1. University of Notre Dame president: In Nicaragua, Catholicism is being extinguished, By John I. Jenkins, The Washington Post, August 31, 2023, 7:00 AM, Opinion
Nicaragua’s seizure of the Jesuit-run Central American University in Managua on Aug. 16 was only the latest episode in the government’s five-year campaign to silence the Catholic Church.
Described by President Daniel Ortega’s regime as a “center of terrorism” for having attempted to shield student protesters during widespread anti-government demonstrations in 2018, the university has had its buildings, bank accounts and even its furniture seized. If past practice is any guide, it will soon be either shuttered or run by the state, with faculty and curriculums censored by the Sandinista government.
Since 2018, Catholic priests and laity critical of the government have been harassed, exiled, imprisoned, tortured and murdered. The regime has shut down more than 700 nonprofits and nongovernmental agencies, including the Catholic charity Caritas and the Red Cross.
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Ortega’s attempt to extinguish Catholicism in Nicaragua merits world condemnation on a much larger, and louder, scale. As the president of a Catholic university, I am especially eager to rally university leaders in opposition to this persecution. But leaders from all walks of life should be condemning Ortega in the harshest terms. His regime should be isolated as an international pariah for trying to “disappear” Catholicism, freedom of worship and free speech.
The Rev. John I. Jenkins is president of the University of Notre Dame.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/31/nicaragua-catholicism-persecution-ortega-university/
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2. Ex-Catholic Cardinal McCarrick, age 93, found unfit to stand trial on teen sex abuse charges, By Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press, August 30, 2023, 5:22 PM
The once-powerful Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick will not stand trial on charges he sexually assaulted a teenage boy decades ago, as a Massachusetts judge dismissed the case against the 93-year-old on Wednesday because both prosecutors and defense attorneys agree he is experiencing dementia.
McCarrick, the ex-archbishop of Washington, D.C., was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019 after an internal Vatican investigation determined he sexually molested adults as well as children. The McCarrick scandal created a crisis of credibility for the church, primarily because there was evidence Vatican and U.S. church leaders knew he slept with seminarians but turned a blind eye as McCarrick rose to the top of the U.S. church as an adept fundraiser who advised three popes.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Dr. Kerry Nelligan, a psychologist hired by the prosecution, said she found significant deficits in McCarrick’s memory during two interviews in June, and he was often unable to recall what they had discussed from one hour to the next. As with any form of dementia, she said there are no medications that could improve the symptoms.
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https://apnews.com/article/cardinal-theodore-mccarrick-sexual-assault-dismissed-4ef431ec2ff51c42f5f895d603764207
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3. Judge Blocks Camden Diocese’s Bankruptcy Plan for Sex-Abuse Victims, The diocese’s chapter 11 plan would put insurers on the hook for potentially inflated or fraudulent claims, bankruptcy judge says, By Soma Biswas, The Wall Street Journal, August 30, 2023, 5:17 PM
A bankruptcy judge rejected a sex-abuse compensation plan for the Diocese of Camden, N.J., saying that it would violate the rights of insurance companies on the hook for payment to abuse survivors
Judge Jerrold Poslusny said he couldn’t release the Camden diocese from bankruptcy because its plan for compensating hundreds of sex-abuse victims would expose its insurers to paying potentially inflated or fraudulent claims. Camden’s failure to win court approval to exit bankruptcy after nearly three years highlights the growing discord among sex-abuse plaintiffs, insurers and religious organizations in a handful of recent chapter 11 cases stemming from childhood abuse.
The Roman Catholic diocese, bankrupted by sex-abuse lawsuits, agreed last year to contribute more than $87 million to compensate over 360 abuse survivors on its way out of chapter 11. The reorganization plan left room for victims to pursue further compensation from insurance companies through litigation once the bankruptcy case ended.
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Judge Poslusny’s decision is a blow to the more recent strategy pursued by Camden and some New York dioceses to exit bankruptcy without insurance deals by offering abuse victims the rights to litigate for insurance coverage outside of bankruptcy.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-blocks-camden-dioceses-bankruptcy-plan-for-sex-abuse-victims-d4af5bd4
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4. In the abortion debate, honesty matters, By Christopher M. Zahn and Jenni Villavicencio, The Washington Post, August 30, 2023, 2:06 PM, Letter to the Editor
As medical experts, physicians, scientists and advocates for unrestricted access to abortion care, we understand that many people have complex feelings about abortion.
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The misinformation perpetuated by Ms. Conway and Ms. Dannenfelser (and by the crisis pregnancy centers they wrongly praise) is commonly used to strip access to abortion from patients such as ours and prevent clinicians from providing people with evidence-based health care.
Abortion is safe. It improves and saves lives, and it must be available without restrictions, without limitations and without barriers — just as any other critical part of health care.
Christopher M. Zahn is interim chief executive of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Jenni Villavicencio is interim director of advocacy and public affairs for the Society of Family Planning.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/30/abortion-debate-honesty-matters/
__________________________________________________________TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association. |
