Posted on 04/16/2002 8:54:13 AM PDT by history_matters
Eight American cardinals, some of them under siege in the wake of the spiraling sexual abuse scandal, have been ordered to an extraordinary meeting with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican next week to discuss the exploding tempest.
``I can't think of anything exactly like it,'' said Avery Cardinal Dulles, a theologian at Fordham University in New York and one of the foremost authorities on Catholic church history. ``I don't remember any case where he's called the cardinals and bishops together (but) prompt action is needed at the present time to restore public confidence.''
Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer representing victims of convicted former priest John Geoghan and other alleged clergy offenders, said the session shows how ``widespread'' the problem is in the United States. He said the meeting has also been encouraging for some victims.
``The recognition by the pope of sexual abuse by priests helps relieve some individuals of guilt and at the same time restores some dignity,'' he said.
David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said he and other victims were ``encouraged'' by the meeting but he was pessimistic that anything could come from it.
``We are encouraged that the Vatican is taking greater interest in this horrific problem,'' he said in a statement. ``It is hard to be hopeful about the meeting's outcome, however, since these same men are the ones who largely got us into this terrible situation.''
The meeting, with clerical sexual misconduct as the sole agenda item, will take place next Tuesday and Wednesday between the pope, Vatican officials and the eight U.S. archbishops, including Bernard Cardinal Law.
In addition to Law, the meeting will include Roger Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua of Philadelphia, William Cardinal Keeler of Baltimore, Adam Cardinal Maida of Detroit, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. of Chicago, Edward Cardinal Egan of New York and Theodore Cardinal McCarrick of Washington, D.C.
The top two officials from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops - Bishop Wilton Gregory, the president, and Bishop William Skylstad, the vice president - also will attend, conference spokeswoman Sister Mary Ann Walsh said.
Maida said in a statement that convening the princes of the church will be beneficial to the reeling hierarchy as the list of allegations and victims grows at a mind-numbing pace.
``Bringing together this level of Church leadership in Rome on this most serious issue is the right move at the right time,'' said Maida. ``So much is happening so fast in various dioceses around the United States and elsewhere, that I welcome this opportunity to be able to reflect and react in this collegial setting.''
The crisis has grown exponentially since the beginning of the year as new revelations pour out. In Boston, Law has gone into seclusion after announcing he was remaining as archbishop despite a thickening body of evidence that he shuffled several admitted pedophile priests around and gave letters commending them for their service to the archdiocese.
Egan is also facing a storm of criticism for his handling of accused clerics while he was archbishop in Connecticut, including an allegation that he covered up for a priest who fathered a child by a 14-year-old girl. Mahony is also coming under fire for similar allegations of covering up accusations against sexually abusive priests while he was in Stockton, Calif.
Sources told the Herald last week that Law, the most senior prelate in the United States, offered his resignation to the pope but was rebuffed because his ouster could lead to a domino effect that would force out others.
Stephen J. Pope, chairman of the theology department at Boston College, said the meeting is historical in its short notice and single agenda. In 1989, American bishops were summoned for a meeting on teachings contrary to church views and bishops from Holland were called to the carpet in 1981 for a similar incident.
Pope speculated the meeting could be about ``personnel issues'' such as Law's resignation and what it means for the Catholic church in the United States. He said normally cardinal conclaves have months of lead time for preparation and reflection.
Dulles is one of five American cardinals who were not invited, but he said the focus of the meeting is for those cardinals who actively oversee archdioceses to hammer out a uniform response to the widening scandal.
``American bishops want a little more ability to deal with the question than canon law gives them at this time,'' Dulles told the Herald in a telephone interview yesterday.
Dulles, who was elevated to cardinal last year and shares many of the pope's conservative philosophies on church teachings, said the scandal is an American media creation that does not rise to the level of historical church crises such as the Gregorian revolution in the 12th century or the Protestant reformation of the 16th century.
``I don't think this is anything of comparable proportions,'' he said. ``I don't think there's any great crisis in the U.S . . . It's really practically no news. To the extent it's a crisis, it's created by the news media. I suppose every individual case is terrible but it is not something peculiar to the Catholic church.''
