"Pope St. John Paul II Knew about Sexual Abuse of Children by Priests and Sought to Conceal It": Pope SAINT John Paul II?

News outlets are now reporting that Polish television broadcaster TVN24 has just aired a report stating that "Pope St. John Paul II knew about sexual abuse of children by priests under his authority and sought to conceal it when he was an archbishop in his native Poland." This statement is from Monika Scislowska in an AP report picked up by National Catholic Reporter with the title "Polish TV report: John Paul II knew of abuse as archbishop."

As Cardinal Pell Is Buried, He's Acclaimed a "Saint for Our Times," While Abuse Survivors and LGBTQ People Protest

As Rod McGuirk reports, as Cardinal Pell's funeral is held today, police have refused to permit LGBTQ-rights protesters outside the Catholic cathedral in Sydney, and have sought a court injunction against them.

Abusive Anti-Gay French Priest Tony Anatrella Sanctioned by Vatican; Survivors Say They Expected More

"Catholic Church Tells Bishops They Are Not Obliged to Disclose Child Sex Abuse: Report," 
Time (11/2/2016)

Earlier this week, the Catholic archdiocese of Paris announced that after investigation of charges made against influential French priest Tony Anatrella, a previous sanction of Anatrella remains in place and and he continues to be banned from celebrating Mass publicly or hearing confessions. He is also forbidden from continuing his work as a psychotherapist.

Telling Truth about Benedict's Legacy re: Clerical Sexual Abuse of Minors, and Commentary on Cardinal Pell's Legacy re: Abuse

Adam Horowitz offers one of the best pieces of commentary I've seen on how far too many Catholic journalists and academics have chosen to falsify the legacy of Pope Benedict vis-a-vis the abuse crisis, by claiming that he was somehow a champion of addressing the problem of clerical sexual abuse of minors — when he decidedly was not. 

More on Catholic Leaders' Loss of Moral and Pastoral Credibility Due to Handling of Abuse Crisis: Protecting Children, Really?!

Frank Schindler of Baltimore writes the Baltimore Sun, "Bishops show lack of interest in pedophile victims":

More Commentary on Situation in French Catholic Church: "Structural 'Implosion" and Pope Francis's Mixed Record

More commentary on the eye-popping revelation in the French Catholic church that 11 former bishops, some still sitting and others retired, have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors, and a French cardinal has admitted abusing a 14-year-old girl in his pastoral care in the past: 

More Commentary from French Catholics about Abuse Story in French Church: "What we are discovering today – with horror – is a twisted system"

Notre Dame cathedral, Paris, photo by Tom S., Wikimedia Commons

As a follow-up to my two previous postings (here and here) about the shocking revelations now breaking in the French Catholic church, indicating that at least 11 bishops, some retired and some still presiding over dioceses, have been credibly accused of having molested minors, and that a French cardinal admits having abused a 14-year-old girl when he was a parish priest, more reactions from French Catholics:

Reactions of Some Leading French Catholics to New Abuse Revelations in French Church: "Je suis mal"

Graffiti on wall in Lisbon, Portugal, February 2011, showing a priest chasing children, uploaded by Milliped to Wikimedia Commons

I blogged yesterday about the discovery that French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, formerly archbishop of Bordeaux and a member of the influential Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, admits that he sexually abused a 14-year-old girl when he was a parish priest. This revelation comes on the heels of other recent revelations showing that a total of eleven former or serving French bishops are now implicated in reports of abuse. All of this comes on the heels of a report published last year which found that sexual abuse of minors by priests and other church workers in France has been widespread.

Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, Former President of French Catholic Bishops' Conference, Admits to Abusing Girl in 1980s

From Wiktionary

Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard:

“Thirty-five years ago, when I was a parish priest, I behaved in a reprehensible way with a young girl aged 14. My behaviour has inevitably caused serious and lasting consequences for this person.”

Ricard was made archbishop of Bordeaux in 2001 by Pope John Paul II and made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. In 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed Ricard to the influential Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. 

Jeff Altaras, "Evil Thrives When Good People Remain Silent": Discussion of Sexual Abuse in the Mennonite Context

I'm pleased to have the opportunity to share with Bilgrimage readers a fine statement by Jeff Altaras, commenting on the response of some members of the Canadian Mennonite community to the recent revokation of credentials for John D. Rempel by the Mennonite Church Eastern Canada. Rempel served as chaplain, residence director, and adjunct professor at Conrad Grebel Univcersity in Waterloo, Ontario, from 1973 to 1989. The action taken by Mennonite Church Eastern Canada was in response to multiple allegations of sexual abuse substantiated by the church.

Jeff is responding, in particular, to defenses/excuses of Rempel by some Canadian Mennonites who, as he proposes, reflect old world cronyism and denial as they seek to offer words of days gone by to address a situation in which the balance of justice increasingly falls heavily on the side of victims of sexual abuse and not perpetrators.

