To friends I’ve known

Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI

IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
Recently, reading Commonweal magazine, I was struck by this line by Jerry Ryan, a Little Brother of Jesus: “I have lost contact with so many people who meant a lot to me at different stages of my life, people I loved dearly and really cared for and who had given me so much and made me what I am.”
That’s so true for me and, I suspect, for most of us. People enter our lives, friendships develop, and then some of those friends disappear from our lives. Sometimes we move away, sometimes they move away, sometimes things change and we drift apart or sometimes the affective bonds that held us together disintegrate and they, and we, move on. To the degree that we’re sensitive, there’s always some pain and guilt in this. It’s not an unhealthy thing to feel the loneliness of that loss, nor is it unhealthy to feel that somehow we’ve failed and been less than attentive.
Indeed sometimes we have been less than faithful, but mostly the blame for that (to the extent that some applies) lies inside our inculpable inadequacy. Only God is adequate. Only God has a heart big enough to be attentive to everyone personally and intimately at the same time. Only God never moves away or grows tired. And only God has the strength to forever be faithful. We cannot not be inadequate.
I struggle mightily with that inadequacy. Being a missionary, given the work I do, and given the quirks of my personality, I find myself perennially overwhelmed by my inadequacy in the area of staying close to family and friends, including very dear friends. The task isn’t easy.
First, I come from a very large family which through the generations has expanded into a virtual tribe. It could be a fulltime job just staying in touch with family. Next, I’ve been ministering for more than 40 years and during that time have lived inside various Oblate houses with almost 200 different people. Community is family and, again, it would be a fulltime task just staying in meaningful touch with them all. Then, during my years of doing graduate work, I had the privileged opportunity to develop long-lasting friendships with a number of classmates from different parts of the world. Finally, during all those years of ministry, I’ve met hundreds of students in classrooms and thousands of people doing workshops and retreats. Most of those encounters were temporary and casual, but through the years a good number of meaningful friendships developed there as well. And, while all this was happening, I’ve lived and worked in four different countries and made friends in each of those places.
Then today there’s the further struggle to stay in touch with all the contacts that one necessarily has to deal with on social media.
How does one keep meaningful contact with everyone? How does one not betray friends by simple neglect?
Even as I’m deeply thankful to have so rich a treasury of family and friends, not infrequently I’m overwhelmed with the task of staying in meaningful contact with them and at those times I feel some guilt about forever being out of touch with so many people I was once close to. Sometimes friends whom I have been out of touch with remind me, and not always delicately, of my neglect of our friendship. But as the years go by and the problem grows larger rather than smaller, I am making more peace with my inadequacy and guilt – if not always with some of my neglected friends.
What helps is to remind myself constantly of what a great grace it is to have so large a family and to have such a large number of friends. There are few things for which to be more grateful. Next, I do try to stay in meaningful touch with them to the extent that time, energy, and distance allow. Most importantly, though, given my inadequacy, I try to meet my family and friends at a place where time, energy, and distance are eclipsed by an immediate, intimate presence. There’s one place where we’re not inadequate, where we can be at more places than one at the same time and where we can love countless people individually and intimately, namely, inside the Body of Christ.
Scripture tells us that, as believers, we form together a body that, as much as any living body, is a true living organism, with all parts affecting all other parts. Inside that body we’re present to each other, not fully consciously of course, but deeply, truly, actually. And to the extent that we’re living our lives faithfully and sharing honest friendship and fellowship with those who are immediately around us, we’re not only healthy enzymes helping bring health to the body, we’re also present to each other, affectively, in a way that touches us at the deepest level of our souls There is a place where we are not neglecting each other.

(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, theologian, teacher and award-winning author, is President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX.)

Bishop Kopacz schedule

Thursday, Aug. 16, 11 a.m. – Closing Mass and lunch- Deacon/LEM Retreat, Louisville Lake Tiak O’Khata.
Sunday, Aug. 19, 10:30 a.m. – Installation of Father Darnis Selvanayakam, as pastor, Philadelphia Holy Cross Parish.
Tuesday, Aug. 21, 8 a.m. -Opening school Mass and Senior breakfast, Natchez Cathedral School at the Basilica of St. Mary.
Friday, Aug. 24, 10 a.m. – Hispanic Ministry workshop for pastors, Hosffman Ospino, presenter, Pearl St. Jude Parish.
Saturday, Aug. 25, 8 a.m. – Faith Formation Day, Madison St. Joseph School.
Saturday, Aug. 25, 4:15 p.m. – Confessions, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle.
Saturday, Aug. 25, 5:15 p.m. – Mass, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle.
Sunday, Aug. 26, 10 a.m. – Installation of Father Peter Phong Nguyen, SVD, as pastor, Indianola Immaculate Conception Parish.
Sunday, Aug. 26, 2 p.m. – Formal welcoming of Executive Director Shakebra Young, Mound Bayou St. Gabriel’s Mercy Center.
Tuesday, Aug. 28 9:15 a.m. – Opening school Mass, Greenville St. Joseph School.
Wednesday, Aug. 29 9:10 a.m. – Opening school Mass, Vicksburg Catholic School.
Thursday, Aug. 30 9:50 a.m. – Mass of the Holy Spirit and meeting with seniors, Madison St. Joseph School.