BC's Pope called Dulles' observation ``stunning'' and said it could reflect John Paul's feelings, given the two share similar views.
``That is profoundly out of touch with what ordinary Catholics are thinking,'' said Pope. ``There's a very deep emotional level of anger and depression. If that's the way the Vatican is thinking, there's a very big problem.''
Understood, but I'm not sure that's what sinkspur had in mind. In any event, the optimal elecitors -- 4th century Milanese, led by a little child -- are not available, and I'm not sure how we're to find our way there from here. Culture does evolve, but not in discontinuous leaps.
"The whole world groaned, and was astonished to find itself Arian."
As for Dulles--he's a Jesuit. Enough said.
Also, even laity can baptize in emergencies, and as far as marriage goes, the priest or deacon does not confer the sacrament, the couple by their vows confer the sacrament. This is why even a deacon can perform both marriage and baptism, and in ages and places where no priest was available the couples were not required to wait for them to be joined in matrimony. I may be wrong on this and would be open to correction.
One priest committing one crime is one abuse too many. HOWEVER, saying that homosexuality is rampant in the Catholic Church without supporting documentation doesn't help matters.
I have faith in the Pope that he is indeed led by the Holy Spirit and will do what needs to be done. But it is not us who will be the final arbitor and judge.
God bless.
nothing but a pr move. as if he hadn't heard of this before. I have, and I'm not even catholic. what a joke. I guess he has to do something, but the timing indicates pr response.
“It is wrong to say that the sex abuse scandal in the Church can be rationally discussed without mentioning the role that sexually active homosexuals have played. It has been substantial. But it is important to emphasize that it is simplistic and diversionary to argue that gays are the problem. The problem is a relaxation of disciplinary measures and an astounding lack of courage on the part of many clerics. It is our hope that every aspect of this problem will surface, otherwise no progress will be made. To the extent that a discussion of the role that sexually active homosexuals evolves into a gay-bashing exercise, the Catholic League will fight it. Bigotry of all stripes is intolerable.
I didn't see it, but I heard about it and was quite disappointed in that kind of an answer from him.
LOL!
Of course many of the Jadot appointements were liberal, which would tend to make their quality high in some people’s view.Under Archbishop Jean Jadot, nuncio in the United States from 1973 to 1980, consultation was generally meaningful. Jadot would ask the interim administrator of a diocese to carry out extensive surveys of priests, deacons and laity, ranking the needs of the diocese and identifying men who could meet them. Based on this input, the quality of Jadot appointments tended to be high.I'm sorry, but this comment is positively goofy. The guys who created the problems we're talking about were mostly Jadot appointments. Law, if I'm not mistaken, was originally a Jadot appointment (not to Boston, to the see he was in before Boston).
Regardless, there still is extensive consultation. Consulting the people is not a cure, given that someone in charge usually selects which people are to be consulted. When you have an agenda, as most in the American Church have had for decades, a little fact like consulting others rarely stands in the way. One is just careful about who you allow to be consulted.
patent +AMDG
Of interest to me was the last word given to Lucifer, who, although acknowledging his "defeat," looked rather ominously to the future:
I must, however, make a confession, because I best know the character of my party, and own that they are more easily conquered than convinced.
What would the consequences of that be? If their ordinations were invalid, then every sacrament they performed would be invalid as well, correct?Not every Sacrament, but certainly the Eucharist, Reconcilliation, would be.
How could any Catholic ever be certain, then, that his child had been validly baptized?Anyone can baptize, and it is valid so long as the form is followed, so these would still be fine. Confirmations are done by Bishops.
Regardless, the Church isn’t going to issue a blanket statement saying any gay priest’s Holy Orders are invalid, so you all be careful about where you go to Church. If it does anything about existing priests it will defrock individuals, but not declare past Sacraments invalid.
patent +AMDG
This is what I hope for.
I do not believe that the Pope's actions are a PR gimick. Looking at his past actions and writings, I think that this Pope is particularly blessed and would not stoop to such secular methods to clear the name of the church he serves so well.
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