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: 

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.

Ruth Krall, Moral Corruption in the Religious Commons (2)

Theodore Rombouts, (1597-1617), "Christ Driving the Money-Changers from the Temple"

The essay below is the second installment of Ruth Krall's essay "Moral Corruption in the Religious Commons." Part one was published previously. In this essay, which is the sixth of a series of essays Ruth has entitled "Recapitulation: Affinity Sexual Violence in a Religious Voice," whose premise is (to quote the essay below), "Studies of sexual violence inside our denominational homes require new vocabularies and new conceptual models." 

In this current essay, Ruth argues, "If it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to repeatedly enable sexual abuse of that same child." But also: "Remember this: it takes only one of us to be a healer."

The continuation of Ruth's essay on moral corruption in the religious commons follows (note that endnote numbers begin at xx because this is the second part of an essay whose first part has previously been published):

Ruth Krall, Religious Leader Sexual Abuse: A Pan-Denominational Approach (Part 2)

Transferring an Ebola Patient for Transport to a Care Facility 

Religious Leader Sexual Abuse: A Pan-Denominational Approach

Ruth Elizabeth Krall, MSN, PhD

This is a continuation of an essay by Ruth Krall, the first half of which was posted a few days ago.  As that previous posting noted, this essay, entitled "Religious Leader Sexual Abuse: A Pan-Denominational Approach," continues Ruth's analysis of religious leader sexual abuse of vulnerable individuals from the standpoint of public health. It proposes that "any effort to eliminate sexual abuse as a public health problem must, therefore, be both a national and an international effort. It must also be pan-denominational — reaching into multiple religious communities." Here's the second half of Ruth's outstanding essay — note that footnote numbers begin in medias res because this part of Ruth's essay links to the part previously posted: 

Ruth Krall, Religious Leader Sexual Abuse: A Pan-Denominational Approach

Transferring an Ebola Patient for Transport to a Care Facility  

I recently had the privilege of publishing an essay by Ruth Krall entitled "Prolegomena: An Act of Re-Thinking" (here and here). That essay challenged readers to re-think how we've come to view the phenomenon of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable people in religious contexts, and to consider applying terms and concepts from the realm of public health (e.g., epidemic, endemic, or pandemic) to this phenomenon.

"Prolegomena" is the first in a multi-part set of essasys on which Ruth has been working, with the title (for the entire series), "Recapitulation: Affinity Sexual Violence in a Religious Voice." In her manuscript gathering essays together under that title, Ruth includes a dedicatory note acknowleding the influence of her father Carl S. Krall on her life, work, and thought. It reads,

Married Gay Catholic Minister Hounded Out of Ministerial Job with Acts of Hate from Organized Catholic Hate Groups

I wish so much that this story had not flashed across my computer screen on the very same day in which I posted Rolando's testimony about what has been done to him and John. But here this additional story is, staring all of us in the face. Dan Morris-Young writes, 

"I Am Excommunicated from This 'Redemptive Institution' Because 3 Years Ago, John and I Formalized our 49-Years of Living, Loving and Ministering Together by Registering Our Civil Union"

The following is testimony that Rolando shared at Bilgrimage several days ago. This testimony deserves a wider hearing than it will receive if it remains in a combox; I'm posting it as a stand-alone comment for that reason. This story is just so painful — and it's one that is repeating itself over and over in Catholic institutions right now. 

The "Why I'm Leaving" and "Why I'm Staying" Statements After Pennsylvania Report: My Theological Take on Them

There was an interesting discussion thread here several days back about the spate of articles after the Pennsylvania grand jury report with titles like "Why I'm Leaving" and "Why I'm Staying." American Catholics are openly discussing why they're leaving the Catholic church or why they're committed to remaining in it.

Refusal of Catholic Hierarchy to Get Abuse Situation Parallels Refusal to Get LGBTQ People: World Meeting of Families Reminds Us, It's Not Going to Get Better

Massive media turnout for lgbtq choir singing “Something Inside So Strong,” an Anti-Apartheid song, outside the walls of the World Meeting of Families. #WorldMeetingofFamilies pic.twitter.com/ukTgfFMoaY

— Jamie L. Manson (@jamielmanson) August 23, 2018

Put together the quite shameful way in which LGBTQ people are being treated by the World Meeting of Families with the obstinate, blame-passing game that the same Catholic hierarchs excluding LGBTQ families from this gathering continue playing with clerical sexual crimes, and I wonder why any Catholics still hold hope that the Catholic church will provide them a welcome table.

Marie Collins on False Claim That Abuse Ended in 2002 in Catholic Church, and on Whose Interests Blaming Abuse on Gay Priests Serves

I wish those who are intent on defending the indefensible would please stop claiming clerical abuse stopped in 2002 and that it’s all about gay priests anyway. It may please those in the Church who are resisting reform but serves little other purpose.