Only public events are listed on this schedule and all events are subject to change.
Please check with the local parish for further details

El abusado clama al cielo por justicia

+ Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz

Por Obispo Joseph Kopacz
A lo largo de la Iglesia Católica en los Estados Unidos muchos están agonizando por las revelaciones de los crímenes, del Cardenal Theodore McCarrick contra menores, el flagrante abuso de poder y el comportamiento sexual desenfrenado con seminaristas y otros. Dolor, ira y vergüenza están ensombreciendo a los fieles y viejas heridas se reabren. Hay muchas preguntas sin respuesta, pero por más desagradable que sea la verdad, pues solo la verdad pondrá a las víctimas, sus familias y a la Iglesia en el camino hacia la sanación, la justicia y la nueva vida. La revelación del comportamiento pecaminoso de un prelado de alto rango en la Iglesia no resta valor a todo el buen trabajo que la Iglesia Católica ha hecho para proteger a los niños y jóvenes desde 2002, pero es un retroceso horrible en los esfuerzos para restaurar la confianza.
La vasta mayoría de las diócesis católicas en Estados Unidos han trabajado muy duro durante estos 16 años para ser fieles al documento conocido como La Carta de Dallas, titulada “ Promesa de Proteger y Compromiso de Sanar” (Promise to Protect and the Pledge to Heal; por su nombre en inglés). El fomento de entornos seguros en nuestros ministerios es ahora la norma, y el apoyo firme a las víctimas de abuso sexual que luchan por la sanación y la esperanza en sus vidas, ha sido un compromiso incansable.
Los resultados son dignos de elogio; los protocolos creados por los programas para una Iglesia de ambiente seguro han reducido significativamente los abusos a menores por miembros del personal de las iglesias. De igual manera sabemos que toma entre 20 y 30 años, como promedio, para que una víctima se decida a dar un paso adelante y cuente su trágica historia. Este fue el caso de las víctimas del Cardenal McCarrick. Muchos nunca revelan su herida porque es demasiado doloroso el hacerlo. Esta es la razón por la cual difundimos repetidamente la declaración que alienta, a todas las víctimas de abuso sexual por parte del personal de la Iglesia, a presentarse sin importar cuánto tiempo haya pasado desde ocurrido el abuso. El sufrimiento no tiene estatuto de limitaciones.
El abuso sexual es un mal y un crimen que causa estragos, destrucción y desesperación, por tanto el enemigo, el maligno se regocija en esto porque el abuso está envuelto en tinieblas, mentiras y vergüenza. El abuso desata el poder del infierno sobre las víctimas y sus familias y con frecuencia se propaga de una generación a otra, a menos que el ciclo se rompa a la luz de la verdad, la curación y la reconciliación.
Al principio de mi sacerdocio, durante un período de 15 años, tuve la oportunidad de enseñar Desarrollo Humano a adolescentes en tres de nuestras escuelas primarias en la Diócesis de Scranton. El don de la sexualidad está floreciendo a esta edad, y el saber que hay personas en la Iglesia que se aprovechan de estos jóvenes, adolescentes y de los menores en cada etapa de su desarrollo es un ataque desmedido contra la dignidad humana.
En la Diócesis de Jackson nos comprometemos a fomentar ambientes seguros en nuestras Escuelas Católicas, en nuestros Programas de Educación Religiosa y en nuestros Ministerios de la Juventud para que los niños y jóvenes que nos han sido confiados puedan alcanzar el potencial dado por Dios en cada aspecto de sus vidas.
Además, serví como Director de Formación durante 14 años en nuestro Seminario Universitario en Scranton, Pensilvania y escuchar de la explotación de jóvenes que están discerniendo una vocación por aquellos en autoridad y supuestos a nutrirlos, también clama al cielo por justicia. La transparencia y el cultivo de una cultura de confianza, respeto y responsabilidad son las normas de los seminarios donde nuestros seminaristas de Jackson están formándose: Saint Ben’s (Colegio Seminario St. Joseph) en Covington, Luisiana; Notre Dame en Nueva Orleans y el Sagrado Corazón en Hales Corner, Wisconsin.
Durante los dos últimos años, como miembro de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos (USCCB; por sus siglas en inglés), he estado sirviendo en el Comité para la Protección de Niños y Jóvenes. Esto me sitúa en el centro de la resolución permanente de la Iglesia de proteger y sanar, tal como se establece en La Carta de Dallas y de aplicar estos esfuerzos y mejores prácticas a nuestra propia red de Ambientes Seguros en nuestra Diócesis.
La Carta dirige la acción en los siguientes asuntos:
• Crear un ambiente seguro para niños y jóvenes;
• Sanación y reconciliación de víctimas y sobrevivientes;
• Hacer una respuesta pronta y efectiva a las acusaciones;
• Cooperar con las autoridades civiles;
• Disciplinar a los culpables;
• Proporcionar medios de rendición de cuentas para garantizar en el futuro que el problema continúe siendo tratado de manera efectiva a través de la Secretaría de Protección de Niños y Jóvenes y la Junta Nacional de Revisión.
Que el Señor Jesús, que dio la bienvenida a los niños y los abrazó en su amor, traiga la verdad que nos hará libres, la justicia que restablecerá las relaciones correctas con Dios y con los demás, la sanación y la reconciliación que son los estándares de todas las comunidades cristianas, su cuerpo, la Iglesia.

