Ruth Krall, "In a Roman Catholic Voice: Clergy and Religious Leader Sexual Abuse of the Laity — A Study Bibliography of Resources" (2)

As I stated yesterday in introducing this two-part posting in which Ruth Krall offers us a valuable new resource for studying sexual abuse of minors in religious settings, all of us concerned with this issue owe Ruth a debt of immense gratitude for her generosity. She has made available to us resources that reflect her years of intensive study of the topic of sexual violence, rape, and abuse of minors in religious settings. What follows is the bibliography of resources Ruth is offering with this latest contribution to this research field; yesterday's posting featured Ruth's introductory essay for this important resource.

Ruth Krall, "In a Roman Catholic Voice: Clergy and Religious Leader Sexual Abuse of the Laity — A Study Bibliography of Resources"

L'Osservatore Romano/AP Pool Photo, BXVI's 65th anniversary of ordination, 28 June 2016
Pope Francis (i) with Pope Emeritus Benedict (ii)

All of us seeking to understand and deal with the abuse of vulnerable people within religious communities owe a deep debt of gratitude to Ruth Krall. In one powerful essay after another, she has unpacked years of her research in this field, making insights and titles available to a wider community. Over the course of several years, Ruth has been producing extensive annotated bibliographies reflecting her years of study in this field. What follows is Ruth's latest contribution to the documentation of abuse in religious communities, of studies of this abuse and its roots, and of resources for combating such abuse. The essay below is Ruth's preface to the study bibliography of resources she is providing with this new document. The bibliography itself will follow in a subsequent posting:

"Christ Has No Body on Earth Now But Ours": An Easter Meditation on Hands and Feet by Jessica Pegis

In her recent essay at the Women in Theology site entitled "Hands and Feet," Jessica Pegis notes that one of her favorite icons, depicting Jesus washing his disciples' feet, shows Peter touching his head. This is, as she notes, a gesture noting divine epiphany in ancient Greek culture.

Sri Lanka, the Spiral of Violence, and Global Turn to Strongmen Messianic Solutions: The Temptation of This Moment

I grieve — so very much — the carnage we've just seen enacted in Sri Lanka, on the day many Christians consider the holiest day of the liturgical calendar. I grieve above all the enormous loss of life, the manifestation of gross religious hatred we see on full display in this event, and the way in which it's very clear that this latest act of religious hatred is immediately rooted in the atrocious act of religious (and white supremacist) hatred we saw recently in New Zealand. As Dom Hélder Câmara reminded us over and over, violence spawns more violence in an endless chain of reaction until someone finally has the courage and compassion to break that chain.

What They're Saying About the Mueller Report: "Russian Government Interfered in the 2016 Presidential Election in Sweeping and Systematic Fashion"

let this not be lost in Mueller Report: "The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion." Part I, page 9

— Judy Woodruff (@JudyWoodruff) April 18, 2019

What They're Saying About Barr's Press Conference: What Checks? What Balances?! — Commentary Hot Off the Press

It's a disgrace to see an Attorney General acting as if he's the personal attorney and publicist for the President of the United States.

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 18, 2019

Tara Westover's Educated: "What my father wanted to cast from me wasn't a demon: it was me."

Having finished reading Tara Westover's Educated several weeks ago, I've been thinking about what I'd like to say as a concluding statement about it. I've blogged about Educated previously — here and here — noting that Westover grew up in a survivalist Mormon family in Idaho. Educated recounts the story of her attempt over the course of years to emerge from the prison in which her upbringing put her. It tells us about her father's wild delusions of grandeur, his belief that he was directly guided by God and watched over by angels — and of his danger-courting and relentless attempts to control his daughter with threats of damnation when she sought to move beyond his control.

The Bannon Link: Using Trump Playbook to Attack Pope Francis

Steve Bannon: If Trump is reelected, the country is going to get "pure Trump off the chain" https://t.co/ItFWWiyOz4 pic.twitter.com/CqxdB9cwIc

— The Hill (@thehill) April 12, 2019

Yesterday, I wrote,

Benedict's poisonous letter; Cardinal Sarah's toxic bile: these are part and parcel of a bigger initiative, coordinated and heavily funded by right-wing Catholic money, especially in the U.S., to Trumpize the Catholic church. Bannon is at the very center of this.

More Valuable Commentary on Benedict's Poisonous Letter: Part of a Bigger Initiative of Catholic Right, with Bannon at the Very Center

Steve Bannon is on a new crusade to reform the Vatican. Critics say he, and a movement, are using the same playbook that helped President Trump into the White House against @Pontifex. Our report on @OARichardEngel 9pm @MSNBC https://t.co/5hyixHojSW

— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) April 12, 2019

Jamie L. Manson, "Pope Benedict explains things to me": 

Benedict Undercuts Francis on Abuse Narrative: The 1960s Made Us Do It

Pope Benedict's letter from his hideout blames the sexual revolution in the '60s for crimes against children committed on his watch. Code: women's liberation is to blame.https://t.co/gOhvNHK737

— Miriam Duignan (@MiriamTDuignan) April 11, 2019

Pope Benedict has written an astonishing letter on the abuse situation, which he calls a set of "notes" on this topic. Here’s my summary of his notes:

Civil Rights Center in Tennessee and Black Churches in Louisiana Burn as Hate Crimes Increase

Churches burned, death threats against civil rights leaders, synagogues attacked - and 3rd straight year of hate crimes spiking, according to FBI. This is happening, not hypothetical. pic.twitter.com/Q3aFJ3yj9t

— Tom Perriello (@tomperriello) April 7, 2019

Tweets and articles with a common theme that have caught my eye in the past few days, which I want to share:

Paul Elie on "Seeming Transparency" of Dioceses Releasing Lists of Priests "Credibly Accused" of Sexual Abuse of Minors

For most American Catholics, the fact of sexual abuse by priests and its coverup by bishops has long been an everyday reality. Will this story ever be over? https://t.co/AJDVLxMr7K

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) April 8, 2019

 

Paul Elie, "What Do the Church's Victims Deserve?":

Kathleen Holscher on Lack of Attention to Colonialism and White Supremacy in Accounts of Catholic Abuse Crisis

In today's Tablet, a valuable reminder from historian Kathleen Holscher of the University of New Mexico that how we view the abuse story in the Catholic church depends on how we frame it — and on who is doing the framing: Holscher writes,

SNAP Holds Media Event in Charlotte: Bishop Peter Jugis Endangering Children by Refusing to List Names of Predator Priests

An update for you about the continuing refusal of the Catholic diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, to release a list of names of predator priests who have served in that diocese — even after the second in command in that diocese, Monsignor Mauricio West, stepped down from his position as chancellor last week (and here) after the diocesan review board found credible allegations that he sexually abused a student at Belmont Abbey College when he was Vice-President for Student Affairs there in the 1980s.

My Gratitude for Your Birthday Wishes

Miriam Toews' Irma Voth and Tara Westover's Educated: On Patriarchal Religion and Misogynistic Violence

It's by accident — or synchronicity — that I happen to have read Miriam Toews' novel Irma Voth at the same time that I'm reading Tara Westover's Educated. Toews' book explores the lives of several young women and girls in a Mennonite family in Mexico, which previously had roots in Manitoba (and before that in Russia). Westover focuses on her experiences growing up in a survivalist Mormon family in Idaho.