July 02, 2013
NEW YORK — Files released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Monday revealed that in 2007, the diocese’s archbishop at the time, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, requested permission from the Vatican to move nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund in order to protect the assets from victims of clergy sexual abuse who were demanding compensation.
It's a corporate church now!
Dolan, now the archbishop of New York, has in the past emphatically denied seeking to shield church funds as archbishop of Milwaukee, and he reiterated in a statement on Monday that these were “old and discredited attacks.”
When a man of God(?) lies....
Related: Getting in a Round of Golf at the G8
Must have rubbed off over the links.
However, the files released Monday contain a letter he wrote to the Vatican in 2007, in which he explained that by transferring the assets, “I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.”
The Vatican moved swiftly to approve the request, the files show, even though it often took years to remove known abusers from the priesthood....
The files include documents from the personnel files of 42 priests going back 80 years, as well as the legal depositions of two former Milwaukee archbishops, Rembert Weakland and Dolan, and a retired auxiliary bishop, Richard J. Sklba. Dolan served in Milwaukee from 2002 until 2009.
This whole thing goes back centuries, sob.
Milwaukee harbored some of the nation’s most notorious pedophile priests, including the Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy, who a church therapist assessed as having molested as many as 200 deaf boys during his two and a half decades teaching and leading St. John’s School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wis., and the Rev. Siegfried F. Widera, who faced 42 counts of child abuse in Wisconsin and California. Murphy died in 1998, and Widera committed suicide in Mexico in 2003....
Advocates for abuse victims contended that the archdiocese was still withholding the files on dozens more known abusers, including priests, deacons, nuns, lay schoolteachers and choir directors.
The files do not include documents on many known priest offenders who were members of religious orders, such as the Capuchins, but who served in the Milwaukee archdiocese, according to the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, an advocacy group for victims.
Dolan was deposed about his handling of abuse cases and the assets of the archdiocese in February, just before he left for Rome for the conclave to elect a new pope. A spokesman for Dolan said at the time that he had “cooperated fully” in the deposition and was eager to talk about the “good work and progress that took place to ensure the protection of children.”
The release of the documents comes amid a bitter standoff in bankruptcy court between the Milwaukee archdiocese and 575 men and women who have filed claims against it asserting that they were sexually abused by priests or other church employees.
The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2011, saying it was the best way to compensate the victims and resolve the controversy.
Doesn't that mean victims won't get paid yet?
--more--"
Also see:
"Caterpillar Inc. is no longer giving money to the Boy Scouts because the organization discriminates against homosexuals, a spokeswoman for the Illinois-based heavy equipment manufacturer confirmed Thursday. The company’s move wasn’t directly tied to the recent Boy Scouts decision to continue to bar homosexual adults from roles within the organization while allowing openly gay children to be scouts."
Related: GLAAD I'm Done With Boy Scouts Posts
That may not be a caterpillar you feel on your leg.
"The president of a Christian ministry dedicated to helping gays repress their sexual urges through prayer apologized to the gay community Thursday and said the group is shutting down."
Oh, wait, they are not Catholic.
"Dolan sought Vatican permission to shield assets; Files from Wisc. further implicate NYC cardinal" by Laurie Goodstein | New York Times, July 02, 2013
NEW YORK — Files released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Monday revealed that in 2007, the diocese’s archbishop at the time, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, requested permission from the Vatican to move nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund in order to protect the assets from victims of clergy sexual abuse who were demanding compensation.
It's a corporate church now!
Dolan, now the archbishop of New York, has in the past emphatically denied seeking to shield church funds as archbishop of Milwaukee, and he reiterated in a statement on Monday that these were “old and discredited attacks.”
When a man of God(?) lies....
Related: Getting in a Round of Golf at the G8
Must have rubbed off over the links.
However, the files released Monday contain a letter he wrote to the Vatican in 2007, in which he explained that by transferring the assets, “I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.”
The Vatican moved swiftly to approve the request, the files show, even though it often took years to remove known abusers from the priesthood....
The files include documents from the personnel files of 42 priests going back 80 years, as well as the legal depositions of two former Milwaukee archbishops, Rembert Weakland and Dolan, and a retired auxiliary bishop, Richard J. Sklba. Dolan served in Milwaukee from 2002 until 2009.
This whole thing goes back centuries, sob.
Milwaukee harbored some of the nation’s most notorious pedophile priests, including the Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy, who a church therapist assessed as having molested as many as 200 deaf boys during his two and a half decades teaching and leading St. John’s School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wis., and the Rev. Siegfried F. Widera, who faced 42 counts of child abuse in Wisconsin and California. Murphy died in 1998, and Widera committed suicide in Mexico in 2003....
Advocates for abuse victims contended that the archdiocese was still withholding the files on dozens more known abusers, including priests, deacons, nuns, lay schoolteachers and choir directors.
The files do not include documents on many known priest offenders who were members of religious orders, such as the Capuchins, but who served in the Milwaukee archdiocese, according to the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, an advocacy group for victims.
Dolan was deposed about his handling of abuse cases and the assets of the archdiocese in February, just before he left for Rome for the conclave to elect a new pope. A spokesman for Dolan said at the time that he had “cooperated fully” in the deposition and was eager to talk about the “good work and progress that took place to ensure the protection of children.”
The release of the documents comes amid a bitter standoff in bankruptcy court between the Milwaukee archdiocese and 575 men and women who have filed claims against it asserting that they were sexually abused by priests or other church employees.
The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2011, saying it was the best way to compensate the victims and resolve the controversy.
Doesn't that mean victims won't get paid yet?
--more--"
Also see:
"Caterpillar Inc. is no longer giving money to the Boy Scouts because the organization discriminates against homosexuals, a spokeswoman for the Illinois-based heavy equipment manufacturer confirmed Thursday. The company’s move wasn’t directly tied to the recent Boy Scouts decision to continue to bar homosexual adults from roles within the organization while allowing openly gay children to be scouts."
Related: GLAAD I'm Done With Boy Scouts Posts
That may not be a caterpillar you feel on your leg.
"The president of a Christian ministry dedicated to helping gays repress their sexual urges through prayer apologized to the gay community Thursday and said the group is shutting down."
Oh, wait, they are not Catholic.