Abused cry out to heaven for justice

+Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz

+Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz

By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
Throughout the Catholic Church in the United States many are agonizing over the revelations of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s crimes against minors, flagrant abuse of power, and unrestrained sexual behavior with seminarians and others. Hurt, anger and shame are casting a widespread pall over the faithful as old wounds are ripped open. There are many unanswered questions but as ugly as the truth will be, the truth will set the victims and their families, and the Church on the path to healing, justice and new life.
The disclosure of the sinful behavior of a high-ranking prelate in the Church does not undermine all the good work that the Catholic Church has done to protect children and young people since 2002, but it is an awful setback in the efforts to restore trust. The vast majority of Catholic dioceses in the United States have worked hard during the past 16 years to be faithful to the Promise to Protect and the Pledge to Heal, the document we know as the Dallas Charter. The fostering of safe environments in our ministries is now the norm, and the steadfast support for victims of sexual abuse who struggle for healing and hope in their lives, has been an unflagging commitment.
The results are commendable because Church safe environment programs and protocols have reduced significantly the abuse of minors by Church personnel. However, we also know that it takes 20 to 30 years on average for a victim to muster the resolve to come forward with their tragic story. This was the case with Cardinal McCarrick’s victims. Many never reveal their woundedness because it is just too painful to do so.
This is the reason why we repeatedly disseminate the statement that encourages all victims of sexual abuse by Church personnel to come forward no matter how long ago the abuse occurred. Suffering has no statute of limitations. Sexual abuse is an evil and a crime that wreaks havoc, destruction and despair, and the enemy, the Evil One, loves it, because it is shrouded in darkness, lies and shame. It unleashes the power of hell upon victims and their families and it often spreads from one generation to the next unless the cycle is broken by the light of truth, healing and reconciliation.
Earlier in my priesthood, I had the opportunity to teach Human Development during a 15-year span to early adolescents in three of our elementary schools in the Diocese of Scranton. The gift of sexuality is flowering at this age and to know that there are those in the Church who would prey upon these young teens, and upon minors at each stage of their development, is an unconscionable assault against human dignity. In the Diocese of Jackson we are committed to foster safe environments in our Catholic Schools, in our Religious Education Programs and in our Youth Ministries so that the children and young people entrusted to us can reach their God-given potential in every aspect of their lives.
Moreover, I served as a Formation Director for 14 years at our College Seminary in Scranton, Pennsylvania and to hear of the exploitation of young men who are discerning a vocation by those in authority who should be nurturing them, also cries out to heaven for justice. Transparency and the cultivation of a culture of trust, respect and accountability are the standards at the seminaries where our Jackson seminarians are in formation: Saint Ben’s (St. Joseph Seminary College) in Covington, Louisiana, Notre Dame in New Orleans, and Sacred Heart in Hales Corner, Wisconsin.
For the past two years as a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I have been serving on The Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People. This places me at the center of the Church’s ongoing resolve to protect and to heal as set forth in the Dallas Charter, and to apply these efforts and best practices to our own network of safe environments in our Diocese. The Charter directs action in all the following matters:
• Creating a safe environment for children and young people;
• Healing and reconciliation of victims and survivors;
• Making prompt and effective response to allegations;
• Cooperating with civil authorities;
• Disciplining offenders;
• Providing for means of accountability for the future to ensure the problem continues to be effectively dealt with through the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection and the National Review Board.
May the Lord Jesus who welcomed the children and embraced them in his love, bring about the truth that will set us free, the justice that will restore right relationships with God and with one another, and the healing and reconciliation that are the standards of all Christian communities, his Body, the Church.