— Marie Collins (@marielco) August 20, 2018

Marie Collins knows a bit about the abuse crimes in the Catholic church and how the men of God at the top of the church have long covered them up. Her testimony should be listened to seriously, it seems to me.

As Papal Visit to Ireland Nears, More Commentary on Abuse Crimes in Church: Cover-Up Directed from "Central Command and Control, Which Is the Vatican"

This is powerful! : Names of 796 Tuam Babies written on white sheets and brought to Galway church #Stand4Truth (via @thejournal_ie) https://t.co/IGQFluADTF

— Colm O'Gorman (@Colmogorman) August 17, 2018

Gerry Moriarty, "Pope Francis should cancel Irish visit, says Belfast priest":

USCCB, Delete Your Account: Lay Catholics Respond to Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report

USCCB, delete your account. https://t.co/dkvQTJPfiO

— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) August 16, 2018

More Commentary on Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, as Vatican Sends Thoughts and Prayers

Elizabeth Bruenig, "Evil walked the earth in Pennsylvania":

That there should be mass defrockings is obvious. That there should also be a swath of criminal convictions also seems beyond question….Evil is real, and it walked the earth in Pennsylvania. It entered through our church doors.

Remembering Kathy Shaw, Unsung Hero of Abuse Crisis in U.S. Catholic Church

During my silent weeks recently, a very important figure in American Catholic journalism died, and I want to remember her here. I'm speaking of Kathy Shaw, who maintained the Bishop Accountability Abuse Tracker site to which there's a link on this blog's main page. Kathy died on 24 June, and as an email from Steve Sheehan today to NSAC News subscribers announces, there will be a memorial service for her on 17 July from 4-6 P.M. at Graham Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlor, Worcester, Massachusetts. Since I know that there are readers of Bilgrimage in that area, I wanted to note the memorial service for those who might be interested in attending.

As #ChurchToo Movement Blossoms, More Light Cast on Abuse and Its Cover-Up in Churches: A Gathering of Recent News (Including Latest on Pope Francis)

There's a plethora of stories about sexual of abuse of minors in church contexts — and the cover-up of such abuse — in the news lately. As Hannah Paasch tells Leonardo Blair in an article linked below, at least part of the reason we're hearing more such news is that the #ChurchToo movement is now giving more people the courage to speak out, and a venue to do so. People will no longer settle for silence and cover-up — though it's taking churches, which are dense, defensive, and generally well-heeled institutions with lots of legal and social protection, a long time to recognize this.

Here are some recent stories that I think are worth following: 

David Martin, "#MeToo in the Pew Next to You," with Preface by Cameron Altaras

It's my privilege today to be able to offer you a valuable statement by Rev. David Martin, Executive Minister of the Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, entitled "MeToo in the pew next to you." As Cameron Altaras notes in her preface below, Rev. Martin's essay has been published in Canadian Mennonite, and is thematically linked to the article she posted here at Bilgrimage — synchronistically — almost simultaneously with Rev. Martin's essay. Here are Cameron's preface and David Martin's essay, which I'm publishing after Rev. Martin has kindly given written permission for the republication of his essay here. A link to its original publication at the Canadian Mennonite site is below:

Ruth E. Krall, "January 6, 2018: Early Morning Reverie" — "Institutional Abuse Magnifies the Criminality of the Original Abuse"

This powerful essay came to my email from Ruth Krall yesterday on the traditional date for the Christian feast of the Epiphany. As with everything Ruth writes about these issues of sexual assault and abuse and the abuse of institutional authority, it's epiphanic — a brightly lit signpost for the rest of us, pointing to ways in which we can proactively deal with these massive issues that span religious boundary lines.

More from Michael Boyle on Elevated Theology of Priesthood: "'Theory' and 'Intellectual Integrity' Are Really Place Holders for the Unfettered Discretion of the Priest'"

At his Sound of Sheer Silence blog, Michael Boyle has responded to my posting commenting on his own reflections about how the central nexus from which the abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic church is an "elevated theology of who priests are." Interestingly enough, as I just typed that phrase, I misremembered Michael's exact words and typed, "an 'elevated theology of who priests think they are.'"

The Catholic Clerical Sexual Abuse Crisis, Clericalism, and Pope Francis: Michael Boyle's Take — "The Problem Is an Elevated Theology of Who Priests Are"

In February this year, I recommended to you the four-part series by Michael Boyle on his A Sound of Sheer Silence blog site entitled "How Did This Happen?" In these valuable essays, Michael walks through an assessment of the clerical culture that produced the crisis around sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic church, and its cover-up. He's responding to the report of the Australian Royal Commission on Abuse.