Posted on 04/23/2002 1:30:56 PM PDT by AmericanInTokyo
Translation from Original Spanish from today's article:
'The Pope Recognizes That Pederasty is a "Crime" '
The Vatican summons an extraordinary meeting to treat the sexual scandals carried out by several priests about the U.S.A.
The Pope recognizes that pederasty (pederastia) is a "crime"
AGENCIES | City of the Vatican
With the presence of the Pope, thirteen cardinals of the U.S.A., seven of the Bar and four archbishops will tomorrow look for during today and in the Vatican an exit to the pederasty scandals in which they have been themselves involved American bishops and priests. The Pontiff has been specially hard at the beginning of meetings summoned specifically by him: "If this practical one exactly is considered like a crime in the civil society, he must not have place for him in the Church ".
The conversations will be centered in the necessity to strengthen the Canonical Law that will be applied in the future. Many of them present there want to obtain from the Pope the authorization to give to justice to the prelates violators.
Most of the cardinals and bishops, as well as the public opinion, requests a greater firmness towards the guilty, and the Pope seems that it has been favorable this idea. In fact, today he has indicated that "people need to know that there is no place in the priesthood and the religious life for which they can badly make the young people".
Some of the prelates have considered these words like an announcement of "tolerance zero" towards this question, while others, like the cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, have considered who must "be studied". Also the cardinal of Chicago, Francis George, considers that the words of the extreme Pontiff "must be interpreted", point of view who has assured to share the president of the episcopal conference, monsignor Wilton Gregory, in a press conference in the American School in Rome.
The errors of the priests of the U.S.A.
The Pope has tried to explain the errors committed by some of the American prelates who badly did not take the sufficient measures before the problem due to a " knowledge from the nature from the problem and to cause, perhaps, of advice of medical experts who have taken to them to make decisions that have not finally turned out to be good (decisions)".
Also, the Pontiff has been "deeply saddened" by the crisis that "has caused so many sufferings to the young people" and whom so much to the Church has damaged, that it is being Vista now "with distrust by the great badly fact by some priests".
The unusual hardness used by the Pope to condemn these practices can have a determining effect in the decision of the Catholic Church to develop a specific policy on pedofilia to give to the priests who abuse minors to the civilian authorities.
An important number of eminences
The religious summit they attend the cardinals Francis Law (Bostón), Roger Michael Mahony (Los Angeles), Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (Filadelfia), William Nehry Keeler (Baltimore), Adam Joseph Maida (Detroit), Francis Eugene George (Chicago), Theodore Edgar McCarrick (Washington), Edward Michael Egan (New York), Jamer Aloysius Hickey (purpurado emérito of Washington) and the jesuita Avery Dulles.
Also they go Wilton Daniel Gregory, prelate of Belleville and president of the Episcopal Conference of the U.S.A.; the vice-president, William Stephen Skylastad, and secretary, William Fay.
On the part of the Vatican the cardinal Secretary of State, Angelo Sodano, and purpurados American of the Bar the William Wakefielda Baumm (Penitentiary Greater emérito), Edmund Casimir Szoka (president of the Pontifical Commission for the City of the Vatican), James Francis Stafford (president of the Pontifical Council for the Lay ones) and the president of the Pontifical Council for legislative Texts, the archbishop are present Julian Herranz.
Also they will participate to the cardinals Joseph Ratzinger (prefect of the congregation for Doctrina of the Faith), Eduardo Martinez Somalo (congregation for the Institutes of Life Consagrada and Camarlengo), Giovanni Battista Re (congregation for the Bishops), Jorge Medina Estévez (Congregation for the Cult), Dario Castrillón Holes (congregation for the Clergy) and Zenon Gracholewski (congregation for the catholic Education).
The fact that a so important number of high ecclesiastical positions participates emphasizes the importance that the Vatican has given this encounter that, according to Cardinal McCarrick, will mark an important "change" in the American church. The Cardinal of Washington has added that the Pope "is very affected" by all these scandals and that the Church of its country wishes to end that damages.
Between the expulsion and the critic to the celibacy
McCarrick has added that many dioceses plead for the immediate expulsion of the clerical state of the implied priest and to lend all type of aids to the victims and its relatives. In this sense, the spokesman of the bishops of the U.S.A., monsignor Francis J. Maniscalco, said recently that the line of the Church of that country is the one of "one strike and you are expelled", is to say the hard line.
The Code of Canonical Law establishes punishment for the clergyman who has abused a minor which they go from the suspension to the expulsion of the clerical state. The proposals that the cardinals will do, to part the one of the "line last", are not known, although some means have assured that they will raise the abolition of the celibacy, proposal that will not be any successful.
This same weekend, the Pope made a defense of the celibacy. The Pope asked the priests who are "kind" to safeguard the celibacy and emphasized the value of the abstention, obedience and the poverty.
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One releases list of scandals
The cases of sexual abuses and pederasty have been multiplied lately in the U.S.A., where most outstanding he was the one of the bishop of Palm Beach, Anthony J. ÓConnell, whom it had to resign after recognizing that he had abused a seminarist.
ÓConnell had replaced in the position another bishop, J. Keith Symons, whom also it had to resign by the same reason. In the last months 450 denunciations of sexual abuses to minors have appeared in the United States, in whom they have been implied a hundred of priests.
Between the affected dioceses more they are the one of New York, New Hampshire, Arizona and Boston. The cardinal of this last one, Law, is in the point of sight of all the critic after being accused to have watched " towards another side " before the cases of pederasty and its resignation is requested. Recently it said that it will not resign and yesterday McCarrick cardinal was in favor of giving another "opportunity him".
pederasty:
\Ped"er*as`ty\, n. [Gr. paiderasti`a: cf. F. p['e]d['e]rastie.] The crime against nature; sodomy.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
I always respect honesty in journalism and disdain dishonesty.
The American press is patently DISHONEST and it is clear they are covering up for something or somebody.
On other issues, the foreign press more than the US press, censors. It kind of depends what it is they (the writers and powers that be) are sensitive and uptight about. You have to really search to come up with a composite of the truth sometimes. Think of CSPAN in the morning every day. I believe they only highlight US domestic press. They seem to leave out a wealth of international information through so many more non-US sources; yet their ingenous staff could clearly 'Babelfish' translate some good international stories before they air in each morning, instead of being so liberal US-centered with their blinders on.
Many in the USA are spoonfed carefully constructed portions and that is the limit of their knowledge-base. It is somewhat sad.
Quite a number of years ago, when I used to watch network news (ABC, CBS, NBC), I couldn't help but notice how all three followed almost identical stories with about the same northeastern liberal, secular humanist spin. It was news written essentially for Brookline, Mass., Volvo drivers. Now that Cable has blasted the big three into extinct dinosaur status, it may be hard to recall the virtual monopoly once enjoyed. The newspaper and zine subculture delivers rather poor quality. All you have to do is read some 19th-century journalism to see how dumbed- down things have tended. I still do not understand why no one has tried to create a literate, non-liberal, national newspaper of quality. No market?
Try the Wall Street Journal. It's not everything you'd want because of its focus, obviously, but it's the best we can get these days!
Oh, and they would have a point (the cultural conservatives,) to say the least. I was suggesting the WSJ as a literate newspaper, not as a source or inspiration for our salvation, so to speak. The non-business coverage, including cultural matters, as scant as it may be there, is quite good and literate. That's all...
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