Family donates books by Catholic author

JACKSON – Jo Watson Hackl, author of the young-adult novel Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe, signs copies of her book at Lemuria Bookstore on Thursday, July 12. Hackl is Catholic and has family in the Jackson area who are donating a copy of the book for each sixth-grader in the Catholic Schools of the diocese. The book follows the adventures of 12-year-old Cricket, who has run away to the woods to look for her mother. (Photo by Rusty Harris.)

Parish calendar

SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT

CULLMAN, Ala., Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center, “Celebrating Women,” September 28-30. This weekend for women will be framed with the Navajo story of Spider Woman, who wove the way in the richness of form and color of our present world. Women will be invited to explore ways they can celebrate beauty and create it in their own lives. Retreat Director: Sister Mary McGehee, O.S.B. and the Celebrating Women Team. Cost: $245; shared room $205 per person. Details: (256) 734-8302, retreats@shmon.org or www.shmon.org.
BROOKSVILLE The Dwelling Place, Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat, September 7-9. A beautiful opportunity for any person who has struggled with the emotional or spiritual pain of abortion. The weekend is an opportunity to surface and release repressed feelings of anger, shame, guilt and grief. Donation: $180. Scholarships available upon request. Details: (662) 738-5348 or maria_vineyard@yahoo.com or dwellpl@gmail.com.
Olive Branch Senior Center, 8800 College Street, Alzheimer’s And Dementia Support Group, Thursday, August 16 from 1- 2 p.m. Details: Pat Youd at (662) 892-8102.

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS

CLARKSDALE Catholic Community of St. Elizabeth, Parish Fair, Tuesday, September 18. Help-wanted sheets will be located at all church doors. Details: church office (662) 624-4301.
CLEVELAND Our Lady of Victories, Parish indoor picnic, Sunday, August 26, following 10 a.m. Mass. Food will be provided by the church and games in the parish center. Details: church office (662) 846-6273.
COLUMBUS Annunciation, social and overview of the RCIA process, Tuesday, September 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the Activities Center. All are welcome. Details: Maria Dunser at dunserfarm@att.net or call the church office (662) 328-2927.
GLUCKSTADT St. Joseph, Save-the-Date: The 32nd annual GermanFest is Sunday, September 30, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The family-oriented festival is best known for its delicious German food and authentic German Folk music provided by the band, Polkameisters from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cost: Advance meal tickets are $6 and are available from parishioners. Meals the day of the festival will be $7. Details: church office (601) 856-2054.
GRENADA St. Peter, Knights of Columbus are selling tickets for the football raffle for the upcoming season. Tickets will be on sale until September 1. Take time to support your local Knights of Columbus! Details: church office (662) 226-2490.
HERNANDO Holy Spirit, Annual Ladies Association Appreciation Dinner, Saturday, August 25, 7 p.m. in the Family Life Center. This year’s theme is: “Color Me Purple”. Wear your purple clothes, hat, shoes and purse. Prizes will be given for best outfit, best purse and best accessories. RSVP by August 13. Details: church office (662) 429-7851 or email holyspirit.la.hernando@gmail.com
Save the date, Church Bazaar, Saturday, September 22 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Details: Barbara Smith at (662) 233-4833 (home) or (901) 413-8102 (cell).
MADISON St. Francis of Assisi, “A Taste of St. Francis” annual multicultural event, Sunday, September 30, in the Family Life Center following 10:30 Mass. Details: call the church office (601) 856-5556 or Amy Hornback (601) 953-4182 for more information about how you can volunteer and cook/bring a dish.
NATCHEZ St. Mary Basilica, Appreciation and gratitude meal Wednesday, August 29, at 5:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center to all parishioners and sponsors who donated to help their youth attend Catholic Heart Work Camp in June. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
OLIVE BRANCH Queen of Peace, Women’s Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 16. Sister Rose Hacker, SSSF, will present a talk on Human Trafficking. The group will also be making sandwiches for the needy of New Hope Village in Holly Springs and which is an ongoing project. Details: church office (662) 895-5007.
TUPELO St. James, Study Theology in English or Spanish. Are you inspired by Pope Francis’s commitment to the “freshness and fragrance of the Gospel”? Do you want to better answer the call to holiness in everyday life and bring disciplined study to your Catholic faith? Consider pursuing studies in theology and spirituality in English or Spanish. Loyola University in New Orleans offers Master’s level and Certificate classes at Saint James. Orientation is Sunday, August 19; classes start in September. Details: go to https://cnh.loyno.edu/lim/tupelo or call the local class facilitators: Mrs. Gail Boland, (662) 889-8771 or Dr. Len Pinkley, (662) 640-2221.

