Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Quote of Day: Vatican Punishes Gender Equality More Swiftly Than Sexual Abuse



Patricia Miller on the alacrity with which the Vatican moves to punish priests supporting gender equality, as contrasted with the snail's pace at which it moves to deal with pedophile priests:


In contrast to the relative alacrity with which the CDF moved against three elderly peace activists who celebrated mass with a woman, it took the Vatican 13 years to finally expel Michael Fugee from the priesthood in mid-March. Fugee admitted to fondling a 14-year-old boy in 2001 but his conviction was overturned on a technicality. Under an agreement with prosecutors, the archdiocese of Newark, NJ, agreed to supervise him and banned him from contact with children, but appointed him as chaplain of a hospital without informing the hospital of his history. Fugee continued to have contact with children, including traveling with them on retreats, until last year when a local newspaper brought his activities to light and a public outcry forced his ouster.

She's speaking here of the case I mentioned two days ago--the Vatican's punishment of 76-year-old Franciscan peace activist Father Jerry Zawada, after he celebrated Mass with a woman priest.

The photograph of Patricia Miller is from the Religion Dispatches website.

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