Because the kinds of excuses offered for perpetrators against the claims of victims are not confined to the Mennonite context, but can also be found in other contexts including the Catholic one, I find Jeff's statement valuable and want to share it with you. What follows is Jeff Altaras's essay: 

"Pope John Paul II Was Warned about Allegations of Sexual Impropriety by Theodore McCarrick, but Chose to Promote Him": My Response

Joshua McElwee on Twitter

Some headlines today:

David Clohessy of SNAP Speaking Outside Southern Baptist Convention, Birmingham, Alabama, June 2019: How to Effect Real Change with Churches and Abuse

I'd like to share with readers a presentation that David Clohessy of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) made in June 2019 when the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. I'm grateful to David for permitting me to share it here, and to Carol Yeager of SNAP in North Carolina for sharing this video with me. 

German Catholic Bishops on Dismal Failure of Predecessors in Nazi Period; Anne Barrett Doyle on Anniversary of Vos Estis Lux Mundi

Writing in The Tablet yesterday, Christa Pongratz-Lippit reports on an in-depth study the German Catholic bishops recently commissioned in preparation for the 75th anniversary of World War II. The study, which is entitled in English "German Bishops During World War II," focuses on the role of the German bishops during the Nazi period. I'm highlighting this article as a footnote to my recent discussion of Susan Neiman's book Learning from the Germans.

More on Forgiveness and Clergy Abuse Situation: Kaya Oakes on Need for New Understandings

finally starting to directly reckon with how white evangelicalism taught 'forgiveness:' what it is, who it serves, how it's offered or received.

tl;dr: in many contexts, what white evangelicalism teaches as forgiveness is merely an affirmation of the status quo.

— Blake Chastain (@brchastain) March 3, 2020

A month ago, Ruth Krall offered us a valuable statement about the "sin or crime" dilemma facing religious bodies as they deal with sexual abuse of vulnerable people by religious authority figures. Should a community frame sexual abuse of the vulnerable by pastors, priests, religious authority figures primarily in terms of forgiveness? Or should religious communities begin from the starting point of recognizing that sexual abuse of minors is a crime, as they deal with these issues?

Commentary about the New ProPublica Database of Catholic Priests Across the U.S. "Credibly Accused" of Sexual Abuse

Ultimately @SNAPNetwork suggests that every diocese lists be made as complete as possible to protect children & give account towards healing of all affected by this ongoing travesty
Ideally lists should be cross referenced to include any visiting priest.https://t.co/Rx4w6ZxJxD

— William Beaulieu (@William08640111) January 27, 2020

Some commentary for you about the new ProPublica database of Catholic priests across the U.S. "credibly accused" of sexual abuse or misconduct, which is searchable online:

Diocese of Charlotte and Fr. George Berthold, Hired to Teach Theology at Belmont Abbey in 1997: A Case Study in Hierarchical Duplicity and Cover-Up

Bishop Accountability, archiving 18 May 2002 Charlotte Observer article

In response to my last posting, "Now This in Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina: 'Advocate Wants Former Belmont Abbey Priest Named as Child Sexual Abuser,'" Adam writes,

Now This in Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina: "Advocate Wants Former Belmont Abbey Priest Named as Child Sexual Abuser"

In an article entitled, "Advocate wants former Belmont Abbey priest named as child sexual abuser," Nathan Morabito writes, 

The names of more than 40 clergy members credibly accused of sexually abusing children before, during or after their time in the Diocese of Charlotte are now public, but just weeks after church leaders released that long-awaited list, we've learned there are still others who served in our area who were not named.

Two Days Before New Year, Charlotte Diocese Releases List of Accused Clergy: "It's Incomplete, There Are Names Missing"

Hmm. We count 43 names on the Charlotte list, not 14. Presumably to minimize the extent of the abuse, the diocese put the clerics in three categories and only "counted" those in one. https://t.co/XT1ioZuhFg

— SNAP Network (@SNAPNetwork) December 31, 2019

A follow-up to my posting on the 26th noting that Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte, North Carolina, promised in May this year to release a list of priests accused of abusing minors in the Charlotte diocese before the end of the year:

A Reminder: Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte, North Carolina, Has Not Yet Fulfilled Promise to Release List of Accused Priests This Year

It's now the final week of the year, and Bishop Peter Jugis of the Catholic diocese of North Carolina has not released the list of priests accused of abusing minors in the Charlotte diocese. He made a promise this past May to release such a list before the end of the year.

Charlotte has been characterized by watchdogs as one of the least transparent dioceses in the nation. It is one of the last dioceses in the nation to release a list of accused priests.

If the bishop fulfills his promise and releases his list between Christmas and New Year's Day, it will, of course, be buried in the news lull that occurs in the final week of the year. 

St. John Paul II, Pray for Us! Legionaries of Christ Report Shows Maciel Abused at Least 60 Boys, Abuse Was Rife in the Order

Sexual abuse of minors was rife among superiors of the Legionaires of Christ, with at least 60 boys abused by its founder Father Marcial Maciel, report shows. https://t.co/2LUelQ4U6i pic.twitter.com/AhJm3HTihy

— Philip Pullella (@PhilipPullella) December 22, 2019

Philip Pullela reports,