YOUTH BRIEFS

MADISON St. Joseph School, Spirit Steppers are sponsoring a “Spirit Stepper for a Day” Dance Clinic on Saturday, August 18 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the school gym. “Mini Steppers” will perform during the St. Joe vs. St. Andrew football game on Friday, September 7. K-6th grade are eligible to participate, and the cost is $50. Details: school office (601) 898-4800.

DiNardo: Church must address leaders’ ‘moral failures …’

By Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick “will rightly face” a Vatican canonical process regarding sexual abuse allegations against him, but the U.S. Catholic Church must take steps to respond to church leaders’ “moral failures of judgment,” said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The accusations against Archbishop McCarrick, a former cardinal and retired archbishop of Washington, “reveal a grievous moral failure within the church,” said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston.
“They cause bishops anger, sadness, and shame; I know they do in me,” he said in an Aug. 1 statement. “They compel bishops to ask, as I do, what more could have been done to protect the people of God. Both the abuses themselves, and the fact that they have remained undisclosed for decades, have caused great harm to people’s lives and represent grave moral failures of judgment on the part of church leaders.”
To determine a course of action for the USCCB to take, Cardinal DiNardo said he convened the bishops’ Executive Committee.
“This meeting was the first of many among bishops that will extend into our Administrative Committee meeting in September and our general assembly in November,” he explained. “All of these discussions will be oriented toward discerning the right course of action for the USCCB.”
Such work will “take some time,” but he laid out four points to be acted upon immediately:
– He encouraged each bishop in their diocese “to respond with compassion and justice to anyone who has been sexually abused or harassed by anyone in the church. We should do whatever we can to accompany them.”
– He urged anyone who has experienced sexual assault or harassment by anyone in the church to come forward. “Where the incident may rise to the level of a crime, please also contact local law enforcement.”
– The USCCB “will pursue the many questions surrounding Archbishop McCarrick’s conduct to the full extent of its authority; and where that authority finds its limits, the conference will advocate with those who do have the authority. One way or the other, we are determined to find the truth in this matter.”
– “Finally, we bishops recognize that a spiritual conversion is needed as we seek to restore the right relationship among us and with the Lord. Our church is suffering from a crisis of sexual morality. The way forward must involve learning from past sins.”
Cardinal DiNardo said the failures of judgment by church leaders in the case of Archbishop McCarrick “raise serious questions.”
“Why weren’t these allegations of sins against chastity and human dignity disclosed when they were first brought to church officials?” he asked. “Why wasn’t this egregious situation addressed decades sooner and with justice? What must our seminaries do to protect the freedom to discern a priestly vocation without being subject to misuse of power?”
In conclusion, he asked all to “pray for God’s wisdom and strength for renewal as we follow St. Paul’s instruction: ‘Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.'”
On July 28, Pope Francis accepted the resignation from the College of Cardinals of then-Cardinal McCarrick and ordered him to maintain “a life of prayer and penance” until a canonical trial examines accusations that he sexually abused minors.
In late June, the 88-year-old prelate said he would no longer exercise any public ministry “in obedience” to the Vatican after an allegation he abused a teenager 47 years ago in the Archdiocese of New York was found credible. The cardinal has said he is innocent.
In the weeks that followed the announcement, another man came forward claiming he was abused as a child by Archbishop McCarrick, and several former seminarians have spoken out about being sexually harassed by the cardinal at a beach house he had. In other developments, two New Jersey dioceses where he served in the 1980s and 1990s said settlements had been reached some years before in a couple of cases of abuse claims made against him.
He was the founding bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey, in 1981, then headed the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, before being named to Washington in 2001.

