Voice of the Faithful Focus, Nov. 17, 2011

Highlighting issues we face working together
to Keep the Faith, Change the Church

Penn State vis-a-vis the Catholic Church
If you read or heard the news over the past few days, you could not escapt the scandal in State College, Pennsylvania. After a grand jury brought to light child sexual abuse allegations at Pennsylvania State University, several men were arrested, and the university’s president and revered head football coach Joe Paterno were fired. The Penn State scandal illluminates the tragedy of the Church’s clergy sexual abuse scandal, which the media has reported extensively. Here are some examples:

— The Devil and Joe Paterno
— What the Catholic Church Can Teach Us about the Penn State Scandal
— Echoes of Catholic Church Scandal at Penn State
— The Institutional Pass
— A Priest’s View of Penn State
— Penn State Should Coach the Catholic Church
— Penn State, Catholic Church Share Tragic Parallels
— Report Abuse to Police, Not Higher-Ups
— Why Penn State Abuse Is (and Isn’t) Like the Catholic Church
— What Can Church Learn from Penn State
— Abuse and Cover-up: Penn State’s Catholic-Like Scandal
— In Penn State, Some See Boston Scandal Parallels

KCs Bishop Finn Avoids Second Criminal Indictment
But Is Sued for Conspiracy
To avoid a second criminal indictment for failing to report suspected child abuse, Kansas City’s Bishop Robert Finn has agreed to give a county prosecutor almost complete oversight over how the diocese handles clergy sexual abuse cases for next five years. His problems keep escalating, as for example, a new lawsuit has claimed his delay in reporting Fr. Shawn Ratigan’s possession of child pornography directly led to the abuse of a ten-year old girl, and qualifies as conspiracy to commit fraud.

Clerican Culture Contributes Significantly to Abuse
The sex abuse crisis has made the contribution of the Church’s clerical system to child sexual abuse painfully obvious, as compared with the Penn State scandal, as discussed in Commonweal magazine and as shown by VOTF’s conclusions to the John Jay College causes and context report.

Vatican Official Says Accountability Critical for Sex Abuse Prevention
The Vatican’s top clerical sex abuse advisor has said abuse prevention policies will never work without accountability and an unwavering commitment to children’s welfare.

Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse Must Be Mandatory
Penn State, The Citadel, the Catholic Church, child sexual abuse can and does happen anywhere and is the dark secret of many institutions and organizations. Author and law school professor Marci Hamilton talks about why reporting child sexual abuse must be mandatory.

Boston Archdiocese Newspaper Pays Little Notice
To Abuse in Bio Published for Cardinal Law’s 80th Birthday
Survivors of clergy sexual abuse, their lawyers, and advocates have condemned the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston for publishing an uncritical profile of Cardinal Bernard F. Law on his 80th birthday.

$100 Million Awarded in Miami &
$3.2 Million in Chicago as Abuse Settlements
Although unlikely to be collected, but sending a clear message, a Miami jury has returned a $100 million verdict against a retired Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing dozens of boys over many years. And a $3.2 million settlement has been reached in Chicago with the last of the five victims of convicted former priest abuser Daniel McCormack.

British Court Rules Catholic Church
Liable for Priests’ Wrongdoings
Great Britain’s highest court has ruled that the Catholic Church can be held responsible for the wrongdoings of its priests, opening the way for victims of sexual abuse to win damages.

London Abbe May Lose Control of School
An independent report has recommended that a monastery should no longer be allowed to run a London Roman Catholic school after physical and sexual abuse of minors over several decades was discovered.