1. Justice is coming, slowly, Twenty years on, there has been a breakthrough in clergy sex abuse cases., By The Washington Post, May 11, 2022, Pg. A22, Editorial
The road toward justice for the victims of clergy sex abuse has been long, tortuous and littered with legal minefields. But increasingly in the past few years, it has led to milestones involving accountability for the Catholic Church, and restitution for individuals preyed upon as children. That it has taken two decades in many cases is maddening, but breakthroughs even at this late date are critically important.
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Relaxed statutes of limitations have meant scores of bankruptcy filings by dioceses as well as a tsunami of lawsuits by victims. The downside is upheaval in the Catholic Church, an institution that remains a touchstone for millions of Americans. The upside is, if not a sense of closure, at least an acknowledgment of the damage done, and trauma inflicted, across U.S. communities. Prayers for the victims were inadequate; they deserved, and in many cases have now received, legal redress of their pain and grievances.
This story is not over, nor should it be. Last year, Pope Francis ordered changes in the church’s own penal code to allow clerics who leverage power imbalances to abuse not only children but also adults to be expelled from the priesthood. However, the Vatican has continued to resist uniform reporting of child abuse to civil authorities, which it says could put clergy at risk in some countries. In both the United States and overseas, major new reports have continued to document the scale and scope of abuse over decades. That important work must continue.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/10/camden-diocese-new-jersey-settlement-justice-clergy-sex-abuse-cases/
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2. Report: Former Hong Kong bishop Cardinal Zen arrested, By Catholic News Agency, May 11, 2022, 6:32 AM
Cardinal Joseph Zen has been arrested by the authorities in Hong Kong, according to local media reports.
The 90-year-old former bishop of Hong Kong was reportedly detained in his role as a trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which helped pro-democracy protestors to pay their legal fees.
The Standard newspaper reported that the trustees were arrested on Wednesday evening local time, according to sources.
The fund, which was founded in 2019, disbanded last year after the national security police ordered it to share operational details, the newspaper said.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251201/report-former-hong-kong-bishop-cardinal-zen-arrested
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3. US bishops urge fasting and prayer in response to pro-abortion threats, By Jonah McKeown, Catholic News Agency, May 10, 2022, 2:50 PM
In response to threats of violence from pro-abortion activists, the U.S. bishops’ conference is inviting Catholics around the country to join in fasting and praying the rosary on Friday, May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the conference, urged Catholics to pray for the conversion of the hearts and minds of those who advocate for abortion, as well as for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
Lori and Gomez also encouraged prayer for “a new commitment to building an America where children are welcomed, cherished, and cared for; where mothers and fathers are encouraged and strengthened; and where marriage and the family are recognized and supported as the true foundations of a healthy and flourishing society.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251196/us-bishops-urge-fasting-and-prayer-in-response-to-pro-abortion-threats
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4. Bishop: New Vatican constitution gives value to Catholic bishops’ conferences, By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency, May 10, 2022, 9:05 AM
In a speech to dicastery leaders on Monday, a bishop said that the new Vatican constitution gives value to Catholic bishops’ conferences and their potential to foster communion between bishops and the pope.
The preamble of Praedicate evangelium, Bishop Marco Mellino said, affirms that bishops’ conferences “are currently one of the most significant ways of expressing and serving ecclesial communion in the different regions together with the Roman Pontiff.”
Mellino, who is the secretary of Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals, said the constitution’s intention is “that of valuing the episcopal conferences … in their potential for implementing the communion of the bishops among themselves and with the Roman Pontiff.”
He went on to say that this works to the extent that each of the bishops’ conferences “is a valid instrument which contributes, in a manifold and fruitful way, to the realization of the collegial affection among the members of the same episcopate and provides for the common good of the particular Churches.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251192/bishop-new-vatican-constitution-gives-value-to-catholic-bishops-conferences
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5. Anti-abortion Senate Democrat backs abortion rights bill, By Farnoush Amiri And Marc Levy, Associated Press, May 10, 2022
Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, one of the last lawmakers on Capitol Hill calling himself a “pro-life Democrat,” said Tuesday he would support a bill to write abortion rights into federal law following the Supreme Court’s leaked draft decision that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.
Casey, serving his third term, is not just any Democrat in the abortion debate. His father, a former two-term governor of Pennsylvania who opposed abortion rights, signed legislation that spawned another landmark abortion case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Now Sen. Casey is in the position of watching the Supreme Court potentially overturn Roe v. Wade two years before he faces reelection while his party’s activists mobilize against any such decision.
He is casting his new position as a reaction to what he characterizes as an unforeseen move by Republicans in Congress to try to effectively ban abortion nationwide.
https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-pennsylvania-planned-parenthood-157723bb68c2db2170e767d1eca6429e
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6. Yellen: Banning abortion would be ‘very damaging’ to U.S. economy, The Treasury chief said the Roe ruling helped allow women to finish school and increase their earning potential, leading to higher workforce participation., By Victoria Guida, Politico, May 10, 2022, 11:07 AM
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday argued that banning abortion would be “very damaging” for the economy by reducing women’s ability to balance their careers and their families.
“I believe that eliminating the right of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades,” she said in response to a question at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/10/yellen-banning-abortion-damaging-to-economy-00031339
___________________________________________________________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. |