Accused archbishop’s fellow prelates weigh in on abuse scandal’s impact

By Mark Pattison
WASHINGTON (CNS) – With retired Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick’s resignation July 28 from the College of Cardinals, more of his fellow bishops are commenting on the scandal that has enveloped the former archbishop of Washington and its impact on the larger church.
The allegations are “a further painful blow for all of God’s people,” said a July 30 letter by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City to Catholics in his archdiocese. “It is even more egregious when these crimes are perpetrated by members of the clergy and those in positions of trust. Those are among the most bitter fruits of sin.”
Archbishop Coakley asked, “How could these allegations have remained under the radar for so long? It seems that many heard rumors of his alleged criminal and sinful behavior.”
While the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” adopted by the bishops in 2002 when the clergy sex abuse crisis roared into public consciousness, is “a step in the right direction,” Archbishop Coakley said, “part of the problem is a gap in the charter itself.”
He added, “This gap has contributed to the erosion of trust and confidence in episcopal leadership among priests, deacons and the lay faithful. Repairing this gap by creating consistent standards and procedures for all, including bishops, will go a long way toward restoring that trust,” although he acknowledged “they will not be enough,” stressing “humble repentance and continuing conversation for all of us who are in positions of leadership in God’s church.”
The archbishop also said the “scourge” of sexual abuse is one of the “bitter fruits” of the sexual revolution that “continue to wreak havoc on human society, the family and the church.” Blessed Paul VI in “Humanae Vitae” 50 years ago, he noted, warned of a “general lowering of morality in society.”
In an Aug. 1 message on his blog, Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Anchorage, Alaska, said: “Many people – priests, laity and hierarchy – are wondering how this or any bishop might rise to the rank of the episcopacy let alone to become a cardinal in the church.”
“Most regular, church-attending Catholics still trust their priests, who minister and serve the people of God faithfully,” he added. “The same can no longer be said of bishops. We have lost the trust of many of our priests and people.”
Archbishop Etienne offered a seven-point plan to restore trust, including having an ad hoc committee of the U.S. bishops to write a protocol to have the charter apply to bishops and appointing a separate review board to field abuse accusations against bishops and make recommendations to the Vatican – and with the authority to make its recommendations public if no action has been taken after 60 days
“At its core, we are facing a spiritual crisis, and these times call us to renew our life in and our witness to Jesus Christ,” Archbishop Etienne said.
“We must remember that when it seems like the church has failed us, it is the fallible human beings within the church, and even some leading the church, who have failed; not the church itself,” said an Aug. 1 statement by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, which adjoins the Archdiocese of Washington.
“It is the Lord who leads, guides and protects his people and church,” Bishop Burbidge added. “It is only when we lose sight of him that we stumble.”
Bishop Burbidge said, “For 16 years, dioceses around the country have implemented unprecedented protocols to encourage reporting of allegations and suspicions of sexual abuse by priests and deacons, as well as to investigate such accusations thoroughly, independently and transparently. Clearly, these procedures and policies need to be reflected in the conduct of bishops as well and how we relate to one another. We all must be held accountable for our actions – bishops are no exception.”
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, in an Aug. 1 posting on his Facebook page, noted how Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. bishops, had issued a statement that day outlining the steps the bishops would take “in order to address the failures of the church in protecting God’s sons and daughters” from abuse.
“I join Cardinal DiNardo in expressing my deep regret and sorrow for the pain and harm caused by any failures to protect God’s children,” Archbishop Chaput said.
“In light of this national church news, I want to reassure you today, as forcefully as I can, that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has a zero-tolerance policy for clergy, lay employees, and volunteers who engage in the abuse of children,” he said. “We take immediate action when an allegation is made and we cooperate promptly and fully with law enforcement. Research and experience have shown that sexual abuse plagues every corner of society from sports and public institutions, to the entertainment industry, and the political arena.
“Prevention of abuse comes from training and constant vigilance, and the prevention of abuse – along with support for survivors – is and will remain a constant priority for our church and archdiocese,” Archbishop Chaput said.
(Contributing to this story was Steve Larkin.)

Diocese of Jackson announces abuse investigations

By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – The Diocese of Jackson announced three abuse investigations the weekend of July 28-29 with bulletin inserts and announcements at the parishes impacted and statements posted to the diocesan website.
On June 24, 2018, the Diocese of Jackson became aware of a report of inappropriate sexual contact by Deacon Rick Caldwell with a minor female occurring in the early 1980s. The alleged conduct occurred many years before Caldwell joined the Church and became a deacon. After an investigation into the allegations, the diocese has concluded that the claims are credible.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for Protection of Children and Young People has a zero tolerance policy and requires the removal from ministry of any priest, deacon or other religious upon determination of a credible claim of sexual misconduct with a minor. Accordingly, Deacon Caldwell’s faculties have been suspended as of July 24, and he has been removed from ministry. He is no longer free to function as a deacon. The allegation of abuse has been reported to civil authorities by the diocese. He was assigned to Vicksburg St. Mary Parish.
An allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by former Brother Paul West, OFM, while in ministry at Greenwood St. Francis of Assisi Parish has been brought forward to the Diocese of Jackson Fitness Review Board. The allegation has been considered and found to be credible.
Parish assignment included serving as a brother at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Greenwood from June 1993 – November 1998. The allegation has been reported to civil authorities by the diocese.
An allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by Father Timothy Crowley while in ministry at St. Teresa of Avila Church in Chatawa has been brought forward to the Diocese of Jackson Fitness Review Board. The allegation has been considered and found to be credible.
Parish assignment included serving as Pastor at Chatawa St. Teresa of Avila Parish from 1968-1970. He is deceased.
The Diocese of Jackson is committed to protecting children. Sexual misconduct by church personnel violates human dignity and the mission of the Church. The diocese is committed to ensuring that children being served by the Church are not at risk of sexual abuse by Church personnel. The spiritual well-being of all victims, their families, and others in the community is of particular concern to the church.
During the past 30 years, the Diocese of Jackson has developed and implemented a safe environment program. The diocese has publicized standards of conduct for its priests and deacons as well as diocesan employees, volunteers and any other church personnel in positions of trust who have regular contact with children and young people.
Beginning in 1986, the diocese implemented a written policy and procedure regarding reporting and handling of sexual misconduct claims.
The policy was updated in 1994 with the addition of a diocesan fitness review board and again in 2002 so that it would reflect the mandates of the Bishops’ Charter.
Anyone who has been a victim of abuse or exploitation by clergy, religious or lay church personnel and has not yet reported it is encouraged to do so. The Diocese of Jackson places no deadline or time limits on reporting.
The Victims’ Assistance Coordinator, Valerie McClellan, and Vicar General, Father Kevin Slattery are available to assist in making a report. The contact number for the Victims’ Assistance Coordinator is (601) 326-3728. The contact number for the Vicar General is (601) 969-2290.
For more information about the diocesan policies and procedures, visit the diocesan website at www.jacksondiocese.org.

Many urge more accountability by church after abuse revelations

By Mark Pattison
WASHINGTON (CNS) – The sexual abuse allegations surrounding now-former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick have prompted some church figures to call for a more thorough reckoning of the U.S. church’s clerical sexual abuse policies.
“We can – and I am confident that we will – strengthen the rules and regulations and sanctions against any trying to fly under the radar or to ‘get away with’ such evil and destructive behaviors,” said Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany, New York, in a July 27 letter to clergy in his diocese. “But, at its heart, this is much more than a challenge of law enforcement; it is a profoundly spiritual crisis.”
“In negative terms, and as clearly and directly as I can repeat our church teaching, it is a grave sin to be ‘sexually active’ outside of a real marriage covenant. A cardinal is not excused from what a layperson or another member of the clergy is not,” Bishop Scharfenberger said.

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, delivers the homily in 2009 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. Pope Francis has accepted the resignation from the College of Cardinals of Archbishop McCarrick, and has ordered him to maintain “a life of prayer and penance” until a canonical trial examines accusations that he sexually abused minors. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

“A member of the clergy who pledges to live a celibate life must remain as chaste in his relationship with all whom he serves as spouses within a marriage. This is what our faith teaches and what we are held to in practice. There is no ‘third way,'” he added.
Bishop Scharfenberger said, “Abuse of authority – in this case, with strong sexual overtones – with vulnerable persons is hardly less reprehensible than the sexual abuse of minors, which the USCCB (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) attempted to address in 2002. Unfortunately, at that time – something I never understood – the ‘Charter’ (‘for the Protection of Children and Young People’) did not go far enough so as to hold cardinals, archbishops and bishops equally, if not more, accountable than priests and deacons.”
He said he believes the “vast majority of clergy – priests, deacons and bishops alike – live or, at least, are striving to live holy and admirable lifestyles. I am ashamed of those of my brothers, such as the cardinal, who do not and have not.”
With his resignation July 28 from the College of Cardinals, McCarrick retains the title of archbishop. However, “his prompt reduction canonically to the laity should be strongly deliberated,” said a July 28 statement by Bishop Michael F. Olson of Fort Worth, Texas.
“As each day passes, we learn that the former cardinal not only allegedly perpetrated abuse against minors but also against subordinates including priests, seminarians and members of the laity. The evil effects of these actions were multiplied by the fact that financial settlements were arranged with victims without transparency or restrictions on the former cardinal’s ministry,” Bishop Olson said.
“Justice also requires that all of those in church leadership who knew of the former cardinal’s alleged crimes and sexual misconduct and did nothing be held accountable for their refusal to act thereby enabling others to be hurt.”
Trinity Washington University president Patricia McGuire, in a July 27 blog posting titled “Cardinal Sins,” reflected on the allegations against Archbishop McCarrick through the prism of her mother’s late-in-life dread that she may have exposed her young sons to abusive clergy.
“As the tawdry, tragic stories of priests committing appalling acts of abuse spread from Boston to Philadelphia and parishes and dioceses nationwide, the mothers of the altar boys, in particular, suffered silent grief and suspicion, leading to a sense of betrayal and then alienation from the church to which they had devoted unquestioning loyalty throughout their lives,” McGuire said.
In the year before McGuire’s mother died, “the abuse scandal left her bitter about the hypocrisy of priests and bishops; she wondered aloud about her own father, my grandfather who, as a young man in Milan (Italy), had been in the seminary for a while. He left the seminary and came to America and, in my mother’s memory, he would not set foot inside a church. ‘All’s right between God and me,’ he would say to her,” she wrote.
“The emergence of the American abuse scandal made her wonder if something had happened to her father even so long ago in the Italian seminary; again, no evidence, but the scandal created more doubts, caused more anguish, like a rapidly spreading toxic algae bloom.”
McGuire added, “The church’s response to the massive sex abuse crisis has always seemed to lack a certain level of deep, urgent understanding of the gravity of the sin against children and other victims. Certainly, words have cascaded, gestures made, money paid out. But, somehow, the words and gestures and checks have all seemed more self-protective of the organization than truly penitential at the most profound level.”
“As a father, I am appalled and angry. As a Catholic, I feel ashamed and betrayed,” said a statement from John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, who had worked closely with Archbishop McCarrick on various policy initiatives when Carr worked at USCCB headquarters in Washington.
“As a friend of former Cardinal McCarrick, I am devastated, especially for the victims and their families,” Carr added. “I pray that these horrific developments can help end this evil of clerical sex abuse and dismantle the culture that permitted it within our family of faith.”
Msgr. Owen Campion, former editor of the national newspaper Our Sunday Visitor and now chaplain of OSV Newsweekly, said he felt dismay, revulsion, heartsickness, anger and – for once – weariness upon learning of the accusations lodged against Archbishop McCarrick.
“I am weary of trying to make excuses, of trying to find something to say,” Msgr. Campion wrote July 18. 
“I am tired of stepping away from restrooms in restaurants until a youth has emerged. I am tired of watching my every move and calculating my every word if a young person is present. I am tired of calling my diocese when I have been invited to preach in another location, asking for a letter stating that I have never been in trouble.”
He added that he is tired of making the point that “sexual abuse is a vast problem in our culture,” because he is “assailed for concocting excuses.” “But I make it again,” he said.
Sexual abuse “hardly only involves clergy. Our society’s insanity when it comes to satisfying erotic desires in the most selfish of circumstances, and our increasing disregard for morality in any setting, is sickening and frightening because of where it is taking us,” Msgr. Campion said. “We must face this fact.”
Msgr. Campion said, “One excuse that I have offered with increasing lack of enthusiasm is the Dallas ‘Charter,’ a policy created by U.S. bishops to right the wrongs. The charter, whether it is followed or not, spoke of children, but attention must also be given to the wide sexual abuse of adults.”
He added, “A seminarian would have to be very brave to accuse an archbishop, let alone a cardinal. The seminarian, however persuasive his story, would not enjoy the benefit of the doubt. Quite likely, he could forget about being a priest.”
In Baltimore, Archbishop William E. Lori said allegations against Archbishop McCarrick “have shaken our church to its core.”
“That we find ourselves in this place again is tragic and heart wrenching – for the victims; for their families and friends; for all Catholics; and for our neighbors whom we are called to serve in truth and love,” he said in a July 30 statement.
He said he strongly supports Pope Francis’ response to Archbishop McCarrick’s case and other recent cases, including accepting the resignation of several Chilean bishops, and praised the pope’s “determination to hold accountable all those who have sexually abused others or failed to report allegations of sexual abuse, regardless of their position or rank in the church.”
Building on those efforts “to strengthen the accountability of bishops,” Archbishop Lori said, “some bishops in the United States are discussing proposals to do the same, (including) measures that can be implemented in each diocese to ensure that victims can easily report allegations of abuse by any member of the church, including bishops, and can confidently expect that those allegations will get a full and fair hearing.”
“I will contribute actively to those discussions and will fully implement their results in the Archdiocese of Baltimore to best protect those in our local Catholic community and all those we serve,” he said, pledging his “continued diligent oversight of the measures currently in place” and renewing his commitment “to do all I can to build a culture of accountability and transparency.”

(Follow Pattison on Twitter: @MeMarkPattison)